Software · head to head
Vault vs Akamai
The short version
- Only Vault has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: 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; Akamai only the cloud computing services carry published rates; security and content delivery products require contacting sales for a price
- They diverge on capability: Vault covers Secrets management, Akamai covers CDN.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Vault and Akamai actually diverge.
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
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 Vault
- Secrets management
- Encryption
- Authentication
- Authorization
- Audit logging
- API access
- High availability
- Replication
Only in Akamai
- CDN
- DDoS Protection
- Web Application Firewall
- Bot Management
- Image Optimization
- Video Platform
- API Gateway
- Analytics
Both cover
- Cloud deployment
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Vault
- Centrally storing and rotating secrets, API keys and database credentialsnot Akamai
- Issuing short-lived dynamic credentials to applications instead of static passwordsnot Akamai
- Encryption as a service and PKI certificate issuancenot Akamai
Akamai
- Content delivery and web performance through Ion and adaptive media deliverynot Vault
- DDoS protection, bot management and API securitynot Vault
- Running compute, Kubernetes and managed databases on Akamai's cloudnot Vault
- Edge compute with EdgeWorkersnot Vault
- Zero trust access for enterprise applicationsnot Vault
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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
Akamai
- Only the cloud computing services carry published rates; security and content delivery products require contacting sales for a price
- Cloud pricing varies by region across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific rather than being a single rate
Pricing, plan by plan
Vault
Free- Open SourceFree
- Secrets management
- Encryption as a service
- Identity management
- EnterpriseFree
- Advanced features
- Premium support
- Dedicated updates
Akamai
$1000/month- CDN$1000/month
- Content delivery
- Global edge network
- Real-time analytics
- Security Suite$2000/month
- DDoS protection
- WAF
- Bot management
Which should you pick?
Choose Vault if
- You need secrets management.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
- You also want encryption.
Questions people ask
- Is Vault or Akamai better?
- Neither clearly leads. Vault starts at Free and Akamai at $1000/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Vault or Akamai?
- Vault has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Vault and $1000/month for Akamai.
- Does Vault or Akamai run on more platforms?
- Vault runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud. Akamai runs on Web, Api.
- Can I use Vault for free?
- Yes. Vault has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Akamai starts at $1000/month.
- What is Vault best used for?
- Vault is most often used for centrally storing and rotating secrets, api keys and database credentials, issuing short-lived dynamic credentials to applications instead of static passwords, encryption as a service and pki certificate issuance. Of those, centrally storing and rotating secrets, api keys and database credentials and issuing short-lived dynamic credentials to applications instead of static passwords are not what Akamai is typically brought in for.
- What can Vault do that Akamai cannot?
- Vault covers Secrets management, Encryption, Authentication, Authorization. Akamai covers CDN, DDoS Protection, Web Application Firewall, Bot Management. Both handle Cloud deployment.