What is AWS Secrets Manager used for?

AWS Secrets Manager is a managed AWS service for storing, rotating and retrieving database credentials, API keys and other secrets throughout their lifecycle. It is a good fit for rotating database passwords for AWS workloads and keeping API keys out of application code.

How much does AWS Secrets Manager cost?

AWS Secrets Manager is a paid product with no free plan. A free trial is available. Pay as you go with no upfront cost: $0.40 per secret per month plus $0.05 per 10,000 API calls. New AWS customers get Free Tier credits.

Is AWS Secrets Manager open source?

No. AWS Secrets Manager is proprietary (closed-source) software and can't be self-hosted. Open-source alternatives to AWS Secrets Manager include Infisical and OpenBao.

What are some alternatives to AWS Secrets Manager?

AWS Secrets Manager competes with Azure Key Vault, Google Secret Manager and Doppler. For open-source options, see Enlisted's ranked list of open-source AWS Secrets Manager alternatives.

AWS Secrets Manager: features, pricing and alternatives

About AWS Secrets Manager

AWS Secrets Manager is a managed service from Amazon Web Services that keeps sensitive values such as database credentials, API keys and tokens out of application code. Applications fetch secrets at runtime through the AWS API, which lets teams change them without redeploying software. It is intended for organizations that already run workloads on AWS.

The service handles the whole lifecycle of a secret: creating and storing it, controlling who and what can read it, and rotating it on a schedule. Because it is part of AWS, it works with the platform's identity and access controls and is billed as part of an AWS account.

AWS Secrets Manager is proprietary and runs only as a hosted AWS service, so there is no self-hosted edition. Pricing is usage-based and covered on the service's pricing page, and the broader AWS site provides documentation and support options.

Key features

Central storage for secrets
Scheduled rotation of credentials
Runtime retrieval through the AWS API
Access controlled by AWS permissions
Support for database credentials and API keys

Good fit for

→Rotating database passwords for AWS workloads
→Keeping API keys out of application code

Tags: secrets-management; aws; security; credential-rotation; cloud; devops

AWS Secrets Manager: questions and answers

What is AWS Secrets Manager used for?: AWS Secrets Manager is a managed AWS service for storing, rotating and retrieving database credentials, API keys and other secrets throughout their lifecycle. It is a good fit for rotating database passwords for AWS workloads and keeping API keys out of application code.
How much does AWS Secrets Manager cost?: AWS Secrets Manager is a paid product with no free plan. A free trial is available. Pay as you go with no upfront cost: $0.40 per secret per month plus $0.05 per 10,000 API calls. New AWS customers get Free Tier credits.
Is AWS Secrets Manager open source?: No. AWS Secrets Manager is proprietary (closed-source) software and can't be self-hosted. Open-source alternatives to AWS Secrets Manager include Infisical and OpenBao.
What are some alternatives to AWS Secrets Manager?: AWS Secrets Manager competes with Azure Key Vault, Google Secret Manager and Doppler. For open-source options, see Enlisted's ranked list of open-source AWS Secrets Manager alternatives.