Posted by Alon Bar
September 16, 2025
Akeyless offers a modern alternative to traditional Identity Security tools
Enterprises are juggling more identities than ever, human users, applications, DevOps pipelines, containers, AI agents, and machines. Each of these identities needs secure access to secrets, credentials, and keys, yet most security stacks rely on a patchwork of tools to handle them. Secrets management, PAM, certificate management, and key management often live in separate silos, each with its own product, deployment, and interface. This creates complexity, drives up costs, and leaves dangerous blind spots.
CyberArk has long been a well-known name in this space, with products that cover many of these needs. The catch is that they come as separate offerings, each managed and deployed on its own.
Akeyless takes a different approach. It unifies secrets management, access management, key management, and certificate management into a single SaaS platform, built for scale and simplicity. With one control plane and one API, organizations can protect all their identities consistently, machines, AI agents, and humans, no matter where they run.
Secrets Management: Why Choose Akeyless Over CyberArk Conjur
Traditional secrets management solutions are burdened with complexity, maintenance, and scalability issues. On-prem tools require heavy infrastructure, while some SaaS tools raise concerns about data exposure. Akeyless was built to change that. Akeyless delivers a SaaS-based secrets management solution that uses patented cryptographic technology and a Zero-Knowledge model. It protects secrets, credentials, and keys across cloud-native, hybrid, and on-prem environments with agility and compliance, all without giving up control.
Compared to CyberArk Conjur, which remains a separate product within the CyberArk portfolio, Akeyless reduces silos, streamlines operations, and lowers management overhead..
Technical Advantages of Akeyless Secrets Management
Akeyless delivers secrets management as part of its unified identity security SaaS platform for machines, AI agents, and humans. Encryption keys are split using Distributed Fragments Cryptography™ (DFC™), ensuring no one, not even Akeyless, can access customer secrets. It automates rotation, supports dynamic and just-in-time secrets, and integrates with a wide range of databases, cloud services, SaaS platforms, and DevOps tools. This unified model means secrets management is delivered consistently from the same platform and UI that also governs certificates, keys, and access.
CyberArk Conjur offers secrets management too, but with narrower coverage. It mainly focuses on AWS and PostgreSQL, with limited support for other cloud targets and identity providers. It is part of the broader CyberArk product suite but remains a standalone product, separate from CyberArk PAM, which adds complexity and fragments operations for enterprises comparing Akeyless vs. CyberArk.
Why Teams Prefer Akeyless for Secrets Management:
– Wide dynamic secrets coverage across databases, cloud IAM, Kubernetes, and SaaS apps, while Conjur falls short.
– Automated migration from Vault, AWS, GCP, and Azure, whereas CyberArk requires manual export and reconfiguration that slows projects.
– Unified platform: Secrets managed alongside access and PKI, while CyberArk isolates these functions in separate products.
Comparison Table: Akeyless vs. CyberArk Conjur
| Feature | Akeyless Secrets Management Solution | CyberArk Conjur |
| Deployment | SaaS (multi/single tenant), hybrid gateway, Zero-Knowledge | On-prem, Conjur Cloud, more complex onboarding |
| Secrets Rotation | Wide coverage: SSH, databases, cloud IAM, LDAP | Limited (primarily AWS and PostgreSQL) |
| Dynamic Secrets | Broad support (databases, cloud, Kubernetes, SaaS) | Very limited, primarily PostgreSQL and a small set of cloud targets |
| Authentication | OIDC, SAML, AWS IAM, GCP, Azure AD, Oracle IAM, LDAP | Mostly LDAP and basic cloud integrations |
| Authorization | RBAC + ABAC | RBAC only, requires many static roles |
| Migration | Automated from AWS, Azure, GCP, Vault, 1Password | Manual, limited tooling |
| DevOps Integrations | Broad coverage with native CI/CD integrations | Narrow, often requires custom scripts |
| Platform | Unified identity security platform for machines, AI, and humans: secrets management, access, certificates, and keys delivered through one UI and one API | Standalone product, separate from PAM and certificate management |
Modern PAM: Why Choose Akeyless Secure Remote AccessOver CyberArk PAM
Akeyless Secure Remote Access (SRA) is a Modern PAM solution that issues just-in-time, short-lived credentials by default, eliminating standing passwords and SSH keys. Engineers can connect with their native tools or a web portal, while the solution records sessions, enforces policies, and integrates with SSO. As a SaaS solution, it delivers 99.99% availability without requiring customers to manage HA clusters. And unlike CyberArk, it is part of the same unified Akeyless platform, managed through the same UI and API as secrets and certificates.
CyberArk PAM requires multiple modules to support Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), SSH, web apps, Kubernetes, and CLIs. While it provides privileged access, its model relies heavily on permanent accounts and agent-based setups, which are harder to scale in cloud and DevOps environments. It also operates in a separate silo, forcing customers to manage it separately from Conjur and Venafi.
Why Teams Prefer Akeyless for Secure Remote Access:
– SaaS-native, globally available, and always on, while CyberArk often forces customers to build and maintain HA clusters.
– Native short-lived SSH certificates and ephemeral accounts, compared to CyberArk’s reliance on static keys and permanent accounts.
– Unified platform: Secure Remote Access is delivered from the same platform as secrets and certificates, unlike CyberArk’s fragmented stack.
Comparison Table: Akeyless vs. CyberArk PAM
| Feature | Modern PAM With Akeyless Secure Remote Access | CyberArk PAM |
| Deployment | SaaS, multi-tenant, VPN-less | SaaS (Privilege Cloud) and self-hosted |
| Workload Support | Hybrid, ephemeral, SaaS, DevOps | Servers, databases, SaaS (SWS), Kubernetes (DPA) |
| Identities | JIT short-lived accounts, also rotates legacy creds | Permanent local admin accounts |
| SSH Authentication | Short-lived SSH certs | Static SSH keys |
| Protocols | SSH, RDP, databases, Kubernetes, Web Apps | SSH, RDP, databases |
| User Experience | Native tools + portal | Video-based, less efficient |
| Availability | 99.99% SaaS | Customer-managed HA required |
| Integration | Direct SSO (OIDC, SAML, LDAP) | AD sync/replication |
| Platform | Unified identity security platform for machines, AI, and humans: secrets management, access, certificates, and keys delivered through one UI and one API | Standalone product separate from secrets management and certificate management |
Certificate Lifecycle Management: Why Choose Akeyless Over CyberArk Certificate Manager (formerly Venafi)
Akeyless integrates certificate lifecycle management (CLM) with secrets and key management in one SaaS platform. It automates certificate issuance and renewal across AWS, Azure, and GCP, supports ACME, and secures keys with DFC and FIPS 140-2 Level 3 HSMs. Customers manage certificates and keys from the same console used for secrets and access. This unified experience means CLM is not siloed, but part of a single UI and API for all identity security needs.
Venafi provides certificate discovery and automation, but only as separate modules without a built-in KMS. That means more integrations, more components, and less centralized control. CyberArk customers using Venafi face siloed management across products.
Why Teams Prefer Akeyless for Certificate Lifecycle Management:
– Unified SaaS platform with CLM, secrets, and KMS together, while Venafi and CyberArk require stitching tools together.
– Zero-knowledge key protection, compared to Venafi’s reliance on API keys and modular architecture.
– Single UI and API: Akeyless consolidates certificates, secrets, and access in one place, while CyberArk/Venafi split them across multiple systems.
Comparison Table: Akeyless vs. CyberArk Certificate Manager (Venafi)
| Feature | Akeyless CLM | CyberArk Certificate Manager (Venafi) |
| Certificate Support | Public, Private, Multi-domain, Code Signing | Public, Private, Multi-domain, Code Signing |
| Provisioning & Renewal | Automated (AWS, Azure, GCP) | Automated (AWS, Azure only) |
| Revocation | Supported | Supported |
| ACME Support | ACME v2 built in | Yes |
| Security | Zero-Knowledge, DFC, FIPS 140-2 L3 HSMs | API key-based |
| Built-in KMS | Yes | No |
| Secrets Integration | Native | External required |
| Certificate Discovery | Private, public, cloud scans (Q4 2025) | Private, public, scheduled discovery |
| Platform | Unified SaaS with Secrets + CLM + KMSUnified identity security platform for machines, AI, and humans: secrets management, access, certificates, and keys delivered through one UI and one API | Standalone product separate from PAM and secrets management |
The Akeyless Difference
Akeyless combines secrets management, certificate lifecycle management, key management, password management, and Modern PAM via Secure Remote Access into one SaaS platform. It uniquely unifies the security of machines, AI agents, and humans under a single UI and API. Its Zero-Knowledge design eliminates infrastructure burdens and reduces costs by up to 70 percent. It scales globally with low latency and high availability, supports hybrid and multi-cloud environments, and enables modern identity models such as AI agents and machine identities.
CyberArk’s modular stack forces customers to run and maintain multiple products separately, each with its own interface, creating fragmentation and complexity.
Verdict: Akeyless is the Better Choice
For organizations securing humans, machines, and AI agents across cloud and hybrid environments, Akeyless is the clear choice. Its unified platform delivers secrets management, access, certificates, and keys together through one UI and a single API. It brings together what CyberArk splits across PAM, Conjur, and Venafi, delivering SaaS simplicity and Zero-Knowledge security, while scaling without added overhead. CyberArk may offer familiar features for legacy PAM use cases, but it remains tied to complexity, static credentials, and siloed products. Akeyless is designed for modern infrastructure and future automation needs.
FAQs
What is the difference between Akeyless and CyberArk?
Akeyless is a unified SaaS identity security solution that combines secrets management, secure remote access, and certificate management in one control plane. CyberArk offers these functions as separate products that require individual deployment and management.
Does Akeyless replace CyberArk Conjur?
Yes. Akeyless provides broader secrets management coverage than CyberArk Conjur, with built-in automation, dynamic secrets, and integrations across cloud, SaaS, and DevOps environments.
Can Akeyless replace CyberArk PAM?
Yes. Akeyless Secure Remote Access eliminates static credentials with just-in-time access, short-lived SSH certificates, and SaaS delivery, unlike CyberArk PAM’s reliance on permanent accounts and complex agent-based setups.
How does Akeyless compare to Venafi for certificate management?
Akeyless includes certificate lifecycle management and key management natively in one SaaS solution. Venafi provides similar functions but as separate modules without a built-in KMS, requiring additional integrations.
How does Akeyless secure secrets?
Akeyless uses patented Distributed Fragments Cryptography, so keys never assemble in full. CyberArk cannot offer the same zero-knowledge guarantee.
Does Akeyless support hybrid and multi-cloud?
Yes, Akeyless integrates with AWS, Azure, GCP, and on-prem, scaling automatically. CyberArk requires more manual setup for hybrid environments.
Next Steps
Modernize secrets and identity security with Akeyless. Unify identity security for humans, machines, and AI agents in one cloud-native platform, managed through a single UI and API. Request a demo or start your free trial today.
