Akeyless vs. CyberArk

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.

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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.