HashiCorp Vault — Free Open Source for Startups

Deal Highlights

HashiCorp Vault — Secrets Management for Secure Infrastructure

HashiCorp Vault is the industry standard for managing secrets — API keys, database credentials, certificates, and encryption keys. Instead of storing secrets in environment variables or config files, Vault provides centralized, audited, and dynamically generated secret management.

Beyond Environment Variables

Secrets in .env files are static, unaudited, and shared via Slack. Vault provides dynamic secrets (generated on demand), automatic rotation, access policies, and a complete audit log of who accessed what and when.

Dynamic Secrets

Vault generates database credentials on demand — each application gets unique credentials that expire automatically. If one set is compromised, only that session is affected. No shared passwords across environments.

Encryption as a Service

Vault encrypts and decrypts data without exposing encryption keys to your application. Your app sends plaintext, Vault returns ciphertext. Keys never leave Vault — not even your developers see them.

Vault vs AWS Secrets Manager

AWS Secrets Manager is simpler but locked to AWS. Vault is cloud-agnostic with more features — dynamic secrets, encryption as a service, and PKI management. Secrets Manager for simple AWS-only needs. Vault for comprehensive secret management.

Pricing

Open source is free. HCP Vault (managed) starts at $0.03/hour.

Who Is This Deal For?

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about this startup deal.