Softwr

Cloud · head to head

Vault vs Zipkin

Vault logo

Vault

Cloud

Manage Secrets and Protect Sensitive Data

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zipkin logo

Zipkin

Cloud

Distributed tracing system for microservice latency

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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; Zipkin less active development and smaller community momentum than Jaeger
  • They diverge on capability: Vault covers Secrets management, Zipkin covers Trace collection and search.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Vault and Zipkin actually diverge.

Attributes where Vault and Zipkin differ
AttributeVaultZipkin
Pricing modelopen-sourceOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsLinux, Windows, Mac, CloudLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted
Founded2015Unknown

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 Vault

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

Only in Zipkin

  • Trace collection and search
  • Dependency diagram
  • Simple deployment
  • Pluggable storage

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 Zipkin
  • Issuing short-lived dynamic credentials to applications instead of static passwordsnot Zipkin
  • Encryption as a service and PKI certificate issuancenot Zipkin

Zipkin

  • Adding distributed tracing quickly without standing up heavy infrastructurenot Vault
  • Java and Spring Boot estates, where instrumentation support is long-establishednot Vault
  • Small deployments where Jaeger is more than the problem requiresnot 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

Zipkin

  • Less active development and smaller community momentum than Jaeger
  • Fewer features: sampling, storage options and UI are all more limited
  • The interface is dated and slower to work with on large trace volumes
  • Tracing alone still leaves metrics and logs in separate tools during an incident

Pricing, plan by plan

Vault

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

Zipkin

Free
  • ZipkinFree
    • Full functionality
    • No usage limits
    • Community support

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.
Vault review

Choose Zipkin if

  • You need trace collection and search.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
  • You also want dependency diagram.
Zipkin review

Questions people ask

Is Vault or Zipkin better?
Neither clearly leads. Vault starts at Free and Zipkin at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Vault or Zipkin?
Vault starts at Free and Zipkin at Free.
Does Vault or Zipkin run on more platforms?
Vault runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud. Zipkin runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
Can I use Vault for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 Zipkin is typically brought in for.
What can Vault do that Zipkin cannot?
Vault covers Secrets management, Encryption, Authentication, Authorization. Zipkin covers Trace collection and search, Dependency diagram, Simple deployment, Pluggable storage.

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
Zipkin: Is Zipkin free?

Yes, open source with no licence fee.

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
Zipkin: Zipkin or Jaeger?

Jaeger has more momentum, more features and CNCF backing. Zipkin is lighter and quicker to stand up, and remains well supported in the Java and Spring ecosystem.

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
Zipkin: Does Zipkin work with OpenTelemetry?

Yes. OpenTelemetry can export to Zipkin, which is now the usual way to instrument for it.

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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