AWS Secrets Manager vs OpenBao
AWS Secrets Manager
aws.amazon.com
OpenBao
openbao.orgSide by side
| Figure | AWS Secrets Manager | OpenBao |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $0.40/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 1 |
| Spec score · Secrets Management Tools | 8.5 (#3) | 8.0 (#12) |
| Encryption | Secrets Manager encrypts secrets at rest with AWS Key Management Service keys and transmits retrieved secrets over TLS. | OpenBao can encrypt and decrypt data without storing it, using centrally defined encryption parameters. |
| Founded | 2006 | 2023 |
| Integrations | Listed AWS integrations include Amazon RDS, Amazon Redshift, Amazon DocumentDB, Amazon MSK, Amazon SageMaker, AWS CodeBuild, and AWS Transfer Family. | The project lists integrations including Sigstore for artifact signing, StackHPC for OpenStack, and Percona for database encryption key management. |
Plans
In their own words
AWS Secrets Manager
AWS Secrets Manager has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
OpenBao
OpenBao is a free, open-source system for storing and controlling access to secrets such as API tokens, encryption keys, passwords, and certificates. Management is available through a web UI, CLI, or HTTP API. Key/value secrets are encrypted before persistent storage, while dynamic credentials can be generated for Kubernetes and SQL databases and revoked when leases expire. Leases can be renewed, and individual secrets or groups can be revoked. OpenBao also encrypts and decrypts data without retaining it. Authentication methods include GitHub, LDAP, and AppRole, with token-based policies. Its storage barrier uses AES-256-GCM and verifies authentication tags during decryption. High-availability configurations are supported. Deployment options include packages, containers, binaries, source builds, and Helm; documentation covers Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, and Windows. Releases provide GPG signatures and SBOMs. Integrated Storage defaults to a 1 MiB maximum entry size, configurable with max_entry_size.