# Delinea vs Keeper Security: Enterprise vs SMB

Source: https://startwithidentity.com/compare/delinea-vs-keeper-security/
Last updated: 2026-11-05
License: content by Start with Identity. Cite the source URL.

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## Verdict

**Delinea vs Keeper Security comes down to enterprise PAM depth versus a password manager that grew into PAM.** [Delinea](https://startwithidentity.com/vendors/pam/delinea/) is the largest independent [PAM](https://startwithidentity.com/guides/fundamentals/what-is-pam/) vendor now that Idira (formerly CyberArk) sits inside Palo Alto Networks: Secret Server, privilege elevation, AD bridging, cloud entitlements and StrongDM's runtime authorization, built for teams with real privileged estates. [Keeper Security](https://startwithidentity.com/vendors/pam/keeper-security/) starts from a zero-knowledge password manager and extends into KeeperPAM, which a small team can deploy quickly. Enterprises with complex Windows and server estates should pick Delinea; SMBs and lean mid-market teams usually get better value from Keeper. Profile scores: Delinea 4.3, Keeper 4.1.

## Where each wins

| Decision factor | Delinea | Keeper Security |
|---|---|---|
| Enterprise privileged estates | Wins: elevation, AD bridging, governance | Lighter governance |
| Password management for all staff | Separate need | Wins: enterprise password manager included |
| Time to deploy | Faster than heavyweight suites | Wins: cloud-native, outbound-only gateway |
| Self-hosted option | Wins: SaaS or on-prem Secret Server | Cloud-native; Connection Manager for air-gapped |
| Just-in-time infrastructure access | Wins: StrongDM | JIT elevation as an add-on |
| Published pricing | None | Partial, per seat for password plans |
| [FedRAMP](https://startwithidentity.com/regulations/united-states/fedramp/) High | Secret Server, July 2026 | Government Cloud, December 2025 |
| Recent patch exposure | Four critical on-prem CVEs in September 2026 | None noted in our profile |

## Pricing reality (checked 2026-11-05)

Delinea's [platform bundles page](https://delinea.com/products/delinea-platform-bundles) shows no prices, only capacity: Essentials covers up to 4 engines, 15 admins and 15 business users with 2TB storage; Standard adds privilege elevation, AD bridging and 15 servers; Enterprise raises limits to 30 admins, 30 servers and 30 workstations and adds DevOps integration and service account governance. Every route ends at a quote form.

Keeper's [business pricing page](https://www.keepersecurity.com/pricing/business-and-enterprise.html) sells Business Starter and Business per user per month, billed annually, with amounts that load dynamically at checkout; Enterprise is quote-based, and KeeperPAM "is available through Sales only". Zero-trust network access, endpoint privilege management, just-in-time elevation and remote browser isolation are listed as add-ons. Model both with the [TCO calculator](https://startwithidentity.com/tools/tco-calculator/).

## Ownership changes

Delinea, owned by TPG, [closed its StrongDM acquisition](https://delinea.com/news/delinea-acquires-strongdm-to-secure-ai-with-continuous-authorization) on 5 March 2026, after buying Authomize and Fastpath in 2024. Keeper Security remains private. Neither is inside a larger platform vendor, which matters to buyers avoiding consolidation after Palo Alto Networks bought CyberArk.

## Deployment and architecture

Delinea runs as a SaaS platform on Azure across seven hosting geographies, or as self-hosted Secret Server. Self-hosting carries patch duty: in September 2026 Delinea disclosed four critical on-premises Secret Server flaws, including a 9.8 FIDO2 registration bypass, while cloud tenants were unaffected (see its [security advisories](https://delinea.com/security-advisories)). Secret Server reached [FedRAMP High](https://delinea.com/news/delinea-achieves-fedramp-high-authorization-for-secret-server) on 8 July 2026.

KeeperPAM is cloud-native: a [KeeperPAM Gateway](https://www.keepersecurity.com/privileged-access-management/) in your cloud or data center needs only outbound connections to Keeper Cloud, and users connect from the Keeper Vault in a browser. Sessions are recorded for SSH, RDP, VNC, databases and browser sessions. For US public sector, [Keeper Security Government Cloud](https://www.keepersecurity.com/blog/2025/12/23/keeper-security-achieves-fedramp-high-authorization-for-privileged-access-management/) holds FedRAMP High, announced 23 December 2025.

## Migration notes

Moving between them is about rotation, not records. Inventory privileged and service accounts, move them in waves by system, enable rotation in the target, and confirm dependent services still authenticate before retiring the old vault. Session recordings and audit logs do not move; export them to your SIEM first.

## Who should pick which

- **Delinea:** mid-market and enterprise programs with Windows, Unix and cloud privileged estates, FedRAMP High needs, or StrongDM-style infrastructure access.
- **Keeper:** SMBs and lean mid-market teams that want password management and privileged access in one platform.
- **Neither:** the largest regulated estates should also price [CyberArk](https://startwithidentity.com/vendors/pam/cyberark/) (now Idira) and [BeyondTrust](https://startwithidentity.com/vendors/pam/beyondtrust/).

Related: [CyberArk vs Delinea](https://startwithidentity.com/compare/cyberark-vs-delinea/), [Delinea vs BeyondTrust](https://startwithidentity.com/compare/delinea-vs-beyondtrust/), [best PAM for SMB](https://startwithidentity.com/rankings/best-pam-for-smb/), [best PAM for enterprises](https://startwithidentity.com/rankings/best-pam-for-enterprises/) and [how to choose a PAM solution](https://startwithidentity.com/guides/buyer-guides/how-to-choose-a-pam-solution/).