Free Secrets Managers
Which secrets management tools a startup team can keep API keys and environment variables in for free today, how many users, projects or secrets the free plan covers, whether it can be self-hosted, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs, read from each provider's own page.
Free allowances read on each provider's own pages, all checked on or after . Secrets managers change their free plans from time to time: confirm the terms on the provider's page before you move production keys there.
Secrets managers a startup can use for free today include Doppler (Free for up to 3 users), OpenBao (Open source, OSI-approved license), Infisical (5 identities, unlimited projects), Bitwarden Secrets Manager (Unlimited secret storage), and Phase (Free: 5 users or service accounts). Each of the 9 free plans below links to the provider's page that states it, with its main limit, whether it can be self-hosted, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs.
API keys and environment variables end up in chat messages and .env files passed between laptops. A secrets manager keeps them in one place, syncs them to every environment and records who used what. Most have a free plan for a small team.
The headline rarely tells you how far it goes. A free plan can cap users or machine identities, projects, environments or secret reads, or keep audit logs for paid plans. Each tool below shows what is free, its main limit, whether it can be self-hosted, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs, quoted from the provider's own page with the date we read it.
Which managers we picked and the order they appear in are our editorial choices; the terms are the providers'. Some of these providers pay us a referral commission when someone signs up through our link: those links are labeled, and they play no part in which managers are listed or where.
Hosted secrets managers with a free plan
Store and sync API keys and environment variables, with a free plan for a small team.
- 1
Doppler
Solo developers and small teams of up to 3 users
Doppler's Developer plan is free for up to 3 users and 10 projects. The first paid plan, Team, is $21 a month per user.
- What's free
- Free for up to 3 users (source: doppler.com)
- First paid plan
- Team: $21/mo per user (source: doppler.com)
- 2
Infisical
Small teams starting with five identities
Infisical's Free plan includes 5 identities with unlimited projects. The 5 identities apply only to Free, and Pro bills each identity once you upgrade.
- First paid plan
- Pro: billed per identity (source: infisical.com)
Start free at InfisicalTerms read on infisical.com on Infisical: the free allowance and how to start - 3
Bitwarden Secrets Manager
Two-person teams with a few machine accounts
Bitwarden's Secrets Manager Free plan offers unlimited secret storage for up to 2 users, 3 projects and 3 machine accounts. Teams plans start at $6 per user a month.
- First paid plan
- Teams: from $6 per user a month (source: bitwarden.com)
Start free at BitwardenTerms read on bitwarden.com on Bitwarden Secrets Manager: the free allowance and how to start - 4
Phase
Small teams and AI agents that want a free cloud vault
Phase's free cloud plan covers up to 5 users or service accounts, 3 apps and 3 environments. The same platform is free and open source to self-host, and Pro is $10 a month per user.
- First paid plan
- Pro: $10 / month / user (source: phase.dev)
- 5
Akeyless
Teams that want a free SaaS vault for 500 static secrets
Akeyless's Free plan includes 500 static secrets and 5 clients, with one gateway cluster. Enterprise is quoted on request, and the pricing page shows no price.
- Main limit
- 1 gateway cluster (source: akeyless.io)
- 6
Pulumi ESC
Solo developers and small projects with up to 25 secrets
Pulumi's free plan costs nothing and needs no credit card, and it includes 25 secrets in Pulumi ESC. The first paid plan, Essentials, is $40 a month.
- What's free
- Free plan at no cost (source: pulumi.com)
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: pulumi.com)
- First paid plan
- Essentials: $40 a month (source: pulumi.com)
- 7
Google Cloud Secret Manager
Teams already running on Google Cloud
Secret Manager is part of the Google Cloud Free Tier, with 6 active secret versions and 10,000 access operations free each month. Usage past those limits costs $0.03 per 10,000 operations.
Start free at Google CloudTerms read on cloud.google.com on Google Cloud Secret Manager: the free allowance and how to start - 8
AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store
Teams on AWS that store config and secret values
Standard parameters in Parameter Store are available at no additional charge. Advanced parameters cost $0.05 per advanced parameter per month.
Start free at Amazon Web ServicesTerms read on aws.amazon.com on AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store: the free allowance and how to start
Open-source secrets managers you can self-host
Free to run on your own infrastructure.
- 1
OpenBao
Teams that want to run a Vault fork themselves
OpenBao is an open source secrets manager under an OSI-approved license, so you run it on your own infrastructure. It is a fork of Vault managed by the Linux Foundation's OpenSSF.
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How this comparison is built
The list covers secrets management tools a founder can use for free today without applying to a program. The order and the "best for" notes are our editorial reading of each manager's terms. Every term comes from the manager's own pricing or help page on the date shown, never from a third-party list; follow each link for the full conditions. A cap on users, projects or environments, or audit logs kept for paid plans, can matter more than the headline, so the comparison quotes them wherever the provider states them. Some of these managers pay StartupPerks a referral commission, and their links are labeled as referral links; that decides neither whether nor where a manager appears, and no manager pays for a placement on this page.
Read the full methodologyCommon questions
What is the best free secrets manager?
It depends on your team. By the terms each provider states, Doppler is free for up to 3 users, Infisical's free plan includes 5 identities with unlimited projects, Phase's 5 users or service accounts, Bitwarden Secrets Manager unlimited secret storage for 2 users, and Akeyless 500 static secrets.
Is Doppler free?
Yes. Doppler's Developer plan is free for up to 3 users and 10 projects. Team costs $21 a month per user.
Is Infisical free?
Infisical's free plan includes 5 identities and unlimited projects; Pro is billed per identity.
Do cloud providers include a free secrets manager?
Google Cloud Secret Manager is always free for 6 secret versions and 10K accesses a month, and AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store stores standard parameters at no charge.
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