Software · head to head
Nomad vs Vault
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Nomad nomad 1.7.0 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1 with IBM Corporation as licensor, not an OSI open source licence; Vault vault 1.15.0 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1, not an OSI open source licence, with IBM Corporation as licensor
- They diverge on capability: Nomad covers Container orchestration, Vault covers Secrets management.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Nomad and Vault actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (open-source), free tier (Yes), platforms (Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown), founded (2015).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Nomad
- Container orchestration
- Job scheduling
- Multi-cloud support
- Auto-scaling
- Service discovery
- Rolling deployments
- Monitoring integration
- Consul
Only in Vault
- Secrets management
- Authentication
- Authorization
- Audit logging
- API access
- Replication
- Ansible
- Databases
Both cover
- High availability
- Docker
- Kubernetes
- Terraform
- TLS
- Encryption
- On-premise deployment
- Cloud deployment
- Hybrid deployment
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Nomad
- Scheduling containers, binaries, Java and VM workloads on the same clusternot Vault
- Running an orchestrator with a single binary and no external dependenciesnot Vault
- Batch and edge workload scheduling across multiple datacentresnot Vault
Vault
- Centrally storing and rotating secrets, API keys and database credentialsnot Nomad
- Issuing short-lived dynamic credentials to applications instead of static passwordsnot Nomad
- Encryption as a service and PKI certificate issuancenot Nomad
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Nomad
- Nomad 1.7.0 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1 with IBM Corporation as licensor, not an OSI open source licence
- The Additional Use Grant forbids offering Nomad to third parties on a hosted or embedded basis in a paid product that competes with IBM's paid versions
- Each version converts to MPL 2.0 only four years after that version is published
- Resource quotas, Sentinel policies and audit logging sit in a Governance and Policy add-on module that is separate from the Enterprise base platform package
- Multi-region deployments, multiple Vault namespaces and Nomad Autopilot advanced server management require Nomad Enterprise
Vault
- Vault 1.15.0 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1, not an OSI open source licence, with IBM Corporation as licensor
- The Additional Use Grant forbids offering Vault to third parties on a hosted or embedded basis in a paid product that competes with IBM's paid versions of Vault
- Each version only converts to MPL 2.0 four years after that version is published, and the Change Date is tracked per version
- Replication, HSM support, namespaces, performance standby nodes, FIPS builds, control group authorisation, multi-factor authentication, secrets sync and lease count quotas all require a Vault Enterprise licence
- A Vault Enterprise licence must be applied to the cluster before any Enterprise feature can be used
Pricing, plan by plan
Nomad
Free- Open SourceFree
- Workload orchestration
- Multi-cloud
- Flexible scheduling
Vault
Free- Open SourceFree
- Secrets management
- Encryption as a service
- Identity management
- EnterpriseFree
- Advanced features
- Premium support
- Dedicated updates
Which should you pick?
Choose Nomad if
- You need container orchestration.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
- You also want job scheduling.
Choose Vault if
- You need secrets management.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
- You also want authentication.
Questions people ask
- Is Nomad or Vault better?
- Neither clearly leads. Nomad starts at Free and Vault at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Nomad or Vault?
- Nomad starts at Free and Vault at Free.
- Does Nomad or Vault run on more platforms?
- Both run on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use Nomad for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Nomad best used for?
- Nomad is most often used for scheduling containers, binaries, java and vm workloads on the same cluster, running an orchestrator with a single binary and no external dependencies, batch and edge workload scheduling across multiple datacentres. Of those, scheduling containers, binaries, java and vm workloads on the same cluster and running an orchestrator with a single binary and no external dependencies are not what Vault is typically brought in for.
- What can Nomad do that Vault cannot?
- Nomad covers Container orchestration, Job scheduling, Multi-cloud support, Auto-scaling. Vault covers Secrets management, Authentication, Authorization, Audit logging. Both handle High availability, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform.