These terms get used interchangeably, but they solve different problems. Here's when you need each — and when one tool genuinely does both.
| Secrets Manager | Password Manager | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary use case | Machine-to-machine authentication — API keys, database credentials, service tokens injected into applications at runtime | Human-to-application authentication — usernames, passwords, TOTP seeds for services people log into |
| Who (or what) accesses it | Automated systems: CI/CD pipelines, microservices, Lambda functions, Kubernetes pods | People: developers, engineers, contractors, support staff |
| Access pattern | Programmatic API calls, environment variable injection, sidecar containers, vault agent | Web UI, browser extension, mobile app — human reads and copies |
| Rotation | Automated rotation with zero downtime — the system fetches the new secret without human involvement | Manual rotation — a person updates the value, notifies the team |
| Examples | AWS Secrets Manager, HashiCorp Vault, Doppler, Infisical | Bitwarden, 1Password, LastPass, SealedKeys |
Some credentials don't fit neatly into either category. Here's how to think about them.
Either — an API key used by a developer to call the Stripe API from their laptop fits a password manager
Either — personal SSH keys fit a password manager; deployment keys injected into servers fit a secrets manager
Secrets manager — apps need programmatic access with rotation
Password manager — humans logging into services
Password manager — humans sharing access to services
SealedKeys is primarily a team password manager — designed for humans sharing credentials, with an encrypted UI, SAML SSO, access control and audit logs. It handles the types of secrets technical teams need day-to-day: website logins, API keys, SSH keys, TOTP seeds and secure notes. It is not a secrets manager in the HashiCorp Vault sense — it does not inject secrets into applications at runtime.
Possibly both. If your applications need to fetch secrets programmatically at runtime — database credentials, service-to-service tokens — you need a secrets manager like HashiCorp Vault, AWS Secrets Manager or Doppler. If your team also needs to share credentials as humans (portal logins, shared API keys, SSH keys), SealedKeys handles that layer separately. Many teams use both.
Not directly — SealedKeys doesn't have a CLI or API for programmatic secret injection. It's a web-based vault for humans. You can use SealedKeys to store and manage the credentials that get configured into your CI/CD tool's secret store, but the injection mechanism is your CI/CD platform (GitHub Actions secrets, GitLab CI/CD variables, etc.).
Vault is often used generically to mean any secure storage for secrets — both password managers and secrets managers are sometimes called vaults. In the HashiCorp Vault sense, a vault is a secrets management platform for programmatic secret injection with dynamic secrets and automated rotation. SealedKeys is a vault in the password manager sense: a human-accessible encrypted store with a UI, sharing and access control.
For early-stage teams and SMEs, a password manager that handles SSH keys, API keys and team credential sharing often covers 90% of the need without the operational complexity of running HashiCorp Vault or paying for AWS Secrets Manager. As you scale and need programmatic injection, automated rotation and dynamic credentials, add a dedicated secrets manager for that layer.
SealedKeys handles the credentials your team uses as humans. Free to start — 25 items, no credit card.