Best Cloud Orchestration Software in 2026
Updated
In short: Terraform is ranked #1 of 24 as of 5 October 2026, ahead of Argo Workflows and AWS CloudFormation. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Argo Workflows. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Terraform at $0.10/mo.
Cloud orchestration software is for coordinating infrastructure and automating workflows across cloud environments. Compared on cloud providers and deployment targets, the entries also show whether they support infrastructure as code and workflow automation. Audit logs and concurrent runs offer additional operational points to weigh. Free-plan availability and paid-from pricing can help you consider cost alongside those capabilities. Terraform, AWS CloudFormation and Cloudify are among the options shown. To narrow your choices, consider which providers and deployment targets matter to your setup, along with the kinds of automation you need.
24 cloud orchestration software ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
15 of the 24 here have a free tier you can use, 0 have open-source code on record, and 0 have full bars: free, open, on most of your devices and documented.
| # | App | Signal | Free tier | Open code | Devices | From | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TerraformWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Three bars | — | 4 of 6 | $0.10/mo | 6.7 | |
| 2 | Argo WorkflowsWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Three bars | — | 4 of 6 | Free | 6.6 | |
| 3 | AWS CloudFormationWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux · API | Three bars | — | 4 of 6 | Free | 6.6 | |
| 4 | CloudifyWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Three bars | — | 4 of 6 | Free | 6.6 | |
| 5 | PulumiWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Three bars | — | 4 of 6 | $40/mo | 6.6 | |
| 6 | RundeckWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Three bars | — | 4 of 6 | Free | 6.6 | |
| 7 | KubernetesWindows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | Free | 6.5 | |
| 8 | OpenTofuWindows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | Free | 6.5 | |
| 9 | Apache CloudStackWeb · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 2 of 6 | Free | 6.4 | |
| 10 | env0Web · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | Free | 6.4 | |
| 11 | RancherWeb · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 2 of 6 | Free | 6.4 | |
| 12 | ScalrWeb · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 2 of 6 | Free | 6.4 | |
| 13 | SpaceliftWeb · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | $1666.67/mo | 6.4 | |
| 14 | StackStormWeb · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 2 of 6 | Free | 6.4 | |
| 15 | OpenStack BarbicanLinux · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | Free | 6.3 | |
| 16 | TemporalWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | — | 4 of 6 | $50/mo | 5.6 |
| 17 | OpenNebulaWeb · Linux · Self-hosted · API | One bar | — | — | 2 of 6 | — | 5.5 |
| 18 | Azure BicepWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux | One bar | — | — | 4 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 19 | HPE Morpheus EnterpriseWeb · Linux · Self-hosted · API | One bar | — | — | 2 of 6 | — | 5.0 |
| 20 | Rafay Kubernetes Operations PlatformWeb | No signal | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.0 |
| 21 | CloudBoltNo platforms listed | No signal | — | — | 0 of 6 | — | 4.9 |
| 22 | CrossplaneNo platforms listed | No signal | — | — | 0 of 6 | — | 4.8 |
| 23 | KarmadaNo platforms listed | No signal | — | — | 0 of 6 | — | 4.8 |
| 24 | Google Cloud Infrastructure ManagerWeb | No signal | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 4.6 |
Compare all 24 in a table
| # | App | Score | Free plan | From | Free plan | Paid from | Cloud providers | Infrastructure as code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Terraform | 6.7 | Free plan | $0.10/mo | Yes | — | — | — |
| 2 | Argo Workflows | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | — | — | — | — |
| 3 | AWS CloudFormation | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 4 | Cloudify | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 5 | Pulumi | 6.6 | Free plan | $40/mo | Yes | 40 /mo | — | — |
| 6 | Rundeck | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 7 | Kubernetes | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 8 | OpenTofu | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 9 | Apache CloudStack | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 10 | env0 | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | AWS, Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure | Yes |
| 11 | Rancher | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 12 | Scalr | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 13 | Spacelift | 6.4 | Free plan | $1666.67/mo | Yes | — | — | — |
| 14 | StackStorm | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 15 | OpenStack Barbican | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | — | — | — | — |
| 16 | Temporal | 5.6 | No | $50/mo | Yes | — | — | — |
| 17 | OpenNebula | 5.5 | No | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| 18 | Azure Bicep | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| 19 | HPE Morpheus Enterprise | 5.0 | No | — | No | — | — | — |
| 20 | Rafay Kubernetes Operations Platform | 5.0 | No | — | — | — | — | — |
| 21 | CloudBolt | 4.9 | No | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| 22 | Crossplane | 4.8 | No | — | — | — | — | — |
| 23 | Karmada | 4.8 | No | — | — | — | — | — |
| 24 | Google Cloud Infrastructure Manager | 4.6 | No | — | No | — | — | — |
Is your app on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored, and a sponsored row is labelled as paid.
Questions about this list
Which cloud orchestration software is ranked first on Freedom251?
Terraform is ranked #1 of 24 with a score of 6.7. Argo Workflows is second and AWS CloudFormation third.
How many of these have a free plan?
15 of the 24 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, Terraform has the lowest first paid tier we found: $0.10/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked free-and-open first: a usable free tier and open-source code, then the platforms it runs on and its documentation.