# AWS CDK vs Terraform

| Attribute | AWS CDK | Terraform |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 65 (76% (high)) | 64.2 (54% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 100 | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 4,665 | 1,108 |
| adoption.github_stars | 12,876 | 49,541 |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | 1,691,427 | - |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":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. | 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. |
| 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}` | `{"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}` |
| integrations.count | 5 | 10 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"AWS CloudFormation"},{"name":"AWS Lambda"},{"name":"AWS SNS"},{"name":"AWS Step Functions"},{"name":"AWS EC2"}]` | `[{"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 | TypeScript | Go |
| license.spdx | Apache-2.0 | - |
| market.availability | `{"hqCountry":"US","primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | - |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true}` | `{"cli":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":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.terraform.io","retrievedAt":"2026-08-13T09:37:57.093Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | open_source | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| pricing.transparent | yes | - |
| release.cadence_days | 4 | 6 |
| release.history | `[{"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"},{"url":"https://github.com/aws/aws-cdk/releases/tag/v2.256.1","date":"2026-05-20T15:48:47Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.256.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/aws/aws-cdk/releases/tag/v2.256.0","date":"2026-05-19T23:02:53Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.256.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/aws/aws-cdk/releases/tag/v2.255.0","date":"2026-05-19T11:26:34Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.255.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/aws/aws-cdk/releases/tag/v2.254.0","date":"2026-05-13T22:07:55Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.254.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/aws/aws-cdk/releases/tag/v2.253.1","date":"2026-05-08T16:13:36Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.253.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/aws/aws-cdk/releases/tag/v2.253.0","date":"2026-05-06T17:51:15Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.253.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/aws/aws-cdk/releases/tag/v2.252.0","date":"2026-04-30T12:40:15Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.252.0"}]` | `[{"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"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform/releases/tag/v1.16.0-alpha20260701","date":"2026-07-01T19:49:44Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.16.0-alpha20260701"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform/releases/tag/v1.16.0-alpha20260626","date":"2026-06-26T09:03:31Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.16.0-alpha20260626"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform/releases/tag/v1.16.0-alpha20260624","date":"2026-06-24T14:07:22Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.16.0-alpha20260624"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform/releases/tag/v1.15.7","date":"2026-06-24T16:47:12Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.15.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform/releases/tag/v1.16.0-alpha20260617","date":"2026-06-17T14:07:50Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.16.0-alpha20260617"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform/releases/tag/v1.15.6","date":"2026-06-10T11:52:20Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.15.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform/releases/tag/v1.16.0-alpha20260603","date":"2026-06-03T13:24:07Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.16.0-alpha20260603"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform/releases/tag/v1.15.5","date":"2026-05-27T14:52:52Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.15.5"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | yes | yes |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | yes |
| security.hipaa | yes | - |
| security.iso27001 | - | yes |
| security.pci | yes | - |
| security.scorecard | 5.9 | 6.2 |
| security.soc2 | - | yes |
| 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"}` | `{"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 CDK | Terraform |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Paradigm | General language | Declarative DSL |
| Language | TypeScript, Python, Java, .NET, Go | 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 | - | - |
| **Adoption** |  |  |
| Import existing resources | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Licensing** |  |  |
| Open-source engine | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Ecosystem** |  |  |
| CNCF maturity | - | - |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T15:16:33.472Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*