AWS Secrets Manager vs Bitwarden comparison

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AWS Secrets Manager

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 16, 2024

AWS Secrets Manager and Bitwarden compete in managing sensitive data. AWS Secrets Manager has the edge in support and pricing, while Bitwarden is valued for its comprehensive features and open-source transparency.

Features: AWS Secrets Manager offers automatic rotation, integration with AWS services, and access control. Bitwarden is open-source, supports multiple client applications, and features advanced password management with cross-platform compatibility.

Room for Improvement: AWS Secrets Manager could improve in cross-platform support, ease of use for non-AWS users, and cost for small businesses. Bitwarden may enhance enterprise-level integration, more robust customer support, and feature expansion for secret management beyond passwords.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: AWS Secrets Manager integrates easily within AWS, offering substantial support for AWS environments. Bitwarden provides flexible deployment across platforms and caters to both personal and enterprise needs.

Pricing and ROI: AWS Secrets Manager may have higher initial costs due to AWS service integration, but offers long-term value for large-scale AWS setups. Bitwarden presents a low-cost entry point, with adaptable pricing for individuals and small businesses, especially appealing due to its open-source model.

To learn more, read our detailed AWS Secrets Manager vs. Bitwarden Report (Updated: July 2025).

AWS Secrets Manager vs. Bitwarden

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Helped 864,053 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

AWS Secrets Manager

Ranking in Enterprise Password Managers

3rd

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Bitwarden

Ranking in Enterprise Password Managers

6th

Average Rating

9.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Enterprise Password Managers category, the mindshare of AWS Secrets Manager is 17.2%, down from 21.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Bitwarden is 7.1%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Enterprise Password Managers

Featured Reviews

Mahadev Metre

DevOps Engineer at Paydoh

Consistent security and efficiency improvements optimize IT infrastructure with effective management

When creating AWS Secrets Manager, it should be automated using tools such as Terraform, Puppet, or Ansible. With Terraform code, you specify the encryption key, secret name, rotation policy, and secret replication. Human error occurs when feeding secret values manually, especially with large amounts of secrets to input. Secrets should never be protected only by IAM. They should be protected by multiple layers, such as IAM and one or two KMS keys. Additional security measures could be beneficial if necessary. The rotation policy is crucial because some secrets may become obsolete, require updates, or get compromised. With a weekly rotation policy, if unauthorized access occurs, the exposure is limited to seven days. The rotation policy can be customized according to needs.

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Alex Maftei

Head of Information Technology at AllX Technologies

An affordable and easy-to-use tool that enables users to save all their passwords in one place

We also use 1Password. 1Password is available like a small window. We can just load it up. It is really fast. 1Password has enterprise features and a lot more visibility and control for admins to secure things a bit more. I have also used LastPass and NordPass. I lost trust in LastPass after we had multiple breaches, so I didn't want to keep my passwords in there. NordPass was limited. It was so hard to use. We could have only one device in sync with the free account. We could not use the platform manager on more than one device at the same time. I chose Bitwarden because I really enjoyed the idea of having the option to store my passwords and information there. I don't have to rely on any other tool.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The most valuable feature of AWS Secrets Manager is the ability to keep data secret and assign access permissions to people to grant or restrict access."

"The API is fine and works well."

"The most valuable feature is the management of credentials."

"I would highly recommend AWS Secrets Manager for secret management in AWS."

"The most valuable feature is security."

"All our workloads are running on AWS, so integration with our workload is much easier on AWS Secrets Manager than going with another solution such as Thycotic."

"Integrating with other services was straightforward, especially within the AWS environment."

"Secrets Manager helps in retrieving the enrollment variables used by the code."

More AWS Secrets Manager pros

"In our organization, we use Bitwarden for managing product credentials. Bitwarden's collection feature enables us to securely create and store credentials, and we can easily provide team members with access to the relevant collections."

"I've found something else that is extremely valuable. Bitwarden refers to it as "emergency access". It's essentially a digital legacy where you can assign approved users who can request access. If you don't decline within a certain timeframe, they can access it in case you're incapacitated or deceased. When I last checked, only a few services offered this feature. Bitwarden had the simplest and best implementation."

"The product has a very friendly community."

"The customer service and support are good. The technician is on time and the follow-up is amazing."

"Its integration capabilities and versatility, like the ability to securely save passwords and other critical information, make it incredibly useful."

"It is open source and the premium package is reasonable."

"Having all the passwords in one place is helpful."

Cons

"It would be good if the AWS Secrets Manager were more customizable."

"If you don't have enterprise support, then you will not be able to get through to them to get the help. It is not only applicable to AWS Secrets Manager. It is also applicable to any service on AWS."

"The price of the solution could improve."

"There is a need for better environmental implementation, such as having a security fund as a solution."

"An area for improvement in AWS Secrets Manager could be expanding integration options beyond AWS services."

"The sidecar feature has room for improvement."

"The solution's initial setup process is complicated."

"If you add one more layer of security to AWS Secrets Manager, even the programmer will not be able to see the secrets."

More AWS Secrets Manager cons

"The solution should be made more secure as it has the banking sector and assets saved."

"Enhancing the tool by including additional security variables would be a valuable improvement."

"I would like to log in with a master account using a passkey, that would be easy."

"The product could be cheaper."

"I often use another password manager as well to keep my passwords separate, ensuring redundancy. But one simple thing Bitwarden could improve is providing an option to duplicate credentials. Often, you're creating many sets of credentials for the same thing. If they all have the same information, notes, login, collection, and naming - all you're changing is the password. The ability to duplicate credential records quickly would be a big win. It doesn't do that right now."

"The product must be a bit more unified and refined."

"It would be ideal if the application could be seamlessly integrated into our open-source software, especially for the purpose of enabling straightforward logging."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost is somewhat high."

"We purchase a monthly license for the product."

"I don't believe there is a license cost for the solution."

"We've observed that AWS Secrets Manager pricing is based on a per-secret-per-month model. As a result, we prefer to divide our secrets into individual pieces to increase security and grant specific access permissions to certain secrets, systems, or individuals. However, this approach results in higher costs. Therefore, we have been exploring ways to combine our secrets into groups to reduce expenses and simplify management. Nonetheless, we acknowledge that this issue may not be related to the secret manager's functionality."

"The solution is expensive."

"The product is not costly. I pay $10 per month."

"I use a free version and it works well for me."

"The solution is reasonably priced."

"It is an open-source tool."

"In our region, it comes at an affordable price."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

13%

Healthcare Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

Which is better - Azure Key Vault or AWS Secrets Manager?

Azure Key Vault is a SaaS solution. You can easily store passwords and secrets securely and encrypt them. Azure Key Vault is a great solution to ensure you are compliant with security and governanc...

Which is better - HashiCorp Vault or AWS Secrets Manager?

HashiCorp Vault was designed with your needs in mind. One of the features that makes this evident is its ability to work as both a cloud-agnostic and a multi-cloud solution. As a cloud-agnostic sol...

What do you like most about AWS Secrets Manager?

The most valuable feature of AWS Secrets Manager is its seamless integration with various AWS services.

What do you like most about Bitwarden?

I've found something else that is extremely valuable. Bitwarden refers to it as "emergency access". It's essentially a digital legacy where you can assign approved users who can request access. If ...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Bitwarden?

The product is not costly. I pay $10 per month. I use the basic plan, so I don't need the higher plan with more compliance features.

What needs improvement with Bitwarden?

The functionality to fully utilize passkeys could be improved. The last time I spoke to support, they said the development team was working on it. So far, it's working okay on my personal devices. ...

Azure Key Vault vs AWS Secrets Manager

Comparisons

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Compared 9% of the time

1Password Business vs AWS Secrets Manager

Compared 7% of the time

Delinea Secret Server vs AWS Secrets Manager

Compared 4% of the time

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager vs AWS Secrets Manager

Compared 3% of the time

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Compared 40% of the time

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager vs Bitwarden

Compared 17% of the time

Azure Key Vault vs Bitwarden

Compared 15% of the time

IronVest vs Bitwarden

Compared 5% of the time

BeyondTrust Password Safe vs Bitwarden

Compared 3% of the time

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Product Reports

Enterprise Password Managers

Download AWS Secrets Manager product report

Download Bitwarden product report

Overview

AWS Secrets Manager helps you protect secrets needed to access your applications, services, and IT resources. The service enables you to easily rotate, manage, and retrieve database credentials, API keys, and other secrets throughout their lifecycle.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Bitwarden stands out with its open-source platform and cost-effective premium options, offering password suggestions and alerts, secure sharing via the "send" feature, and reliable performance. Its digital legacy management through emergency access is unmatched at its price.

Bitwarden provides an open-source platform suitable for individual and team password management. Users benefit from password suggestions and alerts, secure sharing, and constant performance reliability. Emergency access sets Bitwarden apart by allowing digital legacy management. The mobile app offers quick password autofill and vault health reports, enhancing usability. Challenges include improving security features, better integration of automated functions, and reducing costs relative to competitors. Users value the open-source nature, cross-platform compatibility, and self-hosting capabilities, which ensure portability and permissions management.

What are Bitwarden's Key Features?

Open-Source Platform: Ensures transparency and flexibility.
Emergency Access: Provides digital legacy management.
Password Suggestions and Alerts: Enhances password security.
Secure Sharing: Allows safe information exchange.
Mobile App Usability: Offers quick password autofill.

What Benefits Should Users Look for in Reviews?

Reliability: Consistent performance across devices.
Cost-Effectiveness: Competitive pricing for the features offered.
Cross-Platform Compatibility: Operates on multiple devices and systems.
Flexibility with Self-Hosting: Control over data storage and management.
Digital Legacy Management: Provides access to accounts in emergencies.

In industries where data security is crucial, Bitwarden's open-source platform is favored for managing sensitive credentials, allowing secure information sharing among team members. Its compatibility with different platforms and self-hosting options provides the flexibility and control needed to maintain data security without vendor lock-in.

Sample Customers

Autodesk, Clevy, Stackery

Information Not Available

AWS Secrets Manager vs. Bitwarden