AWS CDK vs Spacelift

AWS CDK is a framework for defining AWS cloud application infrastructure with familiar programming languages and deploying it through AWS CloudFormation. Stable bindings are available for TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, Java, C#/.NET, and Go. The AWS Construct Library supplies reusable constructs for AWS services and features. CDK Pipelines supports CI/CD deployment to testing, integration, and production environments. In Visual Studio Code, the AWS CDK Explorer preview can browse projects, stacks, resources, and policies. The tool supports AWS only and provides managed state, policy as code, drift detection, importing existing resources, and self-hosted execution. CDK itself has no charge, although deployed AWS resources may incur charges. Developers need Node.js 22.x or later regardless of application language. Deployments use configured AWS credentials and IAM roles. AWS recommends IAM security practices, and custom constructs cannot guarantee compliance because general-purpose code can bypass their checks.

Spacelift is an infrastructure-as-code orchestration platform that automates plans, applies, policy checks, and drift detection, while recording actions for governance and security. It integrates with Terraform, OpenTofu, Pulumi, CloudFormation, Kubernetes, Ansible, AWS CDK, Serverless, and Terragrunt. Source control connections include Bitbucket, GitHub, GitLab, and Azure DevOps; cloud and notification integrations include AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Slack, and Microsoft Teams. Governance features include OPA-based policies for plans, approvals, notifications, and security controls, along with Spaces, Contexts, and role-based access control. Deployment options include managed SaaS, self-hosting on a cloud provider, on-premises and air-gapped deployment, and FedRAMP-authorized SaaS. The Free plan costs nothing and includes 2 users and 1 public worker. Starter + costs $20,000 a year as an annual subscription. The pricing FAQ says Starter+, Business, and Enterprise subscriptions are annual and that features or workers cannot be removed from annual subscriptions. Spacelift says customer data is encrypted at rest and in transit and that it holds SOC 2 Type II certification.