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Cybersecurity · head to head

Sticky Password vs Vault

Sticky Password logo

Sticky Password

Cybersecurity

Password manager with autofill, digital wallet, and dark web monitoring

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: Sticky Password offers no dedicated family plan, requiring individual licenses or a Teams plan to cover a household.; 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: Sticky Password covers Autofill and capture, Vault covers Secrets management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Sticky Password and Vault actually diverge.

Attributes where Sticky Password and Vault differ
AttributeSticky PasswordVault
Pricing modelfreemiumopen-source
Platformsweb, ios, android, windows, macLinux, Windows, Mac, Cloud
CategoryCybersecurityCloud
FoundedUnknown2015

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

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 Sticky Password

  • Autofill and capture
  • Encrypted vault sync
  • Emergency access
  • Dark web monitoring
  • Password sharing
  • Digital wallet

Only in Vault

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

What people use each for

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

Sticky Password

  • Storing and autofilling passwords across devicesnot Vault
  • Securely sharing a login with a family member or colleaguenot Vault
  • Granting emergency vault access to a trusted contactnot Vault
  • Monitoring saved credentials for dark web exposurenot Vault

Vault

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

Where each one falls short

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

Sticky Password

  • Offers no dedicated family plan, requiring individual licenses or a Teams plan to cover a household.
  • Free tier is limited to a 30-day Premium trial rather than a permanent free feature set.
  • Lacks the browser-based item history and detailed sharing permissions offered by some larger competitors.
  • Business/Teams tooling is lighter than dedicated enterprise password managers with SSO and SCIM support.

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

Sticky Password

Free
  • Free (30-day Premium trial)Free
    • 30-day trial of Premium features
    • Basic password storage after trial
  • Premium$2.5/month
    • Vault sync across devices
    • Password sharing
    • Dark web monitoring
  • Teams$2.5/month
    • Per-user pricing billed annually
    • Usable for families or businesses
    • Centralized license management

Vault

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Sticky Password if

  • You need autofill and capture.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, ios, android, windows, mac.
  • You also want encrypted vault sync.
Sticky Password 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 Sticky Password or Vault better?
Neither clearly leads. Sticky Password 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, Sticky Password or Vault?
Sticky Password starts at Free and Vault at Free.
Does Sticky Password or Vault run on more platforms?
Sticky Password runs on web, ios, android, windows, mac. Vault runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
Can I use Sticky Password for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Sticky Password best used for?
Sticky Password is most often used for storing and autofilling passwords across devices, securely sharing a login with a family member or colleague, granting emergency vault access to a trusted contact, monitoring saved credentials for dark web exposure. Of those, storing and autofilling passwords across devices and securely sharing a login with a family member or colleague are not what Vault is typically brought in for.
What can Sticky Password do that Vault cannot?
Sticky Password covers Autofill and capture, Encrypted vault sync, Emergency access, Dark web monitoring. Vault covers Secrets management, Encryption, Authentication, Authorization.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
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
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
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