Side by side
TaskCat vs terraform-compliance
Both stand on infrastructure testing tools. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan APILinux
TaskCat focuses on regional CloudFormation deployment tests with pass/fail reporting and detailed outputs. Its free license, APIs, and CI/CD integrations suit automated infrastructure validation, provided you can supply the required AWS access.
Visit TaskCat Free plan LinuxSelf-hosted
Pick terraform-compliance if you need free policy tests for Terraform and want rules expressed in readable scenarios. Look elsewhere if you need runtime enforcement or policy testing for infrastructure formats beyond Terraform plan and state output.
Visit terraform-complianceThe facts
| TaskCat | terraform-compliance | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | API, Linux | Linux, Self-hosted |
| Lowest paid plan | Not published | Free or on request |
| Plans published | None | 1 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | aws-ia.github.io | terraform-compliance.com |
| On infrastructure testing tools | #25 of 27 | #21 of 27 |
TaskCat: what it does well
- Tests templates across all or selected AWS Regions
- Validates stacks and verifies deployed resources
- Generates outputs, details, and deployment timelines
- Offers CLI and Python API access
- Free, open source, Apache-2.0 licensed
What to know first
- Requires AWS credentials and permissions
- Testing guide lists broad AWS permissions
- Supports AWS CloudFormation only
terraform-compliance: what it does well
- Free to use and distributed under the MIT license.
- Works with any Terraform provider.
- Policies use behavior-driven feature files.
- Feature files can be loaded from directories or Git repositories.
- Documentation includes CircleCI and GitHub Actions examples.
What to know first
- Checks Terraform plan or state output rather than other listed IaC formats.
- Runtime enforcement is not supported.
- The pip installation route requires Python 3.x.
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