Question 1

What's the difference between Secrets Management and Key Management (KMS)?

Accepted Answer

Secrets Management stores and delivers sensitive values like passwords, API keys, and tokens to applications, often with rotation and versioning. Key Management (KMS) manages cryptographic keys used to encrypt/decrypt data. In many setups, a secrets service encrypts secrets using a KMS key, but the secrets service also handles access policies, retrieval APIs, and rotation workflows.

Question 2

When should I use Secrets Management instead of environment variables or config files?

Accepted Answer

Use Secrets Management when the value is sensitive (passwords, tokens, private keys), when you need centralized access control and auditing, when multiple apps share the same secret, or when you want rotation without redeploying everything. Environment variables and config files are easier to start with, but they often spread secrets across hosts, containers, CI logs, and repos, making leaks and rotation harder.

Question 3

How much does Secrets Management cost?

Accepted Answer

Costs typically depend on (1) number of secrets stored, (2) number of API calls to read/update secrets, (3) rotation frequency and any compute used for rotation (for example, serverless functions), and (4) optional features like HSM-backed keys or advanced auditing. Each cloud provider prices secrets storage and access separately, so estimate by counting secrets, expected reads per app instance, and rotation automation components.

Secrets Management

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