--- title: "Infisical vs. Azure Key Vault" description: "How Infisical and Azure Key Vault differ on vault sprawl, secret rotation, dynamic secrets, approvals, and reach beyond Azure, how Key Vault is priced, and how to run both with Infisical syncing into Key Vault." canonical: "https://infisical.com/compare/infisical-vs-azure-key-vault" last-reviewed: "2026-10-13" source-index: https://infisical.com/llms.txt ---

# Infisical vs. Azure Key Vault

Azure Key Vault is where Azure services read secrets, certificates, and keys, but managing them takes a vault per app and environment, rotation code you write, and certificates that renew on their own only from DigiCert or GlobalSign. Infisical manages secrets and certificates in one place on any cloud, with rotation and your own CAs, and syncs them into Key Vault so Azure keeps reading from it.

## What's the difference between Infisical and Azure Key Vault?

Key Vault stores secrets, certificates, and keys on Azure. Infisical automates secrets, key, and certificate management on Azure and everywhere else with fewer workarounds.

| Stage | Infisical | Azure Key Vault |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy/integrate | Use managed cloud, or self-host on Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, AWS ECS, or Google GKE; Sync into Key Vault, including private-endpoint vaults through a gateway | Create a vault for every app, region, and environment; Set up role assignments and network rules on each one |
| Migrate/onboard | Import the secrets from Key Vault; Add secrets from .env files or other stores | Give each new app a managed identity and a role on each of its vaults |
| Control access | Scope roles to environments and folders inside one project; Require approval before a secret changes | Isolate teams with separate vaults; Approve role activations in PIM, not secret changes |
| Operate | See environments, projects, and folders in the dashboard; Run apps locally with secrets injected by the CLI | Switch between vaults to compare environments; Wait for a new role assignment to apply |
| Automate | Rotate secrets automatically; Sync secrets to 40+ destinations, Key Vault included; Renew certificates from your own CAs and sync each one into Key Vault | Write an Azure Function for each rotation and subscribe every vault to it in Event Grid; Script copies to AWS, GCP, and CI yourself; Get certificates from any CA but DigiCert or GlobalSign signed and merged by hand |
| Audit | Search audit logs in the dashboard or stream them to Sentinel, Splunk, or Datadog; Find every certificate on your network in one inventory | Add a diagnostic setting to every vault before anything is logged; See only the certificates stored in each vault |
| Scale | Give workloads on AWS, GCP, Kubernetes, or on-prem their own identities; Manage privileged access, KMS, and AI agent access in the same platform | Give every workload outside Azure an Entra identity and set up federation |

## Infisical vs. Azure Key Vault at a glance

Key Vault holds secrets, certificates, and keys for Azure services. Infisical manages secrets and certificates on Azure and beyond it for any team or environment.

### Platform and deployment

Where each product runs, what it's built on, and what it covers.

| Feature | Infisical | Azure Key Vault |
|---|---|---|
| Open source | MIT-licensed, 29,000+ GitHub stars | No |
| Self-hosting | Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, AWS ECS, or Google GKE | Azure only |
| Managed cloud | US and EU regions | Yes |
| Product scope | Secrets, certificates, privileged access, AI agents, and KMS | Secrets, keys, and certificates |

### Secrets management

Storing credentials like API keys and database passwords, and delivering them to workloads and developer machines.

| Feature | Infisical | Azure Key Vault |
|---|---|---|
| Secret structure | Projects with environments, folders, and references | A flat list per vault. Separate vaults per app, region, and environment |
| Secret rotation | Built in for databases, cloud credentials, and SaaS API keys | An Azure Function you write for each kind of secret |
| Dynamic secrets | Entra ID, Azure SQL, AWS IAM, databases, and more | No |
| Syncs and integrations | 40+ destinations, Key Vault included | Read in place by Azure services |
| Kubernetes | Operator, CSI provider, or agent injector | Secrets Store CSI driver |

### Access and governance

Defining who has what permissions: access requests, approvals, audit logs, etc.

| Feature | Infisical | Azure Key Vault |
|---|---|---|
| Access control | Roles scoped to environments and folders, plus ABAC | Azure RBAC per vault, so teams get separate vaults |
| Workload authentication | Native AWS, GCP, Kubernetes, OIDC, and SPIFFE identities | Entra ID only, federated for workloads outside Azure |
| Approval workflows | Approvals before a secret changes | PIM approves role activation, not secret changes |
| SAML SSO | Yes | Through Entra ID |
| SCIM | Yes | Through Entra ID |
| Audit logs | Searchable, and streams to Sentinel, Splunk, or Datadog | Off until you add diagnostic settings |

### Certificate management

Issuing, finding, renewing, and installing certificates.

| Feature | Infisical | Azure Key Vault |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate product | Full lifecycle management, with your own CAs and others | Stores and renews certificates |
| CAs and enrollment | Private CAs and public ones, over ACME, EST, SCEP, or API | Self-signed, or DigiCert and GlobalSign |
| Discovery and inventory | Finds every certificate on your network | No |
| Renewal, alerts, and syncs | Automatic from any CA, with alerts and syncs into Key Vault | Automatic only through DigiCert or GlobalSign |

### Keys and encryption

Managing keys to encrypt and sign data.

| Feature | Infisical | Azure Key Vault |
|---|---|---|
| Key management | Encryption and signing keys in one KMS | Software and HSM-backed keys, plus Managed HSM |
| KMIP | Yes | Key Vault REST API and SDKs |

### AI agents

Keeping credentials out of AI agents and controlling what they can reach.

| Feature | Infisical | Azure Key Vault |
|---|---|---|
| Agent security product | Agent Vault, plus agent access in PAM | None in Key Vault |
| Credentials kept from the agent | A proxy adds the real credential to each call | Agents hold the secrets they read and their Entra tokens |
| Agent access to infrastructure | Databases, servers, and clusters, with approvals and session recording | Azure RBAC roles on an Entra agent identity |

## Use Azure Key Vault and Infisical together

Keep Key Vault where Azure reads it, and manage what goes into it in Infisical.

**Secrets sync in.** Edit, review, and rotate secrets in Infisical, with syncs into Key Vault so App Service, Functions, and AKS keep reading as they used to.

**Certificates sync in.** Issue certificates from private or public CAs and renew them automatically. Infisical syncs each renewal into Key Vault, where Application Gateway, App Service, and Front Door pick it up.

## Frequently asked questions

### Should I use Infisical or Azure Key Vault?

On Azure, you can use both. Azure services read secrets, certificates, and keys from Key Vault. Infisical offers secrets management and certificate management products that can sync into Key Vault. This gives teams the native connection between Key Vault and Azure services as well as the upsides of Infisical, with every environment in one place, rotation and dynamic secrets out of the box, certificates from your own CAs, and access for workloads on any cloud.

### How much does Azure Key Vault cost?

Azure Key Vault bills per use: a charge per 10,000 operations, a monthly fee for each HSM-protected key, a charge for each certificate renewal, and an hourly rate for Managed HSM. The larger cost is usually the work around it: the vaults, Azure Functions, Event Grid subscriptions, and role assignments a team builds and maintains to manage secrets across apps, regions, and environments. Infisical works out of the box and has a free tier.

### Can Azure Key Vault rotate secrets automatically?

Key Vault can rotate keys and renew some certificates, but rotating a secret takes an Azure Function you need to write, deploy, and maintain. Infisical rotates Azure client secrets, database passwords, AWS IAM credentials, and more out of the box, and syncs each new value into Key Vault.

### Can Azure Key Vault issue private certificates?

Key Vault only stores and renews its own certificates or those from DigiCert or GlobalSign. It is not a certificate authority. A certificate from your own CA requires a signing request in Key Vault, getting it signed, and merging it back for every renewal. Infisical runs private CAs, issues over ACME, EST, SCEP, or API, renews automatically, and syncs each certificate into Key Vault.

### How many key vaults do I need?

Microsoft recommends one key vault per application, region, and environment, so a few apps across two regions and three environments quickly sprawl. Infisical keeps each app in one project with separate environments and folders. It syncs into any number of key vaults.

### Does Azure Key Vault work with AWS or Google Cloud?

Workloads outside Azure can read from Key Vault with a Microsoft Entra identity through workload identity federation or a service principal. Syncing Key Vault with AWS Secrets Manager or GCP Secret Manager requires manually building the glue between the services. Infisical authenticates AWS, GCP, Kubernetes, and OIDC workloads natively and syncs secrets to 40+ destinations, AWS, GCP, and Key Vault included.

### Can Azure Key Vault secure AI agents?

Key Vault has no feature to secure AI agents. An agent reading from a vault holds the credential and could leak it. Microsoft offers Entra Agent ID, which gives agents an identity. Infisical Agent Vault uses a credential brokering approach to give agents access to services without holding credentials. For databases, servers, and clusters, Infisical PAM gives agents the same roles, approvals, and session recording as people.

### Is Infisical open source?

Yes. Infisical's core is MIT-licensed and can be self-hosted on Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, AWS, or GCP, or used as Infisical Cloud. Azure Key Vault is a Microsoft service that runs only in Azure.

## Start managing secrets, then add certificates, privileged access, KMS, or agent access.

- **[Secrets Management](https://infisical.com/platform/secrets-management)**: Store, rotate, and deliver secrets.
- **[Certificate Management](https://infisical.com/platform/certificate-management)**: Issue, renew, and track every certificate.
- **[Privileged Access Management](https://infisical.com/platform/pam)**: Time-bound access without shared credentials.
- **[KMS](https://infisical.com/docs/documentation/platform/kms/overview)**: Encrypt and sign data through an API.
- **[Agent Vault](https://infisical.com/platform/agent-vault)**: Give AI agents access without handing them credentials.

## How to migrate from Azure Key Vault to Infisical

Most teams keep Key Vault in place for Azure and move secret management to Infisical one app at a time.

1. **Connect Key Vault.** Add an Azure Key Vault connection in Infisical, with a gateway for private-endpoint vaults.
2. **Import one app.** Create a sync for a first, non-critical app and import the secrets its vaults already hold.
3. **Manage it in Infisical.** Edit and rotate the app's secrets in Infisical. The sync keeps its vaults current, so the app doesn't change.
4. **Repeat for every app.** Bring the other apps over the same way. Workloads outside Azure read from Infisical directly.

Our team can help you plan and run the migration: [talk to an expert](https://infisical.com/talk-to-us).

## Get started

- Start free: https://app.infisical.com/signup
- Talk to an expert: https://infisical.com/talk-to-us
- All comparisons: https://infisical.com/compare.md