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Akeyless vs AWS KMS

How Akeyless and AWS KMS differ on scope, key custody, deployment and cost.

	Akeyless	AWS KMS
Type	SaaS vault	Cloud KMS
Scope	Secrets, keys, PKI, PAM	Encryption keys
Deployment	SaaS + hybrid gateway	SaaS (AWS)
Key custody	Distributed Fragments Cryptography — no single complete key exists	FIPS 140-3 Level 3 validated HSMs
How it works	Key material is split into fragments held in separate places and never assembled, so operations happen without a whole key existing anywhere — including on Akeyless infrastructure. Delivered as SaaS with an optional on-premise gateway, which removes the cluster you would otherwise run.	Keys never leave the service — you call it to encrypt and decrypt rather than fetching key material. Envelope encryption is the normal pattern: KMS protects a data key, the data key protects your data. Every AWS service integrates natively, which is most of the value.
Pricing*	Free tier; enterprise by quote	$1/key/mo + $0.03 per 10k requests
Free tier	Yes	Yes
Licence	—	—
Best for	Vault capability without running Vault	Anything already running on AWS

Akeyless

No cluster to operate or upgrade
Fragment architecture is a real answer to vendor trust
Usable free tier, not just a trial

Proprietary — you cannot inspect the core
Smaller community than Vault

AWS KMS

Integrated with essentially every AWS service
Key material never leaves the HSM boundary
Trivially cheap at small and moderate scale

Manages keys, not application secrets
Costs climb with request volume, not key count

Bottom line

Choose Akeyless for vault capability without running vault. Choose AWS KMS for anything already running on aws.

* Published list pricing (vendor pricing pages, August 2026).