Fortilis vs HashiCorp Vault

Vault is the industry standard, but it comes with significant operational complexity. See how Fortilis delivers similar security with 10x easier setup.

TL;DR

Choose Vault if you have a dedicated DevOps team, need dynamic secrets at scale, and require maximum flexibility for complex infrastructure.

Choose Fortilis if you want enterprise-grade security in a desktop app that you can set up in minutes, not weeks. No Kubernetes, no unsealing, no dedicated ops team.

Setup Time Comparison

~5 min

Fortilis

Download, install, create account, start using

Days-Weeks

HashiCorp Vault

Server setup, HA configuration, unsealing, policies, auth methods

Feature Comparison

Feature	Fortilis	HashiCorp Vault
Deployment Model	Desktop app + simple BYOD sync	Server-based (Kubernetes, VMs, bare metal)
Setup Complexity	Download and run - 5 minutes	Significant - requires infrastructure expertise
Operational Overhead	Minimal - runs on your desktop	High - unsealing, HA, monitoring, upgrades
Team Required	None - any developer can use	Dedicated DevOps/Platform team
Works Offline	Yes - full local functionality	Limited - client caching only
Zero-Knowledge	Yes - client-side encryption only	No - server sees decrypted secrets
Dynamic Secrets	Coming soon (on roadmap)	Yes - extensive dynamic secret support
Secret Rotation	Coming soon (on roadmap)	Yes - automatic rotation
PKI/Certificates	Basic certificate storage	Full PKI engine
CLI Tool	Yes - `sk run`	Yes - `vault`
RBAC	4 roles (Owner, Admin, Member, ReadOnly)	Extensive policy system (ACLs)
Audit Logging	Yes - tamper-proof hash chain	Yes - detailed audit logging
License	Open Source (MIT)	BSL (not truly open source since 2023)
Cost	Per-user with volume discounts	Free (BSL) or Enterprise pricing

Vault's Complexity vs Our Simplicity

What Vault Requires

! Deploy Vault server(s) on VMs or Kubernetes
! Configure high availability (HA) with Raft or Consul
! Set up unsealing (manual keys, auto-unseal, HSM)
! Configure authentication backends (LDAP, OIDC, etc.)
! Write and maintain HCL policies
! Monitor, upgrade, and maintain ongoing
! Handle disaster recovery and backups

What Fortilis Requires

1. Download and install the desktop app
2. Create an account with a master password
3. Optionally add a sync backend (connection string)
4. Start managing secrets!
That's it. No servers, no clusters, no unsealing, no policies to write.

Key Differentiators

Fortilis Advantages

+ No Infrastructure: Desktop app with optional BYOD sync. No servers to manage.
+ 5-Minute Setup: Download, install, start using. Period.
+ Zero-Knowledge: True client-side encryption. Your sync backend never sees decrypted data.
+ No Unsealing: No key shares, no manual intervention required.
+ True Open Source: MIT license, not BSL.

Vault Advantages

+ Industry Standard: Proven at massive scale, battle-tested.
+ Dynamic Secrets: Generate ephemeral credentials for databases, clouds, etc.
+ Full PKI: Complete certificate authority capabilities.
+ Granular Policies: Fine-grained access control with HCL policies.
+ Enterprise Support: Paid support and enterprise features available.

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose Fortilis If...

You don't have a dedicated DevOps team
You want to be productive in minutes, not weeks
You're a small to medium team or startup
You want true zero-knowledge encryption
You need offline functionality
You want MIT-licensed open source

Choose Vault If...

You have a dedicated platform/DevOps team
You need dynamic secrets at scale
You require a full PKI solution
You need highly granular policies
You're a large enterprise with complex needs
You need enterprise support contracts