Best Infrastructure as Code Tools in 2026
Updated
In short: Terraform is ranked #1 of 24 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of Pulumi and Terramate. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Pulumi. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Terraform at $0.10/mo.
Infrastructure as code tools differ in how they represent configuration and manage infrastructure over time. This ranking compares configuration languages, state management, drift detection, importing existing resources and policy as code, as well as self-hosted execution and supported clouds. Free plans and listed starting prices provide additional cost details. Terraform, Pulumi and OpenTofu are among the first entries. Consider the cloud environments and existing resources you need to work with, then compare the listed approaches to state, policy and execution.
24 infrastructure as code tools ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
24ranked
10free plans on this page
$0.10/molowest paid tier
4 Oct 2026last checked
Input list Infrastructure as Code Tools 24 channels on this page · 141 of 192 spec lines stated by the makers
Ch Tool Free planPaid fromConfiguration languageSupported cloudsState managementPolicy as codeDrift detectionImport existing resources Spec sheet Score
01 Terraform Free planYesPaid fromnot statedConfiguration languagehclSupported cloudsAmazon Web Services, Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Oracle Cloud InfrastructureState managementbothPolicy as codeYesDrift detectionYesImport existing resourcesYes 7/8spec lines stated 8.0
02 Pulumi Free planYesPaid from$40/moConfiguration languagegeneral-purpose languageSupported cloudsAWS, Azure, Google Cloud, KubernetesState managementbothPolicy as codeYesDrift detectionYesImport existing resourcesYes 8/8spec lines stated 7.8
03 Terramate Free planYesPaid from$449/moConfiguration languagehclSupported cloudsAWS, Google Cloud, AzureState managementself-hostedPolicy as codeYesDrift detectionYesImport existing resourcesYes 8/8spec lines stated 7.8
04 Cloudify Free planYesPaid fromnot statedConfiguration languageyaml/jsonSupported cloudsAWS, Azure, Google Cloud, OpenStackState managementbothPolicy as codeYesDrift detectionYesImport existing resourcesYes 7/8spec lines stated 7.7
05 Kusion Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedConfiguration languagenot statedSupported cloudsAWS, AliCloud, Azure, Google CloudState managementnot statedPolicy as codenot statedDrift detectionnot statedImport existing resourcesnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 7.3
06 Spacelift Free planYesPaid fromnot statedConfiguration languagehclSupported cloudsAWS, Azure, GCPState managementbothPolicy as codeYesDrift detectionYesImport existing resourcesYes 7/8spec lines stated 7.3
07 AWS CloudFormation Free planYesPaid fromnot statedConfiguration languageyaml/jsonSupported cloudsAWSState managementmanagedPolicy as codeYesDrift detectionYesImport existing resourcesYes 7/8spec lines stated 7.2
08 OpenTofu Free planYesPaid fromnot statedConfiguration languagehclSupported cloudsAmazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Kubernetes, Helm, GitHub, Splunk, DatadogState managementbothPolicy as codeYesDrift detectionYesImport existing resourcesYes 7/8spec lines stated 7.2
09 Scalr Free planYesPaid fromnot statedConfiguration languagehclSupported cloudsAWS, Azure, Google Cloud PlatformState managementbothPolicy as codeYesDrift detectionYesImport existing resourcesYes 7/8spec lines stated 7.1
10 HashiCorp Nomad Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedConfiguration languagehclSupported cloudsAmazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud PlatformState managementnot statedPolicy as codeYesDrift detectionnot statedImport existing resourcesnot stated 3/8spec lines stated 7.0
11 env0 Free planYesPaid fromnot statedConfiguration languagehclSupported cloudsAWS, Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft AzureState managementbothPolicy as codeYesDrift detectionYesImport existing resourcesYes 7/8spec lines stated 6.9
12 Firefly Free planNoPaid from$2,499/moConfiguration languagehclSupported cloudsAWS, Azure, Google Cloud, OCI, Nebius, KubernetesState managementnot statedPolicy as codeYesDrift detectionYesImport existing resourcesYes 7/8spec lines stated 6.7
13 Azure Bicep Free planYesPaid fromnot statedConfiguration languagehclSupported cloudsAzureState managementmanagedPolicy as codeYesDrift detectionYesImport existing resourcesYes 7/8spec lines stated 6.5
14 Google Config Connector Free planYesPaid fromnot statedConfiguration languageyaml/jsonSupported cloudsGoogle CloudState managementself-hostedPolicy as codeYesDrift detectionYesImport existing resourcesYes 7/8spec lines stated 6.3
15 Terragrunt Free planYesPaid from$500/moConfiguration languagehclSupported cloudsAWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and other OpenTofu/Terraform-supported platformsState managementself-hostedPolicy as codenot statedDrift detectionYesImport existing resourcesYes 7/8spec lines stated 6.3
16 Sceptre Free planYesPaid fromnot statedConfiguration languageyaml/jsonSupported cloudsAWSState managementnot statedPolicy as codeYesDrift detectionYesImport existing resourcesnot stated 5/8spec lines stated 6.0
17 Terrateam Free planYesPaid from$1,000/moConfiguration languagehclSupported cloudsAWS, Google Cloud, AzureState managementnot statedPolicy as codeYesDrift detectionYesImport existing resourcesnot stated 6/8spec lines stated 5.9
18 AWS CDK Free planYesPaid fromnot statedConfiguration languagegeneral-purpose languageSupported cloudsAWSState managementmanagedPolicy as codeYesDrift detectionYesImport existing resourcesYes 7/8spec lines stated 5.8
19 AWS Controllers for Kubernetes Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedConfiguration languageyaml/jsonSupported cloudsAWSState managementself-hostedPolicy as codenot statedDrift detectionYesImport existing resourcesYes 5/8spec lines stated 5.7
20 Crossplane Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedConfiguration languageyaml/jsonSupported cloudsAWS, Azure, Google CloudState managementself-hostedPolicy as codeYesDrift detectionYesImport existing resourcesYes 6/8spec lines stated 5.7
21 Azure Service Operator Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedConfiguration languageyaml/jsonSupported cloudsAzureState managementnot statedPolicy as codenot statedDrift detectionYesImport existing resourcesYes 4/8spec lines stated 5.6
22 Google Cloud Infrastructure Manager Free planNoPaid fromnot statedConfiguration languagehclSupported cloudsGoogle CloudState managementmanagedPolicy as codenot statedDrift detectionYesImport existing resourcesYes 6/8spec lines stated 5.6
23 OpenStack Heat Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedConfiguration languageyaml/jsonSupported cloudsOpenStackState managementself-hostedPolicy as codenot statedDrift detectionnot statedImport existing resourcesnot stated 3/8spec lines stated 5.6
24 CDK8s Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedConfiguration languagegeneral-purpose languageSupported cloudsnot statedState managementnot statedPolicy as codenot statedDrift detectionnot statedImport existing resourcesYes 2/8spec lines stated 5.4
Is your tool on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored. They are labelled, and the editorial order and scores never change for payment.
Questions about this list
Which infrastructure as code tool is ranked first on Specifiction?
Terraform is ranked #1 of 24 with a score of 8.0. Pulumi is second and Terramate third.
How many of these have a free plan?
10 of the 24 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, Terraform has the lowest first paid tier we found: $0.10/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes, the fullest spec sheet first: how deeply the product is documented, the platforms it runs on, a free tier or trial to test it, and its standing. Paid placements never change a rank.
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