One-Time Secret vs HashiCorp Vault
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted password managers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
One-Time Secret
Share sensitive credentials with self-destructing links
VS
HashiCorp Vault
Secrets management and data protection for infrastructure
| Feature | One-Time Secret | HashiCorp Vault |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Password Managers | Password Managers |
| License | MIT | BUSL-1.1 |
| Language | Ruby | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,894 | ★ 36,086 |
| First released | 2012 | 2015 |
| Replaces | 1Password, Doppler | AWS Secrets Manager, Azure Key Vault |
Why pick each one
Choose One-Time Secret if…
- Great for one-off credential sharing
- Easy to self-host
Choose HashiCorp Vault if…
- Industry standard for secrets
- Powerful policy engine
Frequently asked questions
Is One-Time Secret or HashiCorp Vault better?
Neither is universally better. HashiCorp Vault has the larger community, while One-Time Secret is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are One-Time Secret and HashiCorp Vault free and open-source?
Yes. One-Time Secret is licensed under MIT and HashiCorp Vault under BUSL-1.1. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run One-Time Secret and HashiCorp Vault with Docker?
One-Time Secret: yes. HashiCorp Vault: yes.