Best Infrastructure as Code Tools in 2026
Updated
In short: Terraform is ranked #1 of 24 as of 5 October 2026, ahead of AWS CloudFormation and Cloudify. The best-ranked option with a free plan is AWS CloudFormation. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Terraform at $0.10/mo.
Managing infrastructure through configuration involves choices about languages, clouds, and how changes are tracked. Compare state management and drift detection with importing existing resources, policy-as-code support, and self-hosted execution. The supported clouds, free-plan availability, and paid-from pricing offer additional dimensions for assessing fit. Terraform, AWS CloudFormation, and Cloudify are among the tools shown, along with Kusion and Pulumi. Use these listed criteria to consider how each option aligns with the infrastructure you manage and the workflows you need to support.
24 infrastructure as code tools ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
13 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 | AWS CloudFormationWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux · API | Three bars | — | 4 of 6 | Free | 6.6 | |
| 3 | CloudifyWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Three bars | — | 4 of 6 | Free | 6.6 | |
| 4 | KusionWeb · 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 | TerramateWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux · API | Three bars | — | 4 of 6 | $449/mo | 6.6 | |
| 7 | AWS CDKWindows · Mac · Linux | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | Free | 6.5 | |
| 8 | OpenTofuWindows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | Free | 6.5 | |
| 9 | TerragruntWindows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | $500/mo | 6.5 | |
| 10 | env0Web · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | Free | 6.4 | |
| 11 | ScalrWeb · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 2 of 6 | Free | 6.4 | |
| 12 | SpaceliftWeb · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | $1666.67/mo | 6.4 | |
| 13 | CDK8sSelf-hosted | Two bars | — | 0 of 6 | Free | 6.2 | |
| 14 | HashiCorp NomadWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | — | 4 of 6 | — | 5.6 |
| 15 | Azure BicepWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux | One bar | — | — | 4 of 6 | — | 5.5 |
| 16 | Google Config ConnectorWindows · Mac · Linux | One bar | — | — | 3 of 6 | — | 5.4 |
| 17 | SceptreMac · Linux | No signal | — | — | 2 of 6 | — | 5.3 |
| 18 | TerrateamWeb | No signal | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 19 | AWS Controllers for KubernetesNo platforms listed | No signal | — | — | 0 of 6 | — | 5.1 |
| 20 | Azure Service OperatorNo platforms listed | No signal | — | — | 0 of 6 | — | 5.1 |
| 21 | CrossplaneNo platforms listed | No signal | — | — | 0 of 6 | — | 5.1 |
| 22 | OpenStack HeatLinux | No signal | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.1 |
| 23 | FireflyWeb · Self-hosted · API | One bar | — | — | 1 of 6 | $2,499/mo | 5.0 |
| 24 | Google Cloud Infrastructure ManagerWeb | No signal | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 4.8 |
Compare all 24 in a table
| # | App | Score | Free plan | From | Free plan | Paid from | Configuration language | Supported clouds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Terraform | 6.7 | Free plan | $0.10/mo | Yes | — | hcl | Amazon Web Services, Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure |
| 2 | AWS CloudFormation | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | yaml/json | AWS |
| 3 | Cloudify | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | yaml/json | AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, OpenStack |
| 4 | Kusion | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | — | — | — | AWS, AliCloud, Azure, Google Cloud |
| 5 | Pulumi | 6.6 | Free plan | $40/mo | Yes | 40 /mo | general-purpose language | AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Kubernetes |
| 6 | Terramate | 6.6 | Free plan | $449/mo | Yes | 449 /mo | hcl | AWS, Google Cloud, Azure |
| 7 | AWS CDK | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | general-purpose language | AWS |
| 8 | OpenTofu | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | hcl | Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Kubernetes, Helm, GitHub, Splunk, Datadog |
| 9 | Terragrunt | 6.5 | Free plan | $500/mo | Yes | 500 /mo | hcl | AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and other OpenTofu/Terraform-supported platforms |
| 10 | env0 | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | hcl | AWS, Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure |
| 11 | Scalr | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | hcl | AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform |
| 12 | Spacelift | 6.4 | Free plan | $1666.67/mo | Yes | — | hcl | AWS, Azure, GCP |
| 13 | CDK8s | 6.2 | Free plan | Free | — | — | general-purpose language | — |
| 14 | HashiCorp Nomad | 5.6 | No | — | — | — | hcl | Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform |
| 15 | Azure Bicep | 5.5 | No | — | Yes | — | hcl | Azure |
| 16 | Google Config Connector | 5.4 | No | — | Yes | — | yaml/json | Google Cloud |
| 17 | Sceptre | 5.3 | No | — | Yes | — | yaml/json | AWS |
| 18 | Terrateam | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | 1,000 /mo | hcl | AWS, Google Cloud, Azure |
| 19 | AWS Controllers for Kubernetes | 5.1 | No | — | — | — | yaml/json | AWS |
| 20 | Azure Service Operator | 5.1 | No | — | — | — | yaml/json | Azure |
| 21 | Crossplane | 5.1 | No | — | — | — | yaml/json | AWS, Azure, Google Cloud |
| 22 | OpenStack Heat | 5.1 | No | — | — | — | yaml/json | OpenStack |
| 23 | Firefly | 5.0 | No | $2,499/mo | No | 2,499 /mo | hcl | AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, OCI, Nebius, Kubernetes |
| 24 | Google Cloud Infrastructure Manager | 4.8 | No | — | No | — | hcl | Google Cloud |
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 infrastructure as code tool is ranked first on Freedom251?
Terraform is ranked #1 of 24 with a score of 6.7. AWS CloudFormation is second and Cloudify third.
How many of these have a free plan?
13 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.