Best Infrastructure Testing Tools in 2026
Updated
In short: Chef InSpec is ranked #1 of 27 as of 5 October 2026, ahead of Conftest and kubeconform. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Conftest. The lowest first paid tier on this page is CIS-CAT Pro Assessor at $200/mo.
Checking infrastructure code and deployed systems calls for attention to what can be tested and where. Compare cloud support and execution model with deployed checks, config compliance, and provisioning tests to understand the approaches available. IaC support and policy as code add further considerations; free-plan availability and paid-from pricing help with access and cost comparisons. Chef InSpec, Conftest, and Test Kitchen are among the tools shown, with AWS CloudFormation and Sonobuoy also represented. Consider which systems and conditions you need to evaluate, then compare the tools against those requirements.
27 infrastructure testing tools ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
27ranked
16free plans on this page
$200/molowest paid tier
5 Oct 2026last checked
Input list Infrastructure Testing Tools 25 channels on this page · 83 of 200 spec lines stated by the makers
Ch Tool Free planPaid fromIaC supportConfig complianceProvisioning testsDeployed checksPolicy as codeExecution model Spec sheet Score
01 Chef InSpec Free planYesPaid fromnot statedIaC supportnot statedConfig compliancenot statedProvisioning testsnot statedDeployed checksnot statedPolicy as codeYesExecution modelnot stated 2/8spec lines stated 7.5
02 Conftest Free planYesPaid fromnot statedIaC supportnot statedConfig compliancenot statedProvisioning testsnot statedDeployed checksnot statedPolicy as codenot statedExecution modelnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 7.4
03 kubeconform Free planYesPaid fromnot statedIaC supportKubernetes manifestsConfig complianceNoProvisioning testsNoDeployed checksNoPolicy as codeNoExecution modellocal 7/8spec lines stated 7.2
04 Test Kitchen Free planYesPaid fromnot statedIaC supportChef Infra cookbooks, Ansible, PowerShell DSC, Puppet, SaltConfig complianceYesProvisioning testsYesDeployed checksYesPolicy as codenot statedExecution modellocal 6/8spec lines stated 7.2
05 AWS CloudFormation Free planYesPaid fromnot statedIaC supportnot statedConfig compliancenot statedProvisioning testsnot statedDeployed checksnot statedPolicy as codeYesExecution modelnot stated 2/8spec lines stated 7.1
06 Sonobuoy Free planYesPaid fromnot statedIaC supportnot statedConfig complianceYesProvisioning testsnot statedDeployed checksYesPolicy as codenot statedExecution modellocal 4/8spec lines stated 7.1
07 Terratest Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedIaC supportTerraform, OpenTofu, Terragrunt, Packer, HelmConfig complianceYesProvisioning testsYesDeployed checksYesPolicy as codeYesExecution modellocal 6/8spec lines stated 7.1
08 TFLint Free planYesPaid fromnot statedIaC supportTerraformConfig complianceNoProvisioning testsNoDeployed checksNoPolicy as codeYesExecution modellocal 7/8spec lines stated 7.1
09 cfn-lint Free planYesPaid fromnot statedIaC supportAWS CloudFormation, AWS SAMConfig complianceYesProvisioning testsNoDeployed checksNoPolicy as codeYesExecution modelnot stated 6/8spec lines stated 7.0
10 Cinc Auditor Free planYesPaid fromnot statedIaC supportnot statedConfig complianceYesProvisioning testsnot statedDeployed checksYesPolicy as codeYesExecution modellocal 5/8spec lines stated 7.0
11 OpenSCAP Free planYesPaid fromnot statedIaC supportnot statedConfig compliancenot statedProvisioning testsnot statedDeployed checksnot statedPolicy as codeYesExecution modelnot stated 2/8spec lines stated 7.0
12 Checkov Free planYesPaid fromnot statedIaC supportnot statedConfig compliancenot statedProvisioning testsnot statedDeployed checksnot statedPolicy as codenot statedExecution modelnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 6.9
13 KICS Free planYesPaid fromnot statedIaC supportnot statedConfig compliancenot statedProvisioning testsnot statedDeployed checksnot statedPolicy as codenot statedExecution modelnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 6.9
14 terraform-plugin-testing Free planYesPaid fromnot statedIaC supportTerraformConfig compliancenot statedProvisioning testsYesDeployed checksYesPolicy as codenot statedExecution modelci cd 5/8spec lines stated 6.9
15 cfn-nag Free planYesPaid fromnot statedIaC supportnot statedConfig compliancenot statedProvisioning testsnot statedDeployed checksnot statedPolicy as codenot statedExecution modelnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 6.7
16 KubeLinter Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedIaC supportnot statedConfig compliancenot statedProvisioning testsnot statedDeployed checksnot statedPolicy as codenot statedExecution modelnot stated 0/8spec lines stated 6.7
17 terraform-compliance Free planYesPaid fromnot statedIaC supportnot statedConfig compliancenot statedProvisioning testsnot statedDeployed checksnot statedPolicy as codenot statedExecution modelnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 6.7
18 CIS-CAT Pro Assessor Free planNoPaid fromnot statedIaC supportnot statedConfig compliancenot statedProvisioning testsnot statedDeployed checksnot statedPolicy as codenot statedExecution modelnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 6.6
19 kube-score Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedIaC supportnot statedConfig compliancenot statedProvisioning testsnot statedDeployed checksnot statedPolicy as codenot statedExecution modelnot stated 0/8spec lines stated 6.5
20 Molecule Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedIaC supportAnsibleConfig complianceYesProvisioning testsYesDeployed checksYesPolicy as codenot statedExecution modellocal 5/8spec lines stated 6.4
21 TaskCat Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedIaC supportAWS CloudFormationConfig compliancenot statedProvisioning testsYesDeployed checksYesPolicy as codenot statedExecution modelnot stated 3/8spec lines stated 6.3
22 Cloud-Radar Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedIaC supportAWS CloudFormationConfig complianceNoProvisioning testsYesDeployed checksYesPolicy as codenot statedExecution modellocal 5/8spec lines stated 6.1
23 ClusterLoader2 Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedIaC supportnot statedConfig compliancenot statedProvisioning testsnot statedDeployed checksYesPolicy as codenot statedExecution modellocal 2/8spec lines stated 6.1
24 Serverspec Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedIaC supportCFEngine, Puppet, Chef, Ansible, ItamaeConfig complianceYesProvisioning testsNoDeployed checksYesPolicy as codeYesExecution modellocal 6/8spec lines stated 6.0
25 Kubetest2 Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedIaC supportTerraformConfig compliancenot statedProvisioning testsYesDeployed checksYesPolicy as codenot statedExecution modellocal 4/8spec lines stated 5.6
Compare all 25 in a table
| # | Tool | Score | Free plan | From | Free plan | Paid from | IaC support | Config compliance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chef InSpec | 7.5 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 2 | Conftest | 7.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 3 | kubeconform | 7.2 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | Kubernetes manifests | No |
| 4 | Test Kitchen | 7.2 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | Chef Infra cookbooks, Ansible, PowerShell DSC, Puppet, Salt | Yes |
| 5 | AWS CloudFormation | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 6 | Sonobuoy | 7.1 | No | — | Yes | — | — | Yes |
| 7 | Terratest | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | — | — | Terraform, OpenTofu, Terragrunt, Packer, Helm | Yes |
| 8 | TFLint | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | Terraform | No |
| 9 | cfn-lint | 7.0 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | AWS CloudFormation, AWS SAM | Yes |
| 10 | Cinc Auditor | 7.0 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | Yes |
| 11 | OpenSCAP | 7.0 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 12 | Checkov | 6.9 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 13 | KICS | 6.9 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 14 | terraform-plugin-testing | 6.9 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | Terraform | — |
| 15 | cfn-nag | 6.7 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 16 | KubeLinter | 6.7 | Free plan | Free | — | — | — | — |
| 17 | terraform-compliance | 6.7 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 18 | CIS-CAT Pro Assessor | 6.6 | No | $200/mo | No | — | — | — |
| 19 | kube-score | 6.5 | No | — | — | — | — | — |
| 20 | Molecule | 6.4 | No | — | — | — | Ansible | Yes |
| 21 | TaskCat | 6.3 | No | — | — | — | AWS CloudFormation | — |
| 22 | Cloud-Radar | 6.1 | No | — | — | — | AWS CloudFormation | No |
| 23 | ClusterLoader2 | 6.1 | No | — | — | — | — | — |
| 24 | Serverspec | 6.0 | No | — | — | — | CFEngine, Puppet, Chef, Ansible, Itamae | Yes |
| 25 | Kubetest2 | 5.6 | No | — | — | — | Terraform | — |
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 testing tool is ranked first on Specifiction?
Chef InSpec is ranked #1 of 27 with a score of 7.5. Conftest is second and kubeconform third.
How many of these have a free plan?
16 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, CIS-CAT Pro Assessor has the lowest first paid tier we found: $200/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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