Best Infrastructure Policy as Code Tools in 2026
Updated
In short: Terraform is ranked #1 of 24 as of 5 October 2026, ahead of Google Cloud Terraform Policy Validation and Open Policy Agent. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Google Cloud Terraform Policy Validation. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Terraform at $0.10/mo.
Infrastructure policy as code tools let you define and check rules for infrastructure across development and operations. Compare IaC formats and policy languages, then consider where those rules are applied: CI/CD integration, admission control, and runtime enforcement describe different stages. Policy testing and reporting offer more ways to compare how rules are checked and surfaced. The ranked entries start with Terraform, Google Cloud Terraform Policy Validation, and Open Policy Agent; HashiCorp Nomad and Kubewarden are also among the first shown. Free-plan availability and paid-from pricing add cost context as you weigh which capabilities matter for your infrastructure work.
24 infrastructure policy as code tools ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
24ranked
13free plans on this page
$0.10/molowest paid tier
5 Oct 2026last checked
Input list Infrastructure Policy as Code Tools 24 channels on this page · 103 of 192 spec lines stated by the makers
Ch Tool Free planPaid fromPolicy languageIaC formatsPolicy testingAdmission controlRuntime enforcementCI/CD integration Spec sheet Score
01 Terraform Free planYesPaid fromnot statedPolicy languagenot statedIaC formatsnot statedPolicy testingnot statedAdmission controlnot statedRuntime enforcementnot statedCI/CD integrationnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 7.9
02 Google Cloud Terraform Policy Validation Free planYesPaid fromnot statedPolicy languageRegoIaC formatsTerraform plan JSONPolicy testingYesAdmission controlYesRuntime enforcementNoCI/CD integrationYes 7/8spec lines stated 7.5
03 Open Policy Agent Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedPolicy languageRegoIaC formatsTerraform plan JSON, JSON, YAMLPolicy testingYesAdmission controlYesRuntime enforcementYesCI/CD integrationYes 6/8spec lines stated 7.5
04 Conftest Free planYesPaid fromnot statedPolicy languagenot statedIaC formatsnot statedPolicy testingnot statedAdmission controlnot statedRuntime enforcementnot statedCI/CD integrationnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 7.3
05 Chef Infra Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedPolicy languageRuby DSLIaC formatsServers, containers, cloud APIsPolicy testingYesAdmission controlnot statedRuntime enforcementnot statedCI/CD integrationYes 4/8spec lines stated 7.2
06 AWS CloudFormation Free planYesPaid fromnot statedPolicy languagenot statedIaC formatsnot statedPolicy testingnot statedAdmission controlnot statedRuntime enforcementnot statedCI/CD integrationnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 7.1
07 Cloud Custodian Free planYesPaid fromnot statedPolicy languageYAMLIaC formatsTerraformPolicy testingYesAdmission controlYesRuntime enforcementYesCI/CD integrationYes 7/8spec lines stated 7.1
08 Kyverno Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedPolicy languagenot statedIaC formatsnot statedPolicy testingnot statedAdmission controlYesRuntime enforcementnot statedCI/CD integrationnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 7.1
09 cfn-lint Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedPolicy languageAWS CloudFormation Guard DSLIaC formatsCloudFormation templates and change sets; Terraform JSON; Kubernetes configurationsPolicy testingYesAdmission controlYesRuntime enforcementNoCI/CD integrationYes 6/8spec lines stated 7.0
10 HashiCorp Nomad Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedPolicy languageSentinelIaC formatsTerraform configurations, states, and plansPolicy testingYesAdmission controlYesRuntime enforcementYesCI/CD integrationYes 6/8spec lines stated 7.0
11 KICS Free planYesPaid fromnot statedPolicy languageOPA RegoIaC formatsTerraform, Kubernetes, Docker, AWS CloudFormation, Ansible, Helm, Google Deployment Manager, AWS SAM, Microsoft ARM, Azure Blueprints, OpenAPI, Pulumi, Crossplane, Knative, Serverless FrameworkPolicy testingYesAdmission controlnot statedRuntime enforcementnot statedCI/CD integrationYes 5/8spec lines stated 7.0
12 KubeLinter Free planYesPaid fromnot statedPolicy languageYAML configuration; CEL expressionsIaC formatsKubernetes YAML, Helm, KustomizePolicy testingYesAdmission controlnot statedRuntime enforcementnot statedCI/CD integrationYes 5/8spec lines stated 7.0
13 Kubewarden Free planYesPaid fromnot statedPolicy languageWebAssembly-compatible languages including Rust, Go, CEL, and RegoIaC formatsKubernetes resources and admission requests in YAML/JSONPolicy testingYesAdmission controlYesRuntime enforcementYesCI/CD integrationYes 7/8spec lines stated 7.0
14 Checkov Free planYesPaid fromnot statedPolicy languagenot statedIaC formatsnot statedPolicy testingnot statedAdmission controlnot statedRuntime enforcementnot statedCI/CD integrationnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 6.9
15 Google Config Sync Free planYesPaid fromnot statedPolicy languageRegoIaC formatsKubernetes YAML manifests and Custom ResourcesPolicy testingYesAdmission controlYesRuntime enforcementYesCI/CD integrationYes 7/8spec lines stated 6.9
16 terraform-compliance Free planYesPaid fromnot statedPolicy languageBDD-style feature filesIaC formatsTerraform plan and state outputPolicy testingYesAdmission controlYesRuntime enforcementNoCI/CD integrationYes 7/8spec lines stated 6.8
17 Firefly Free planNoPaid from$2,499/moPolicy languagenot statedIaC formatsnot statedPolicy testingnot statedAdmission controlnot statedRuntime enforcementnot statedCI/CD integrationnot stated 2/8spec lines stated 6.6
18 Fairwinds Polaris Free planYesPaid fromnot statedPolicy languagenot statedIaC formatsnot statedPolicy testingnot statedAdmission controlnot statedRuntime enforcementnot statedCI/CD integrationnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 5.9
19 Google Cloud Organization Policy Free planYesPaid fromnot statedPolicy languageYAML and JSONIaC formatsnot statedPolicy testingYesAdmission controlYesRuntime enforcementNoCI/CD integrationnot stated 5/8spec lines stated 5.8
20 Nirmata Enterprise for Kyverno Free planNoPaid fromnot statedPolicy languageKubernetes-native YAML and CELIaC formatsKubernetes manifests, Terraform plans, OpenTofu plans, Dockerfiles, AWS CDK, CloudFormation templates, Ansible playbooksPolicy testingYesAdmission controlYesRuntime enforcementnot statedCI/CD integrationYes 6/8spec lines stated 5.8
21 Tirith Free planYesPaid fromnot statedPolicy languageJSONIaC formatsTerraform plans, CloudFormation, Kubernetes, Infracost, JSONPolicy testingYesAdmission controlYesRuntime enforcementnot statedCI/CD integrationYes 6/8spec lines stated 5.8
22 PolicyForge Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedPolicy languageOPA/RegoIaC formatsTerraform, Bicep, Kubernetes manifests, Helm chartsPolicy testingnot statedAdmission controlnot statedRuntime enforcementnot statedCI/CD integrationYes 3/8spec lines stated 5.7
23 Terraform Test Framework Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedPolicy languagePythonIaC formatsTerraformPolicy testingYesAdmission controlYesRuntime enforcementNoCI/CD integrationYes 6/8spec lines stated 5.7
24 Open Policy Agent Gatekeeper Free planYesPaid fromnot statedPolicy languagenot statedIaC formatsnot statedPolicy testingnot statedAdmission controlYesRuntime enforcementnot statedCI/CD integrationnot stated 2/8spec lines stated 5.2
Compare all 24 in a table
| # | Tool | Score | Free plan | From | Free plan | Paid from | Policy language | IaC formats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Terraform | 7.9 | Free plan | $0.10/mo | Yes | — | — | — |
| 2 | Google Cloud Terraform Policy Validation | 7.5 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | Rego | Terraform plan JSON |
| 3 | Open Policy Agent | 7.5 | Free plan | Free | — | — | Rego | Terraform plan JSON, JSON, YAML |
| 4 | Conftest | 7.3 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 5 | Chef Infra | 7.2 | No | $4.92/mo | — | — | Ruby DSL | Servers, containers, cloud APIs |
| 6 | AWS CloudFormation | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 7 | Cloud Custodian | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | YAML | Terraform |
| 8 | Kyverno | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | — | — | — | — |
| 9 | cfn-lint | 7.0 | Free plan | Free | — | — | AWS CloudFormation Guard DSL | CloudFormation templates and change sets; Terraform JSON; Kubernetes configurations |
| 10 | HashiCorp Nomad | 7.0 | No | — | — | — | Sentinel | Terraform configurations, states, and plans |
| 11 | KICS | 7.0 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | OPA Rego | Terraform, Kubernetes, Docker, AWS CloudFormation, Ansible, Helm, Google Deployment Manager, AWS SAM, Microsoft ARM, Azure Blueprints, OpenAPI, Pulumi, Crossplane, Knative, Serverless Framework |
| 12 | KubeLinter | 7.0 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | YAML configuration; CEL expressions | Kubernetes YAML, Helm, Kustomize |
| 13 | Kubewarden | 7.0 | No | — | Yes | — | WebAssembly-compatible languages including Rust, Go, CEL, and Rego | Kubernetes resources and admission requests in YAML/JSON |
| 14 | Checkov | 6.9 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 15 | Google Config Sync | 6.9 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | Rego | Kubernetes YAML manifests and Custom Resources |
| 16 | terraform-compliance | 6.8 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | BDD-style feature files | Terraform plan and state output |
| 17 | Firefly | 6.6 | No | $2,499/mo | No | 2,499 /mo | — | — |
| 18 | Fairwinds Polaris | 5.9 | No | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| 19 | Google Cloud Organization Policy | 5.8 | No | — | Yes | — | YAML and JSON | — |
| 20 | Nirmata Enterprise for Kyverno | 5.8 | No | — | No | — | Kubernetes-native YAML and CEL | Kubernetes manifests, Terraform plans, OpenTofu plans, Dockerfiles, AWS CDK, CloudFormation templates, Ansible playbooks |
| 21 | Tirith | 5.8 | No | — | Yes | — | JSON | Terraform plans, CloudFormation, Kubernetes, Infracost, JSON |
| 22 | PolicyForge | 5.7 | No | — | — | — | OPA/Rego | Terraform, Bicep, Kubernetes manifests, Helm charts |
| 23 | Terraform Test Framework | 5.7 | No | — | — | — | Python | Terraform |
| 24 | Open Policy Agent Gatekeeper | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | — | — | — |
Is your tool on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored, and a sponsored row is labelled as paid.
Questions about this list
Which infrastructure policy as code tool is ranked first on Specifiction?
Terraform is ranked #1 of 24 with a score of 7.9. Google Cloud Terraform Policy Validation is second and Open Policy Agent third.
How many of these have a free plan?
13 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.
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