CDK8s vs Terraform
CDK8s
cdk8s.ioTerraform
developer.hashicorp.comSide by side
| Figure | CDK8s | Terraform |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $0.10/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 10 |
| Spec score · Infrastructure as Code Tools | 7.6 (#15) | 8.7 (#3) |
| Integrations | The docs describe using cdk8s charts in an AWS CDK application and applying them with the EKS construct library. | HashiCorp lists integrations for AI and MCP servers, audit, CI/CD, VCS, security scanning, policy, cost management, SSO, observability, and multi-cloud platforms. |
| What it does | cdk8s is an open-source framework for defining Kubernetes applications and reusable abstractions with familiar programming languages and object-oriented APIs. | Terraform is an infrastructure-as-code tool for building, changing, and versioning compute, storage, networking, DNS, and SaaS infrastructure. |
Plans
Terraform
- FreeFree
- StandardPriced on request
- PremiumPriced on request
- HCP Terraform FreeFree
- Terraform Community EditionFree
- HCP Terraform Essentials$0.10 a month
- HCP Terraform Standard$0.47 a month
- HCP Terraform Premium$0.99 a month
- EssentialsPrice not published
- Terraform EnterprisePriced on request
In their own words
Terraform
Terraform is an infrastructure-as-code tool for defining, provisioning, and managing cloud and on-premises resources through human-readable configuration files. Its core process is to write a configuration, review an execution plan, then apply approved changes. Providers connect Terraform to services through APIs, and the Terraform Registry lists providers for AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Kubernetes, GitHub, and Splunk. Modules package reusable infrastructure configurations that users can find or publish in the Registry. The free Community Edition is a downloadable command-line tool. HCP Terraform adds remote execution, repository connections to GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket that can trigger plans after changes, and an API. It stores state remotely with encryption at rest and offers workspaces, single sign-on, and role-based access controls. HCP Terraform and Terraform Enterprise support Sentinel policies. HashiCorp cautions that policy-as-code is a guardrail, not a security boundary, and trusted providers and modules matter because they can access workspace variables and state. Downloads are available for Windows, macOS, and Linux.