AWS Secrets Manager vs CipherStash Stash: Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)
Features, pricing, ratings, and pros & cons — compared head-to-head.
AWS Secrets Manager is a free key management tool. CipherStash Stash is a commercial key management tool by CipherStash. Compare features, ratings, integrations, and community reviews side by side to find the best key management fit for your security stack.
CST VerdictBased on our analysis of NIST CSF 2.0 coverage, core features, integrations, company size fit, here is our conclusion:
AWS teams that need secrets rotation without a separate vendor will find AWS Secrets Manager operationally simpler than standalone KMS tools, since it handles both storage and automated rotation in one service. The free tier covers most non-enterprise use cases, and native IAM integration means no separate identity layer to manage. Skip this if you need hardware security modules or are locked into a non-AWS environment; Secrets Manager prioritizes convenience over portability, and its rotation logic is AWS-specific enough that migrations are painful.
Startups and SMBs managing TypeScript services need CipherStash Stash because its zero-knowledge architecture means the vendor literally cannot access your secrets, plaintext, or decryption keys, even under compulsion. The cryptographic audit trail creates immutable proof of every access event, addressing both PR.AA and PR.DS in NIST CSF 2.0 simultaneously. Skip this if your team runs primarily Python or Go; the SDK strength is decidedly TypeScript-first, and retrofitting other languages adds friction that larger, language-agnostic competitors don't impose.
