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Best AWS CloudFormation Alternatives in 2026

Updated

20 tools from infrastructure testing tools ranked against AWS CloudFormation on the same published basis.

  1. 1
    Chef InSpec Free plan apiLinuxMacself-hostedWin Free7.5
    AWS CloudFormation vs Chef InSpec
  2. 2
    Conftest Free plan LinuxMacWin Free7.4
    AWS CloudFormation vs Conftest
  3. 3
    kubeconform Free plan LinuxMacself-hostedWin Free7.2
    AWS CloudFormation vs kubeconform
  4. 4
    Test Kitchen Free plan LinuxMacWin Free7.2
    AWS CloudFormation vs Test Kitchen
  5. 6
    Sonobuoy LinuxMacself-hostedWin 7.1
    AWS CloudFormation vs Sonobuoy
  6. 7
    Terratest Free plan Linux Free7.1
    AWS CloudFormation vs Terratest
  7. 8
    TFLint Free plan LinuxMacself-hostedWin Free7.1
    AWS CloudFormation vs TFLint
  8. 9
    cfn-lint Free plan LinuxMacself-hostedWin Free7.0
    AWS CloudFormation vs cfn-lint
  9. 10
    Cinc Auditor Free plan LinuxMacWin Free7.0
    AWS CloudFormation vs Cinc Auditor
  10. 11
    OpenSCAP Free plan LinuxMacself-hostedWin Free7.0
    AWS CloudFormation vs OpenSCAP
  11. 12
    Checkov Free plan LinuxMac Free6.9
    AWS CloudFormation vs Checkov
  12. 13
    KICS Free plan LinuxMacself-hostedWin Free6.9
    AWS CloudFormation vs KICS
  13. 14
    terraform-plugin-testing Free plan LinuxMac Free6.9
    AWS CloudFormation vs terraform-plugin-testing
  14. 15
    cfn-nag Free plan LinuxMacself-hosted Free6.7
    AWS CloudFormation vs cfn-nag
  15. 16
    KubeLinter Free plan LinuxMacself-hosted Free6.7
    AWS CloudFormation vs KubeLinter
  16. 17
    terraform-compliance Free plan Linuxself-hosted Free6.7
    AWS CloudFormation vs terraform-compliance
  17. 18
    CIS-CAT Pro Assessor apiLinuxMacself-hostedWin $200/mo6.6
    AWS CloudFormation vs CIS-CAT Pro Assessor
  18. 19
    kube-score LinuxMacself-hostedWebWin 6.5
    AWS CloudFormation vs kube-score
  19. 20
    Cloud-Radar 6.1
    AWS CloudFormation vs Cloud-Radar
  20. 21
    Serverspec LinuxWin 6.0
    AWS CloudFormation vs Serverspec

AWS CloudFormation alternatives compared

#ToolScoreFree planFromRuns on
1Chef InSpec7.5Free planFreeAPI, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
2Conftest7.4Free planFreeLinux, Mac, Windows
3kubeconform7.2Free planFreeLinux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
4Test Kitchen7.2Free planFreeLinux, Mac, Windows
6Sonobuoy7.1No—Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
7Terratest7.1Free planFreeLinux
8TFLint7.1Free planFreeLinux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
9cfn-lint7.0Free planFreeLinux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
10Cinc Auditor7.0Free planFreeLinux, Mac, Windows
11OpenSCAP7.0Free planFreeLinux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
12Checkov6.9Free planFreeLinux, Mac
13KICS6.9Free planFreeLinux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
14terraform-plugin-testing6.9Free planFreeLinux, Mac
15cfn-nag6.7Free planFreeLinux, Mac, self-hosted
16KubeLinter6.7Free planFreeLinux, Mac, self-hosted
17terraform-compliance6.7Free planFreeLinux, self-hosted
18CIS-CAT Pro Assessor6.6No$200/moAPI, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
19kube-score6.5No—Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows
20Cloud-Radar6.1No——
21Serverspec6.0No—Linux, Windows
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Questions about AWS CloudFormation alternatives

What is the best alternative to AWS CloudFormation?

Chef InSpec, number 1 in infrastructure testing tools with a score of 7.5 out of 10. The others here: Conftest, kubeconform, Test Kitchen and 16 more.

What is the best free alternative to AWS CloudFormation?

Chef InSpec is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 15 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.

How are these alternatives 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.