Akeyless (SecretlessAI and MCP server) vs Keeper Secrets Manager

Akeyless (SecretlessAI and MCP server)

Gateway-brokered SecretlessAI and a runtime-authority MCP server with 4 tools that return results, not credentials. No published prices above the free plan; clients and transactions are metered with overage billed at the end of a 12-month contract.

Keeper Secrets Manager

Each client device signs requests with its own key, is locked to an IP address by default and can be revoked alone, and secrets decrypt only on the client. The add-on has no public price, no request limits were found in the reviewed documentation, and a person must create the application and device in the vault.

Akeyless (SecretlessAI and MCP server)

1. Run akeyless mcp-runtime-authority, not akeyless mcp, for an agent that acts on systems; the first returns results, the second has get_secret and get_password
2. Authenticate with a cloud identity, Kubernetes or Universal Identity rather than an access key, which the docs reserve for proofs of concept
3. Use CLI 1.130.0 or later for either MCP server, and point the client at your Gateway URL
4. Count identities and calls before scaling. The free plan allows 5 clients, and calls over a tier's cap (200 a minute on Silver) are billed as extra clients, not refused
5. Pass the token in the JSON body of each POST, and page /list-items with pagination-token

Keeper Secrets Manager

1. Ask the vault owner for a new device on an application that holds only the folders the task needs. Use the Base64 configuration, not the first one-time token
2. Run commands under ksm exec so secrets arrive as environment variables and stay out of the model's context
3. Expect HTTP 403 with {"error":"throttled"} under load. The Python SDK retries five times from 11 seconds, so allow for long waits
4. A device is locked to the IP address it first connects from unless it was created with --unlock-ip. Check this before running from a dynamic address
5. Leave --auto-approve off on the MCP server. It removes confirmation for deletes and for unmasking values