# AWS CloudFormation vs Terraform

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Terraform

| Attribute | AWS CloudFormation | Terraform |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 52.6 (73% (medium)) | 62.4 (53% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | - | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | - | 1,108 |
| adoption.github_stars | - | 49,829 |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"A cloud service that lets you provision and manage AWS resources by defining them in template files, supporting both AWS-native and third-party resources through a pluggable ecosystem. It is indexed under Infrastructure as Code Tools.","source":"https://aws.amazon.com/cloudformation/pricing/","question":"What is AWS CloudFormation?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"AWS CloudFormation offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Paid plans start at $0.00. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://aws.amazon.com/cloudformation/pricing/","question":"Is AWS CloudFormation free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"AWS CloudFormation supports the web and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://aws.amazon.com/cloudformation/pricing/","question":"What platforms does AWS CloudFormation support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for AWS CloudFormation, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://aws.amazon.com/cloudformation/pricing/","question":"Can AWS CloudFormation be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 23 integrations for AWS CloudFormation, including MongoDB, Datadog, Atlassian Opsgenie, JFrog, Trend Micro, Splunk, Aqua Security and FireEye, plus 15 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://aws.amazon.com/cloudformation/pricing/","question":"What does AWS CloudFormation integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed HIPAA and GDPR for AWS CloudFormation. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as AWS CloudFormation not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://aws.amazon.com/security/?nc1=f_cc","question":"What security certifications does AWS CloudFormation have?","confidence":0.7},{"answer":"AWS CloudFormation is available worldwide. The vendor is headquartered in the United States.","source":"https://aws.amazon.com/cloudformation/pricing/","question":"Where is AWS CloudFormation available?","confidence":0.75}]` | `[{"answer":"Terraform is an infrastructure as code tool that lets you build, change, and version infrastructure safely and efficiently. It manages low-level components like compute, storage, and networking as well as high-level components like DNS entries and SaaS features. It is indexed under Infrastructure as Code Tools.","source":"https://www.terraform.io","question":"What is Terraform?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Terraform is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://www.terraform.io","question":"Is Terraform free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Terraform supports a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://www.terraform.io","question":"What platforms does Terraform support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Terraform can be deployed self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://www.terraform.io","question":"Can Terraform be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 10 integrations for Terraform, including AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Oracle Cloud, Docker, Consul, Packer and Vault, plus 2 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.terraform.io","question":"What does Terraform integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed SOC 2 and ISO 27001 for Terraform. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as Terraform not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://www.terraform.io/security","question":"What security certifications does Terraform have?","confidence":0.7}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true}` | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | A service for defining and deploying AWS cloud infrastructure using declarative code templates, enabling automated provisioning, updates, and management of resources at scale across multiple accounts and regions. | Terraform is an infrastructure-as-code platform that lets teams define, provision, and manage cloud and on-premise infrastructure through declarative configuration files. It generates execution plans before making changes, manages resource dependencies, and enables version control and collaboration on infrastructure definitions. |
| features.capabilities | `{"hosting":"cloud","language":"JSON, YAML, TypeScript, Python, Java, .NET","paradigm":"declarative_dsl","multicloud":false,"policy_as_code":true,"drift_detection":true,"import_existing":true,"state_management":"vendor_managed","open_source_engine":true,"provider_ecosystem":true,"gitops_reconciliation":true,"managed_saas_offering":true}` | `{"hosting":"both","language":"HCL","paradigm":"declarative_dsl","multicloud":true,"policy_as_code":true,"import_existing":true,"state_management":"vendor_managed","open_source_engine":true,"provider_ecosystem":true,"managed_saas_offering":true}` |
| integrations.count | 9 | 10 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"MongoDB"},{"name":"Datadog"},{"name":"Atlassian Opsgenie"},{"name":"JFrog"},{"name":"Trend Micro"},{"name":"Splunk"},{"name":"Aqua Security"},{"name":"FireEye"},{"name":"Sysdig"},{"name":"Snyk"},{"name":"Check Point"},{"name":"Spot by NetApp"},{"name":"Gremlin"},{"name":"Stackery"},{"name":"Iridium"},{"name":"AWS CDK"},{"name":"AWS SAM (Serverless Application Model)"},{"name":"Visual Studio"},{"name":"Kiro"},{"name":"AWS CloudFormation Registry"},{"name":"AWS Partner Network (APN)"},{"name":"Serverless Application Model (SAM)","native":true,"category":"framework"},{"name":"Git repositories","native":true,"direction":"inbound"}]` | `[{"name":"AWS"},{"name":"Azure"},{"name":"Google Cloud Platform"},{"name":"Oracle Cloud"},{"name":"Docker"},{"name":"Consul"},{"name":"Packer"},{"name":"Vault"},{"name":"Boundary"},{"name":"GitHub"}]` |
| language.primary | - | Go |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | - |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` | `{"cli":true,"windows":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"usage","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"Third-party Resources & Custom Hooks","summary":"$0.0009/handler operation after 1,000 free ops/month","features":["Unlimited AWS::* and Alexa::* resource operations (no handler charges)","Third-party resource provisioning","Custom hook support","Handler operation billing after free tier","Duration overage billing"],"components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"handler operation"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.0009,"currency":"USD"},{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"second"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.00008,"currency":"USD","description":"Duration overage beyond 30 seconds per operation"}],"description":"Pay-per-operation model for third-party resource providers and custom hooks","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"free_handler_operations":"1,000/month","free_duration_per_operation":"30 seconds"}}],"summary":"Usage-based: $0.0009/handler operation + $0.00008/sec overage. 1,000 free operations/month. Data transfer at AWS rates.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://aws.amazon.com/cloudformation/pricing/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T16:36:19.015Z","startingPrice":{"amount":0.00008,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}}` | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.terraform.io","retrievedAt":"2026-08-13T09:37:57.093Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | free | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| pricing.transparent | no | - |
| release.cadence_days | - | 6 |
| release.history | - | `[{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform/releases/tag/v1.16.5","date":"2026-10-02T13:04:00Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.16.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform/releases/tag/v1.17.0-beta2","date":"2026-09-23T15:48:24Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.17.0-beta2"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform/releases/tag/v1.16.4","date":"2026-09-23T12:44:16Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.16.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform/releases/tag/v1.16.3","date":"2026-09-16T14:33:39Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.16.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform/releases/tag/v1.17.0-beta1","date":"2026-09-09T17:13:24Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.17.0-beta1"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform/releases/tag/v1.16.2","date":"2026-09-09T13:22:31Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.16.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform/releases/tag/v1.16.1","date":"2026-09-02T14:49:32Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.16.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform/releases/tag/v1.17.0-alpha20260827","date":"2026-08-27T10:30:11Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.17.0-alpha20260827"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform/releases/tag/v1.16.0","date":"2026-08-26T13:05:28Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.16.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform/releases/tag/v1.16.0-rc2","date":"2026-08-19T12:08:45Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.16.0-rc2"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform/releases/tag/v1.15.9","date":"2026-08-19T14:29:32Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.15.9"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform/releases/tag/v1.17.0-alpha20260812","date":"2026-08-12T12:01:24Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.17.0-alpha20260812"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform/releases/tag/v1.16.0-rc1","date":"2026-08-12T15:22:32Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.16.0-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform/releases/tag/v1.16.0-beta2","date":"2026-08-05T18:07:50Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.16.0-beta2"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform/releases/tag/v1.17.0-alpha20260729","date":"2026-07-29T19:38:27Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.17.0-alpha20260729"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform/releases/tag/v1.16.0-beta1","date":"2026-07-23T16:51:01Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.16.0-beta1"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform/releases/tag/v1.16.0-alpha20260715","date":"2026-07-15T12:44:36Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.16.0-alpha20260715"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform/releases/tag/v1.16.0-alpha20260708","date":"2026-07-08T09:19:38Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.16.0-alpha20260708"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform/releases/tag/v1.15.8","date":"2026-07-08T17:45:09Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.15.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform/releases/tag/v1.16.0-alpha20260706","date":"2026-07-06T14:49:07Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.16.0-alpha20260706"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | yes | yes |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | yes |
| security.fedramp | yes | - |
| security.gdpr | yes | - |
| security.hipaa | yes | - |
| security.iso27001 | - | yes |
| security.pci | yes | - |
| security.scorecard | - | 6.6 |
| security.soc2 | - | yes |
| security.trust_center | https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/ | - |
| security.vulnerabilities | - | `{"count":2,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fhashicorp%2Fterraform&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":"HIGH"}` |

## Capabilities (Infrastructure as Code Tools)

| Capability | AWS CloudFormation | Terraform |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Paradigm | Declarative DSL | Declarative DSL |
| Language | JSON, YAML, TypeScript, Python, Java, .NET | HCL |
| **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 only | Cloud + self-hosted |
| **Adoption** |  |  |
| Import existing resources | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Licensing** |  |  |
| Open-source engine | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Ecosystem** |  |  |
| CNCF maturity | - | - |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T20:51:34.215Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*