CyberArk
A modern, zero-knowledge trusted architecture that is faster and more secure
Keeper's security infrastructure is built on a zero-knowledge, zero-trust architecture that ensures all encryption and decryption occur exclusively on the user's device, preventing Keeper from ever accessing customer data.
With robust end-to-end encryption, role-based access controls and seamless integration with enterprise security frameworks, Keeper provides a highly secure and efficient platform for protecting privileged access and sensitive resources.
Keeper distributes and synchronizes its vaults to clients and securely encrypts and decrypts data locally. This ensures data is never exposed to the network, and the Keeper Vault remains available to users even when they're offline.
Keeper's security technology is validated for the most sensitive environments, as it is FedRAMP and GovRAMP Authorized in addition to holding a full spectrum of industry-leading certifications.
CyberArk, while a widely recognized PAM provider, has several architectural limitations that prevent it from being the most secure and efficient solution for modern enterprises.
CyberArk has access to encrypted user data, meaning it is not zero knowledge.
CyberArk relies on a single, central vault that handles all encryption and decryption. The vault must be online at all times for the system to function, and it relies on the network to secure data during transmission to the client. This reliance creates a potential single point of failure for customers.
CyberArk's PAM is known to have slower performance issues because its execution is heavily reliant on network stability and speed. Any network latency or interruptions can significantly impact the responsiveness of remote sessions, leading to potential frustration for users who rely on timely access to privileged resources.
CyberArk's PAM solution is known for its high operational overhead and premium licensing costs, which can present barriers to agility and scalability. Its architecture can be rigid and complex to manage, making it less adaptable to today's fast-moving, cloud-first security environments.
Seamless scalability with no hidden costs
KeeperPAM provides exceptional scalability because of its cloud-native architecture and integration with IdPs, SSO and hundreds of other security and DevOps solutions.
KeeperPAM centralizes and secures access to critical systems across cloud providers, on-prem infrastructure, SaaS apps and workloads with a unified platform, reducing reliance on disparate tools as your organization expands.
With automation, KeeperPAM significantly reduces human error by managing and adjusting privileged access based on role-based policies, ensuring that access is precisely aligned with each user's needs. Features like Just-In-Time (JIT) access, robust Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) and credential rotation further enhance its adaptability.
Secure remote access capabilities for distributed teams, combined with the unification of essential IAM products like Keeper Connection Manager, Keeper Secrets Manager and Enterprise Password Manager offer a cost-effective, easy-to-use solution that ensures your PAM strategy can seamlessly evolve with your organization.
CyberArk's platform demands significant upfront and ongoing investment, including infrastructure setup, specialized personnel and tiered licensing fees. Evaluating ROI becomes challenging, especially when layering on newer cloud capabilities that often require additional products and services to achieve full functionality.
CyberArk is complex to deploy, and professional services are almost always required. According to CyberArk's Financial Summary, around 21% of its revenue comes from “Maintenance and Professional Services,” and major upgrades may require additional expensive services.
This complexity of setups can burden IT teams, diverting resources from securing access to managing complicated implementations.
Straightforward deployment without costly, complex management
KeeperPAM consolidates enterprise password management, secrets management, connection management, zero-trust network access, remote browser isolation and a cloud-based access control plane into a unified platform.
To implement KeeperPAM, organizations only need to deploy the vault with SSO and provision through SCIM, SAML or AD. From there, admins set policy and install a lightweight, containerized gateway in the target environments. No firewall updates, ingress changes or agents are needed, eliminating on-prem complexity. Admins can also generate an instant sandbox with the click of a button.
CyberArk is a complex, multi-component architecture that is expensive and difficult to deploy and maintain.
Depending on the features you use, the Password Vault Web Access (PVWA), Central Policy Manager (CPM), Privileged Session Manager (PSM) or PSM for SSH (PSMP) may also be required and must be installed and maintained separately. Organizations typically have dedicated staff just for maintaining CyberArk.
Simplified secrets management with a cloud-centric solution
Keeper Secret Management, part of KeeperPAM, is a fully managed cloud-based, zero-knowledge platform for securing infrastructure secrets such as API keys, database passwords, access keys, certificates and any type of confidential data.
With easy deployment and seamless integration with DevOps tools, Keeper eliminates the need for complex infrastructure while ensuring the highest levels of end-to-end encryption.
Keeper's automated rotation, versioning and expiration policies enhance security without manual intervention. Its intuitive interface and API-driven automation make managing secrets simple, scalable and secure across cloud, hybrid and on-prem environments.
By combining passwords and secrets into a single, user-friendly UI, IT admins can easily manage complex policies and create detailed reports.
CyberArk's secret management tool, Conjur, is infrastructure-heavy and designed for securing machine identities, while Workforce Password Manager (WPM) is lighter but still requires configuration for human user credentials. Both are needed and serve different purposes—Conjur for DevOps automation and WPM for workforce password management
Conjur is rooted in complex, on-premises architecture that often requires significant infrastructure, setup time and ongoing maintenance.
For example, if a DevOps team wants to secure secrets used in Jenkins pipelines, they must provision and manage Linux servers, install and configure Conjur services, set up secure integrations such as LDAP and Jenkins, write policy files manually and establish high availability. The project takes several weeks or even months, involves IT infrastructure teams and requires specialized training and professional services.
With Keeper Secrets Manager, the same DevOps team simply creates a new record, generates an API key and plugs it into their Jenkins pipeline using Keeper's native plugin. There's no infrastructure to manage, no servers to maintain and no coding required.
CyberArk's approach to automation and secret rotation is rigid, leading to inefficiencies in fast-paced development cycles. The user experience is less intuitive, making adoption more challenging for development teams.
Comprehensive password management for all users
One of KeeperPAM's core solutions is a cloud-based enterprise password manager that provides secure access through a web-based interface, browser plugins, mobile apps and desktop apps. Admins have full control and reporting via the admin console, and user provisioning can be automated with SCIM.
Users can securely store, manage and share passwords, passkeys, files and other sensitive data on all devices and operating systems. Over 300,000 5-star reviews prove its ease of use by all users, not just IT.
CyberArk's design caters primarily to IT administrators, which poses challenges for users without a strong technical background. This difficulty is evident in the negative user reviews, which often highlight usability issues.
CyberArk lacks desktop applications for end users, with no support for Mac or Linux.
CyberArk lacks advanced form-filling capabilities, such as autofilling addresses or payment details.
Unlike Keeper Enterprise Password Manager, CyberArk does not offer free family plans for each enterprise user.
Keeper builds on innovation with the original developers of Apache Guacamole
Keeper's engineers include the original creators of Apache Guacamole and are experts in browser-based remote session protocols covering SSH, RDP, VNC, HTTPS, MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server and more. Keeper developed Keeper Connection Manager, which enhances Apache Guacamole with enterprise installers, direct database connections and advanced functionality. Keeper's dedication to expanding unique capabilities within its portfolio sets KeeperPAM apart from other PAM solutions.
CyberArk's core PAM components, such as Privileged Session Manager and Password Vault Web Access, rely on Microsoft technologies including Windows Server, Remote Desktop Services and IIS. These components require Windows-based infrastructure and regular patching, which adds operational complexity. It is built on a stack that depends on legacy enterprise systems, which do not align with modern cloud-native preferences. Organizations must rely on CyberArk to manage and update these components securely over time.
CyberArk lacks the flexibility and open-source innovation that Guacamole supports, making customization and adaptation more difficult.
