# AWS CDK vs Spacelift

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** AWS CDK

| Attribute | AWS CDK | Spacelift |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 70 (75% (high)) | 46.9 (74% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 99 | - |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 4,665 | - |
| adoption.github_stars | 12,933 | - |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | 1,569,573 | - |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"A development framework that lets you define AWS cloud resources and infrastructure using standard programming languages like TypeScript, Python, Java, .NET, and Go. CDK compiles your code into CloudFormation templates for deployment. It is indexed under Infrastructure as Code Tools.","source":"https://aws.amazon.com/pricing/?nc2=h_pr_hub","question":"What is AWS CDK?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"AWS CDK is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the Apache-2.0 licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://aws.amazon.com/pricing/?nc2=h_pr_hub","question":"Is AWS CDK free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"AWS CDK supports a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://aws.amazon.com/pricing/?nc2=h_pr_hub","question":"What platforms does AWS CDK support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. AWS CDK can be deployed self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://aws.amazon.com/pricing/?nc2=h_pr_hub","question":"Can AWS CDK be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 5 integrations for AWS CDK, including AWS CloudFormation, AWS Lambda, AWS SNS, AWS Step Functions and AWS EC2. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/pricing/?nc2=h_pr_ec2","question":"What does AWS CDK integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed HIPAA for AWS CDK. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as AWS CDK not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://aws.amazon.com/trust-center/?nc1=f_cc","question":"What security certifications does AWS CDK have?","confidence":0.7},{"answer":"Yes. AWS CDK is published under the Apache-2.0 licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/aws/aws-cdk","question":"Is AWS CDK open source?","confidence":0.99},{"answer":"AWS CDK is available worldwide. The vendor is headquartered in the United States.","source":"https://aws.amazon.com/pricing/?nc2=h_pr_hub","question":"Where is AWS CDK available?","confidence":0.75}]` | `[{"answer":"A platform that combines infrastructure-as-code tools with GitOps workflows and AI capabilities, enabling teams to automate infrastructure provisioning and deployment while maintaining governance and compliance controls. It is indexed under Infrastructure as Code Tools.","source":"https://spacelift.io/pricing","question":"What is Spacelift?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Spacelift offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Paid plans start at $20000 per year. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://spacelift.io/pricing","question":"Is Spacelift free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Spacelift supports the web and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://spacelift.io/pricing","question":"What platforms does Spacelift support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Spacelift can be deployed cloud / SaaS, hybrid, on-premise, air-gapped and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://spacelift.io/pricing","question":"Can Spacelift be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 19 integrations for Spacelift, including Terraform, OpenTofu, CloudFormation, Pulumi, Kubernetes, Ansible, GitHub and GitLab, plus 11 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://spacelift.io/pricing","question":"What does Spacelift integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed SOC 2 for Spacelift. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as Spacelift not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://spacelift.io/security","question":"What security certifications does Spacelift have?","confidence":0.7},{"answer":"Spacelift is available worldwide. Its primary market is the United States.","source":"https://spacelift.io/pricing","question":"Where is Spacelift available?","confidence":0.5}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true,"on_prem":true,"air_gapped":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | A development framework that lets you define AWS cloud resources and infrastructure using standard programming languages like TypeScript, Python, Java, .NET, and Go. CDK compiles your code into CloudFormation templates for deployment. | Spacelift is an orchestration platform for managing infrastructure-as-code workflows. It supports multiple IaC tools including Terraform, CloudFormation, Pulumi, and Kubernetes, with policy enforcement, drift detection, and multiple deployment models ranging from cloud-hosted SaaS to on-premises installations. |
| features.capabilities | `{"language":"TypeScript, Python, Java, .NET, Go","paradigm":"general_language","multicloud":false,"policy_as_code":true,"drift_detection":true,"import_existing":true,"state_management":"vendor_managed","open_source_engine":true,"provider_ecosystem":true,"managed_saas_offering":false}` | `{"hosting":"both","language":"Terraform HCL, Kubernetes YAML, CloudFormation JSON, Pulumi Python, Ansible","paradigm":"declarative_dsl","multicloud":true,"policy_as_code":true,"drift_detection":true,"import_existing":true,"state_management":"vendor_managed","open_source_engine":false,"provider_ecosystem":true,"gitops_reconciliation":true,"managed_saas_offering":true}` |
| integrations.count | 5 | 22 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"AWS CloudFormation"},{"name":"AWS Lambda"},{"name":"AWS SNS"},{"name":"AWS Step Functions"},{"name":"AWS EC2"}]` | `[{"name":"Terraform"},{"name":"OpenTofu"},{"name":"CloudFormation"},{"name":"Pulumi"},{"name":"Kubernetes"},{"name":"Ansible"},{"name":"GitHub"},{"name":"GitLab"},{"name":"Bitbucket"},{"name":"AWS"},{"name":"Azure"},{"name":"Google Cloud"},{"name":"Slack"},{"name":"Infracost"},{"name":"Checkov"},{"name":"Wiz"},{"name":"OPA"},{"name":"ServiceNow","native":true,"category":"itsm","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Terragrunt","native":true,"category":"iac","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"AWS CDK","native":true,"category":"iac","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Serverless Framework","native":true,"category":"iac","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Bitbucket Cloud","native":true,"category":"vcs","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Bitbucket Datacenter","native":true,"category":"vcs","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Azure DevOps","native":true,"category":"vcs","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Microsoft Teams","native":true,"category":"chat","direction":"outbound"},{"name":"Datadog","native":true,"category":"monitoring","direction":"outbound"}]` |
| language.primary | TypeScript | - |
| license.spdx | Apache-2.0 | - |
| market.availability | `{"hqCountry":"US","primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"hqCountry":"US","primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true}` | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://aws.amazon.com/pricing/?nc2=h_pr_hub","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T21:53:47.459Z"}` | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Free","summary":"Free tier for small teams","features":["IaC support","VCS integration","Resource visualization","1 public worker"],"minSeats":2,"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":0,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"For small teams to get started","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"users":"2","public_workers":"1"}},{"free":false,"name":"Starter+","summary":"$20,000/year, includes 2 public workers and 1-2 private workers","features":["IaC support","Workflow customization","VCS integration","Resource visualization","Cloud cost estimation","Spacelift Terraform provider","Cloud integrations","Drift detection","Policy as Code engine"],"commitment":"annual","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":20000,"period":"year","currency":"USD"}],"description":"For growing teams looking to optimize team workflows with infrastructure automation","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"users":"unlimited","public_workers":"2","private_workers":"1-2"}},{"free":false,"name":"Business","summary":"Annual subscription, custom pricing","features":["All Starter+ features","Private provider registry","Targeted replans","Dedicated Slack support channel","Dedicated Customer Success Manager","Silver Support + CSM"],"commitment":"annual","description":"For teams looking to orchestrate infrastructure provisioning, configuration, and collaboration","contactSales":true,"includedLimits":{"users":"unlimited","private_workers":"3"}},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","summary":"Annual subscription, custom pricing","features":["All Business features","Audit trail","SSO integration with SAML 2.0","OIDC API Keys","Internal source control system","Enhanced Onboarding Support","Silver Support + CSM"],"commitment":"annual","description":"For companies that need enterprise-level infrastructure orchestration and governance","contactSales":true,"includedLimits":{"users":"unlimited","private_workers":"5-30"}},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise+","summary":"Annual subscription, custom pricing","features":["All Enterprise features","MFA","Self-hosted option","FedRAMP authorization","On-premises/air-gapped environments","Gold Support + CSM + Executive escalation"],"commitment":"annual","description":"For companies requiring SaaS or self-hosted deployments with enhanced security, compliance, and support","contactSales":true,"includedLimits":{"users":"unlimited","private_workers":"12-30"}}],"summary":"Free tier available. Starter+ from $20,000/year. Higher tiers available by quote.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://spacelift.io/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-09-22T14:42:41.349Z","startingPrice":{"amount":20000,"period":"year","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month","year"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | open_source | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | free | high |
| pricing.starting_price | - | `{"amount":20000,"currency":"USD"}` |
| pricing.transparent | yes | no |
| release.cadence_days | 6 | - |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/aws/aws-cdk/releases/tag/v2.273.0","date":"2026-10-08T20:09:54Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.273.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/aws/aws-cdk/releases/tag/v2.272.0","date":"2026-09-30T14:12:24Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.272.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/aws/aws-cdk/releases/tag/v2.271.0","date":"2026-09-25T18:49:23Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.271.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/aws/aws-cdk/releases/tag/v2.270.0","date":"2026-09-17T18:35:54Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.270.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/aws/aws-cdk/releases/tag/v2.269.0","date":"2026-09-10T21:09:27Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.269.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/aws/aws-cdk/releases/tag/v2.268.0","date":"2026-09-02T19:42:48Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.268.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/aws/aws-cdk/releases/tag/v2.267.0","date":"2026-08-27T18:35:43Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.267.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/aws/aws-cdk/releases/tag/v2.266.0","date":"2026-08-19T19:02:29Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.266.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/aws/aws-cdk/releases/tag/v2.265.0","date":"2026-08-13T19:48:20Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.265.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/aws/aws-cdk/releases/tag/v2.264.0","date":"2026-08-10T18:02:37Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.264.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/aws/aws-cdk/releases/tag/v2.263.0","date":"2026-07-31T16:57:22Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.263.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/aws/aws-cdk/releases/tag/v2.262.2","date":"2026-07-29T14:24:40Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.262.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/aws/aws-cdk/releases/tag/v2.262.1","date":"2026-07-24T14:54:56Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.262.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/aws/aws-cdk/releases/tag/v2.262.0","date":"2026-07-22T20:53:52Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.262.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/aws/aws-cdk/releases/tag/v2.261.0","date":"2026-07-02T16:42:15Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.261.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/aws/aws-cdk/releases/tag/v2.260.0","date":"2026-06-16T23:45:38Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.260.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/aws/aws-cdk/releases/tag/v2.259.0","date":"2026-06-12T09:53:11Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.259.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/aws/aws-cdk/releases/tag/v2.258.1","date":"2026-06-09T09:30:30Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.258.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/aws/aws-cdk/releases/tag/v2.258.0","date":"2026-06-04T20:43:31Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.258.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/aws/aws-cdk/releases/tag/v2.257.0","date":"2026-05-21T20:24:32Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.257.0"}]` | - |
| reliability.status_page | yes | yes |
| security.certifications | - | `[{"name":"SOC 2 Type II","level":"Type II","status":"active"},{"name":"FedRAMP","status":"active"}]` |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | yes |
| security.fedramp | yes | yes |
| security.gdpr | yes | - |
| security.hipaa | yes | - |
| security.pci | yes | - |
| security.scorecard | 5.9 | - |
| security.soc2 | yes | yes |
| security.trust_center | https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/?nc2=h_dsc_aa_cmp | https://spacelift.io/security |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":8,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=aws-cdk-lib&per_page=100","last_12m":3,"max_severity":"HIGH"}` | - |

## Capabilities (Infrastructure as Code Tools)

| Capability | AWS CDK | Spacelift |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Paradigm | General language | Declarative DSL |
| Language | TypeScript, Python, Java, .NET, Go | Terraform HCL, Kubernetes YAML, CloudFormation JSON, Pulumi Python, Ansible |
| **Portability** |  |  |
| Multicloud / cloud-agnostic | ✗ | ✓ |
| **Architecture** |  |  |
| State management | Vendor-managed | Vendor-managed |
| **Extensibility** |  |  |
| Pluggable provider ecosystem | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Governance** |  |  |
| Policy as code | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Ops** |  |  |
| Drift detection | ✓ | ✓ |
| GitOps continuous reconciliation | - | ✓ |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Managed SaaS offering | ✗ | ✓ |
| Hosting | - | Cloud + self-hosted |
| **Adoption** |  |  |
| Import existing resources | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Licensing** |  |  |
| Open-source engine | ✓ | ✗ |
| **Ecosystem** |  |  |
| CNCF maturity | - | - |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T19:04:35.895Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*