Google Cloud Deploy vs Terraform

Google Cloud Deploy automates application delivery through an ordered set of target environments. It deploys to Google Kubernetes Engine, Cloud Run, GKE attached clusters, and custom targets, with releases promoted or rolled back through the web console, CLI, or API. Deployment options include canary and parallel rollouts, verification, deploy hooks, and automated promotion. IAM roles and conditions determine which authenticated users and service accounts can act. Cloud Audit Logs and Cloud Logging support audit trails and platform logs. Teams can invoke the service from CI through its CLI or API, including documented GitHub Actions and GitLab connections. Skaffold and Cloud Build render and deploy manifests, alongside artifact repositories and testing or workflow tools. The first active multiple-target pipeline each month costs nothing; each additional active multiple-target pipeline costs $5 a month per billing account. Underlying services may add charges. The regional system limit is 18,000 API requests per minute.

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.