OpenBao vs VMware Secrets Manager
OpenBao
openbao.orgVMware Secrets Manager
vsecm.comSide by side
| Figure | OpenBao | VMware Secrets Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Secrets Management Tools | 8.0 (#12) | 8.0 (#15) |
| Encryption | OpenBao can encrypt and decrypt data without storing it, using centrally defined encryption parameters. | The production documentation says VSecM Safe encrypts secrets using age, or AES-256-GCM in FIPS-compliant environments. |
| Security | OpenBao's security barrier encrypts data sent to storage with AES-256-GCM and verifies the authentication tag when decrypting. | Plaintext secrets are held in memory, while data VSecM saves to disk is encrypted. |
Plans
In their own words
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.
VMware Secrets Manager
VMware Secrets Manager has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.