# Akeyless vs HashiCorp Vault: which do AI models recommend for NHI management, October 2026

IT AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, Non-human identity management. Zero of fourteen models named Akeyless first on the direct prompt; zero named HashiCorp Vault. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/identity/non-human-identity-management/akeyless-vs-hashicorp-vault/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akeyless | 7% | #4 of 16 | 4% | 28 | 11 of 14 |
| HashiCorp Vault | 7% | #5 of 16 | 30% | 40 | 14 of 14 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- Claude Haiku 4.5: neither first, one named (first choices: JumpCloud) (alternatives: Delinea, HashiCorp Vault, Natoma, Oasis Security)
- GPT-5.4 mini: neither first, one named (first choices: Entro Security) (alternatives: Akeyless, One Identity Manager)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: Entro Security) (alternatives: Aembit, Akeyless, Oasis Security)
- Grok 4.1 Fast: neither first, one named (first choices: JumpCloud) (alternatives: Aembit, Akeyless, Astrix Security, One Identity)
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: JumpCloud) (alternatives: Aembit, Akeyless, One Identity)
- Muse Glimmer 30B: neither first, one named (first choices: Entro Security, Oasis) (alternatives: Aembit, AppViewX, CyberArk Identity Security Platform, Defakto, HashiCorp Vault, JumpCloud, Keyfactor, Venafi)
- Perplexity Sonar: neither named (first choices: Frontegg) (alternatives: Descope, OneLogin, Stytch, WorkOS)
- Mistral Small: neither named (first choices: Aembit) (alternatives: Entro Security, Oasis Security)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: neither named (first choices: Token Security) (alternatives: Astrix Security, Entro Security)
- Llama 4 Maverick: neither named (alternatives: One Identity)
- Kimi K2: neither named (first choices: JumpCloud) (alternatives: Aembit, P0 Security)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: neither named (first choices: Microsoft Entra ID) (alternatives: KeeperPAM, Oasis Security, One Identity)
- MiniMax M2.5: neither named (first choices: JumpCloud) (alternatives: Oasis Security, One Identity, Saviynt Identity Cloud)
- GPT-6 Luna: neither named (first choices: Token Security) (alternatives: Aembit, Astrix Security, Cisco, Cyera, Entro Security, Oasis, SailPoint)

## What the models said about Akeyless

- "Akeyless is noted as "Approaches NHI security from the credential layer, so estate-wide NHI discovery, ownership attribution, and posture governance are" limited." (Muse Glimmer 30B, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "Positioned as a secrets-management-first platform for NHIs, so it is strongest when you want centralized secret and key management at scale." (Perplexity Sonar, comparative prompt, first choice)
- "Akeyless is a strong starting point if you want a single platform focused on machine identities, secrets, and service accounts" (GPT-5.4 mini, paraphrase prompt, first choice)
- "start with Akeyless or Delinea Secret Server Cloud" (Kimi K2, paraphrase prompt, first choice)

## What the models said about HashiCorp Vault

- "Pure secrets managers (HashiCorp Vault alone): Don't solve the full NHI governance problem" (Kimi K2, direct prompt, hard negative)
- "HashiCorp Vault (open-source Community Edition) stands out as the best non-human identity management (NHIAM) platform for a company with a limited budget." (Grok 4.1 Fast, budget prompt, first choice)

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category. Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category. Published under CC BY 4.0; the output is the models' output, and nothing here is a recommendation by the index.