Softwr

Cloud · head to head

Puppet vs Vault

Puppet logo

Puppet

Cloud

Infrastructure automation for enterprises

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Vault logo

Vault

Cloud

Manage Secrets and Protect Sensitive Data

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Puppet no pricing published for commercial tiers; requires contacting sales; 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: Puppet covers Manifests, Vault covers Secrets management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Puppet and Vault actually diverge.

Attributes where Puppet and Vault differ
AttributePuppetVault
Pricing modelquoteopen-source
PlatformsLinux, Windows, Mac, ApiLinux, Windows, Mac, Cloud
Founded20052015

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cloud).

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 Puppet

  • Manifests
  • Modules
  • Classes
  • Variables
  • Facts
  • Puppet Master
  • Hiera
  • Facter

Only in Vault

  • Secrets management
  • Encryption
  • Authorization
  • Audit logging
  • API access
  • High availability
  • Replication
  • Terraform

Both cover

  • Docker
  • Kubernetes
  • Authentication
  • On-premise deployment
  • Cloud deployment

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Puppet

  • Infrastructure automationnot Vault
  • Configuration managementnot Vault
  • DevOps at scalenot Vault
  • Enterprise infrastructurenot Vault

Vault

  • Centrally storing and rotating secrets, API keys and database credentialsnot Puppet
  • Issuing short-lived dynamic credentials to applications instead of static passwordsnot Puppet
  • Encryption as a service and PKI certificate issuancenot Puppet

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Puppet

  • No pricing published for commercial tiers; requires contacting sales
  • Enterprise and Advanced tiers require custom quote
  • Free tier limited to 25 nodes maximum

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

Puppet

Free
  • DeveloperFree
    • Up to 25 nodes
  • Core Commercial$null/custom
    • 25+ nodes
    • Vendor-backed SLAs
    • Training with Certified Engineers
  • Enterprise$null/custom
    • Web GUI
    • RBAC
    • Multi-environment support
  • Advanced$null/custom
    • AI-powered features
    • Advanced patching
    • Vulnerability remediation

Vault

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Secrets management
    • Encryption as a service
    • Identity management
  • EnterpriseFree
    • Advanced features
    • Premium support
    • Dedicated updates

Which should you pick?

Choose Puppet if

  • You need manifests.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Api.
  • You also want modules.
Puppet review

Choose Vault if

  • You need secrets management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
  • You also want encryption.
Vault review

Questions people ask

Is Puppet or Vault better?
Neither clearly leads. Puppet 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, Puppet or Vault?
Puppet starts at Free and Vault at Free.
Does Puppet or Vault run on more platforms?
Puppet runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Api. Vault runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
Can I use Puppet for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Puppet best used for?
Puppet is most often used for infrastructure automation, configuration management, devops at scale, enterprise infrastructure. Of those, infrastructure automation and configuration management are not what Vault is typically brought in for.
What can Puppet do that Vault cannot?
Puppet covers Manifests, Modules, Classes, Variables. Vault covers Secrets management, Encryption, Authorization, Audit logging. Both handle Docker, Kubernetes, Authentication, On-premise deployment.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Puppet: How much does Puppet cost?

Puppet's Developer tier is free for up to 25 nodes. Commercial, Enterprise, and Advanced tiers require contacting their sales team for a custom quote.

Source
Vault: Is HashiCorp Vault free to use?

Yes, Vault is available as a free, open-source project. The community version includes secrets management, certificate generation and rotation, encryption services, and credential management. Vault Enterprise is a commercial offering with additional features.

Source
Puppet: Is there a free version of Puppet?

Yes, Puppet's Developer tier is free forever for up to 25 nodes of infrastructure.

Source
Vault: What are the differences between open-source Vault and Vault Enterprise?

Open-source Vault is free and self-hosted. Vault Enterprise includes additional features and commercial support. HashiCorp also offers Vault Dedicated on the HashiCorp Cloud Platform as a fully managed cloud option.

Source
Puppet: What does the Enterprise tier include?

Puppet's Enterprise tier includes web GUI, RBAC, and multi-environment support for organizations managing infrastructure at scale, with pricing available upon request.

Source
Vault: Can I try HashiCorp Cloud Platform Vault without payment?

Yes, HashiCorp offers a free trial option for HCP Vault Dedicated. New users also receive a $500 credit to use across HashiCorp Cloud Platform services.

Source
Vault: What does Vault manage and protect?

Vault provides identity-based secrets management for users, machines, services, and AI agents. It automates authentication and authorization for access to secrets, passwords, certificates, encryption keys, and other sensitive data across your infrastructure.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Puppet

More on Vault

Keep looking

Other head to heads