AWS Secrets Manager vs GCP Secret Manager

AWS Secrets Manager and GCP Secret Manager are the native secrets management services for their respective clouds. Both store, version, and encrypt secrets. AWS has better automatic rotation. GCP has better pricing and replication.

Core Comparison

AWS Secrets Manager

Secrets Manager stores encrypted key-value secrets with automatic versioning. Its standout feature is built-in rotation for AWS database services — RDS, Redshift, and DocumentDB. A Lambda function handles credential rotation on a configurable schedule. IAM policies control who can access which secrets.

GCP Secret Manager

GCP Secret Manager stores secret versions encrypted with Cloud KMS. Each version is independently accessible and can have its own IAM permissions. Replication policies control where secret data is stored (automatic across all regions or user-specified regions). The pricing is roughly 85% cheaper than AWS.

Pricing Deep Dive

The cost difference is significant:

• AWS: $0.40/secret/month + $0.05/10K calls = ~$4.80/year per secret
• GCP: $0.06/version/month + $0.03/10K calls = ~$0.72/year per secret

For organizations managing hundreds or thousands of secrets, GCP's pricing advantage adds up. However, AWS's built-in rotation saves the cost and effort of building rotation automation.

Rotation Capabilities

AWS Secrets Manager can rotate RDS credentials automatically — configure the rotation schedule and Lambda function, and Secrets Manager handles the rest. GCP requires you to build rotation with Cloud Functions or Cloud Scheduler.

For security best practices, automatic rotation is important. AWS makes this easier for supported databases.

Multi-Region Replication

GCP Secret Manager's replication policies are more flexible. You can choose automatic replication (secret data in every region) or specify exactly which regions store the data. AWS Secrets Manager is regional by default — cross-region access requires additional setup.

In system design interviews, understanding native secrets management shows cloud maturity. Both services are correct choices within their ecosystems. See also: cloud computing concepts and infrastructure patterns.