STRONGDM VS. AKEYLESS

Akeyless secures the secret. StrongDM stays for the session that follows, authorizing every action before it runs.

Akeyless will tell you it secures secrets, credentials, certificates, and AI agents in one platform. The harder question is how far that control reaches once a session with your infrastructure is actually open.

session · prod-postgres — via StrongDM LIVE 00:15:32

09:41:02 SELECT * FROM payments WHERE created_at > … ALLOWED

09:41:07 credential injected at proxy — never exposed

09:41:11 policy re-evaluated · identity + posture ok 214 MS

09:41:19 ssh deploy@10.2.14.7 — credential brokered ALLOWED

09:41:23 DROP TABLE users; BLOCKED

09:41:24 session flagged + recorded for replay ENFORCED

● authorization evaluated continuously — every request, all session long

session · prod-postgres — via Akeyless NO SIGNAL --:--:--

09:41:02 DFC fragments assembled · secret never reconstructed ZERO-KNOWLEDGE

09:41:03 short-lived credential issued to requester ISSUED

09:41:07 session brokered · recording started RECORDING

09:41:11 (no per-action authorization)

09:41:27 DROP TABLE payments; COMPLETED

09:41:34 anomaly detected · alert exported to SIEM ALERTED

● anomaly detection and SIEM export — after the action already ran

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Access control that doesn’t stop at the credential handoff

Control that lasts as long as the session does.

Akeyless’s Distributed Fragments Cryptography splits secret material into fragments and never reassembles them anywhere Akeyless itself could read them. It issues short-lived credentials per task that expire on their own. StrongDM treats that handoff as the point where its own job starts.

StrongDM stays in the path for the life of the session across servers, databases, Kubernetes clusters, and AI agent tool calls. It checks every command, query, and tool call against policy before it runs rather than logging it after.

StrongDM blocks and redacts specific actions. It stops a destructive SQL statement or redacts a sensitive column mid-session on Postgres and Microsoft SQL Server today, with more coverage on the roadmap.

No added friction for users. Engineers and agents keep using the tools and workflows they already use.

Gateways and relays run redundantly. Automatic failover means the control plane doesn’t go down because one node did.

ONE POLICY, ONE AUDIT TRAIL

Identity security built for the AI era

StrongDM centralizes authorization across every human, machine, and AI agent identity, and enforces it at runtime instead of reviewing it after the fact.

Every tool call authorized before it runs

The StrongDM Gateway authorizes each tool call an AI agent makes before it executes. Live today for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Codex CLI, GitHub Copilot in VS Code, and Kiro.

The agent never holds a credential

StrongDM authorizes the action itself, never the credential behind it.

One policy flow for all identities

Service accounts and pipelines get the same policy and audit treatment as human users.

Claude Code Claude Desktop Codex CLI GitHub Copilot · VS Code Kiro

COMPARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN STRONGDM AND AKEYLESS

StrongDM reduces risk and simplifies operations

StrongDM extends access control into continuous, runtime authorization across every human, machine, and AI identity.

Criteria
In-session enforcement, human sessions	Blocks/redacts live, Postgres & SQL Server today Available	Records and alerts after the fact. No live blocking in published documentation as of August 2026 Partial / limited
In-session enforcement, AI agent sessions	SDM Gateway authorizes every tool call live Available	Agentic Runtime Authority blocks by intent, live Available
Secrets and vault architecture	Vault-flexible. CyberArk, HashiCorp, Delinea, or none Available	Vaultless (Zero-Knowledge DFC), plus Multi-Vault Governance option Partial / limited
Resource and infrastructure coverage	47+ resource types across databases, servers, K8s, cloud, network devices, and web apps Available	Servers, databases, K8s, cloud IAM (web app credential fill is a separate Password Manager product) Partial / limited
Session recording and audit evidence	Command-level replay, RDP video, structured logs Available	Real-time recording and anomaly alerts, SIEM/SOAR export Partial / limited
Deployment model	Agentless proxy, nothing installed on target Available	SaaS-native by default. Hybrid plan adds a customer-hosted Gateway for private network access Partial / limited

Available Partial / limited

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The most meaningful endorsements come from our customers

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Jonathan Hyman — Jon Hyman Co-Founder & CTO, Braze

Michael DaSilva_Yext — Michael DaSilva Infrastructure Security Manager, Yext

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Why the differences between StrongDM and Akeyless matter

Eliminating the secret is not the same as controlling the session

Akeyless’s Zero-Knowledge architecture makes sure nobody, including Akeyless, can reconstruct a secret. That doesn’t cover what happens after a user, agent, or machine actually gets in.

Akeyless issues short-lived credentials, brokers the session, then watches it. Anomalies surface after the fact through SIEM and SOAR alerts.

StrongDM stays in the path for the life of the session, evaluating every command, query, or tool call against policy before it runs.

Akeyless proved the model on agents. Humans got a different one.

Akeyless’s Agentic Runtime Authority blocks a specific AI agent action before it executes. Its published material on human privileged access describes something narrower.

Akeyless’s own material describes real-time anomaly detection and alerting for human sessions, not a documented claim of blocking a specific action mid-session.

StrongDM blocks destructive SQL statements and redacts sensitive columns while a person’s session is still live, today, on Postgres and Microsoft SQL Server.

A credential that expires fast is still a credential you handed over.

Akeyless’s model still hands a credential to the requester, just one that expires faster than a static secret would.

Akeyless still hands the requester a working credential. It expires quickly, but it exists, and once issued it lives outside Akeyless’s view.

StrongDM hands over nothing. Every session runs through the StrongDM proxy, and every command ties back to the individual user no matter what authenticates in the background.

The secret’s job ends where StrongDM’s begins

Akeyless focuses on making sure it never holds a reconstructable secret. Once that secret reaches the requester, Akeyless’s job is done.

StrongDM picks up from there. It stays present for the life of the session, authorizes every action against policy before it runs, and steps in the moment something crosses the line, whether the identity on the other end is an engineer, a service account, or an AI agent.

Once Akeyless issues the credential, its job is done. StrongDM’s job isn’t done until the session ends.

What this looks like in a live environment

Akeyless removes standing privilege by never letting a secret exist in a form it, or anyone else, could reconstruct. Distributed Fragments Cryptography splits the material, Akeyless issues short-lived credentials per task, brokers the session, then records and monitors it with real-time anomaly detection.

StrongDM brokers the connection too, so a compromised session or an over-permissioned agent has nothing to take. StrongDM authorizes each action before it runs, for as long as the session lasts, blocks or redacts specific actions on Postgres and Microsoft SQL Server today, and works with whatever vault you already run, or none at all.

Frequently asked questions

Is StrongDM trying to replace my secrets manager or vault the way Akeyless does?

No. StrongDM is built to work with the vault you already run, CyberArk, HashiCorp, or Delinea Secret Server, or with none at all if you’d rather StrongDM broker credentials directly. Akeyless takes the opposite position. It’s designed to replace vault infrastructure entirely with its own Zero-Knowledge, ephemeral-credential model.

Do you offer anything like Akeyless’s Zero-Knowledge encryption?

Not the same architecture. Akeyless’s Distributed Fragments Cryptography is a specific approach to making sure the vendor itself can never reconstruct a secret. StrongDM doesn’t make that claim because StrongDM isn’t primarily a secrets-storage platform. It brokers and injects credentials from wherever they already live.

How does your AI agent governance compare to Akeyless’s Agentic Runtime Authority?

Both authorize AI agent actions before they execute rather than just logging them afterward. Akeyless evaluates the semantic intent behind a request and can block or redirect it. The StrongDM Gateway enforces explicit per-tool-call policy and never lets an agent hold a credential in the first place. It runs on the same consistent policy and audit model StrongDM applies everywhere else in your environment, not a separate AI-specific product.

Does StrongDM manage certificates, encryption keys, or passwords the way Akeyless does?

No. Akeyless manages certificates, encryption keys, and static secrets as products in their own right. StrongDM focuses on access to servers, databases, Kubernetes, cloud consoles, network devices, and web apps, all brokered through one proxy and one policy model. If you need certificate and key lifecycle management, StrongDM sits alongside that tool rather than replacing it. A solutions engineer can map where the line falls in your environment.

If we’re evaluating Akeyless’s free tier, what does moving to StrongDM look like?

As of August 2026, Akeyless’s Secrets Management free tier is capped at 5 clients and 500 static secrets, built for individual or small-team secrets management, not full infrastructure access at scale. If you outgrow that or need broader resource coverage, a solutions engineer can walk through onboarding your servers, databases, and Kubernetes clusters directly, with no requirement to have run Akeyless first.

Does StrongDM block a specific database action in real time the way Akeyless’s Agentic Runtime Authority does for AI agents?

Yes, for human sessions specifically, on Postgres and Microsoft SQL Server today, with more database coverage on the roadmap. That’s the same category of control Akeyless demonstrates for AI agents. The difference is that StrongDM applies it to human privileged sessions as a core capability, not only to agent traffic.

How does Akeyless’s Multi-Vault Governance compare to how you work with our existing vault?

Both connect to a vault you already run rather than forcing a migration. StrongDM brokers the connection and injects credentials from your existing vault, whether that’s CyberArk, HashiCorp, or Delinea Secret Server, at the moment of connection, or takes over rotation entirely if you’d rather consolidate. Ask a solutions engineer for a side-by-side specific to your vault estate.

Eliminating the secret is half the problem. What happens after access opens is the other half.

Akeyless makes a case that nobody, including Akeyless, should be able to see your secrets. The disagreement is about where the job ends. Staying in the session, checking every action against policy, and cutting it off before it finishes closes the rest of the gap.

See StrongDM block a live query