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Best AWS CloudFormation Alternatives in 2026

Updated

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

  1. 2
    Conftest Free plan LinuxMacWin Free6.6
    AWS CloudFormation vs Conftest
  2. 3
    cfn-lint Free plan LinuxMacself-hostedWin Free6.5
    AWS CloudFormation vs cfn-lint
  3. 4
    Chef InSpec Free plan apiLinuxMacself-hostedWin Free6.5
    AWS CloudFormation vs Chef InSpec
  4. 5
    Cinc Auditor Free plan LinuxMacWin Free6.5
    AWS CloudFormation vs Cinc Auditor
  5. 6
    KICS Free plan LinuxMacself-hostedWin Free6.5
    AWS CloudFormation vs KICS
  6. 7
    kubeconform Free plan LinuxMacself-hostedWin Free6.5
    AWS CloudFormation vs kubeconform
  7. 8
    OpenSCAP Free plan LinuxMacself-hostedWin Free6.5
    AWS CloudFormation vs OpenSCAP
  8. 9
    Test Kitchen Free plan LinuxMacWin Free6.5
    AWS CloudFormation vs Test Kitchen
  9. 10
    TFLint Free plan LinuxMacself-hostedWin Free6.5
    AWS CloudFormation vs TFLint
  10. 11
    cfn-nag Free plan LinuxMacself-hosted Free6.4
    AWS CloudFormation vs cfn-nag
  11. 12
    Checkov Free plan LinuxMac Free6.4
    AWS CloudFormation vs Checkov
  12. 13
    KubeLinter Free plan LinuxMacself-hosted Free6.4
    AWS CloudFormation vs KubeLinter
  13. 14
    terraform-plugin-testing Free plan LinuxMac Free6.4
    AWS CloudFormation vs terraform-plugin-testing
  14. 15
    Terratest Free plan Linux Free6.4
    AWS CloudFormation vs Terratest
  15. 16
    terraform-compliance Free plan Linuxself-hosted Free6.3
    AWS CloudFormation vs terraform-compliance
  16. 17
    Sonobuoy LinuxMacself-hostedWin 5.6
    AWS CloudFormation vs Sonobuoy
  17. 18
    kube-score LinuxMacself-hostedWebWin 5.5
    AWS CloudFormation vs kube-score
  18. 19
    Cloud-Radar 5.3
    AWS CloudFormation vs Cloud-Radar
  19. 20
    Serverspec LinuxWin 5.3
    AWS CloudFormation vs Serverspec
  20. 21
    CIS-CAT Pro Assessor apiLinuxMacself-hostedWin $200/mo5.2
    AWS CloudFormation vs CIS-CAT Pro Assessor

AWS CloudFormation alternatives compared

#AppScoreFree planFromRuns on
2Conftest6.6Free planFreeLinux, Mac, Windows
3cfn-lint6.5Free planFreeLinux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
4Chef InSpec6.5Free planFreeAPI, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
5Cinc Auditor6.5Free planFreeLinux, Mac, Windows
6KICS6.5Free planFreeLinux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
7kubeconform6.5Free planFreeLinux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
8OpenSCAP6.5Free planFreeLinux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
9Test Kitchen6.5Free planFreeLinux, Mac, Windows
10TFLint6.5Free planFreeLinux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
11cfn-nag6.4Free planFreeLinux, Mac, self-hosted
12Checkov6.4Free planFreeLinux, Mac
13KubeLinter6.4Free planFreeLinux, Mac, self-hosted
14terraform-plugin-testing6.4Free planFreeLinux, Mac
15Terratest6.4Free planFreeLinux
16terraform-compliance6.3Free planFreeLinux, self-hosted
17Sonobuoy5.6No—Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
18kube-score5.5No—Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows
19Cloud-Radar5.3No——
20Serverspec5.3No—Linux, Windows
21CIS-CAT Pro Assessor5.2No$200/moAPI, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
Make your app an alternative to AWS CloudFormation

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Questions about AWS CloudFormation alternatives

What is the best alternative to AWS CloudFormation?

Conftest, number 2 in infrastructure testing tools with a score of 6.6 out of 10. The others here: cfn-lint, Chef InSpec, Cinc Auditor and 16 more.

What is the best free alternative to AWS CloudFormation?

Conftest 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 free-and-open first: a usable free tier and open-source code, then the platforms it runs on and its documentation. Paid placements never change a rank.