# AWS CDK vs Terramate

**Leader by Vioscale score:** AWS CDK

| Attribute | AWS CDK | Terramate |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 65 (76% (high)) | 53.2 (39% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 100 | 11 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 4,665 | 0 |
| adoption.github_stars | 12,876 | 3,621 |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | 1,691,427 | - |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":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. | An open-source orchestration and code generation platform that enables teams to manage infrastructure-as-code at scale, providing structure, governance, and self-service capabilities for developers and platform engineers. |
| 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":"HCL","paradigm":"declarative_dsl","multicloud":true,"policy_as_code":true,"drift_detection":true,"import_existing":true,"state_management":"self_managed","open_source_engine":true,"provider_ecosystem":true,"gitops_reconciliation":true,"managed_saas_offering":true}` |
| integrations.count | 5 | 10 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"AWS CloudFormation"},{"name":"AWS Lambda"},{"name":"AWS SNS"},{"name":"AWS Step Functions"},{"name":"AWS EC2"}]` | `[{"name":"Terraform"},{"name":"OpenTofu"},{"name":"Terragrunt"},{"name":"Kubernetes"},{"name":"GitHub"},{"name":"GitHub Actions"},{"name":"GitLab CI/CD"},{"name":"BitBucket Pipelines"},{"name":"Azure DevOps"},{"name":"Slack"}]` |
| language.primary | TypeScript | Go |
| license.spdx | Apache-2.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| market.availability | `{"hqCountry":"US","primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"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":"subscription","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Community","summary":"Free forever. Up to 2 users, 1000 resources, 30-day data retention.","features":["Code Management","Deployment Workflows","Pull Request Previews","Drift Management","Observability & Visibility","Environments and Stacks","Dependencies","Unlimited Workflows","CI/CD Integration","Orchestration","GitOps","Policy as Code (OPA)","Organizations (Multitenancy)","OIDC Integration","Community Support via Discord"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":0,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"For individual DevOps and Platform Engineers to get started.","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"users":"2","resources":"1000","data_retention_days":"30"}},{"free":false,"name":"Teams","summary":"$449/month. Unlimited users, 5000 resources, 90-day retention. 14-day free trial.","features":["All Community features","Asset Management","Policies","CIS Benchmarks","DORA Metrics","Incident Management","Email and Chat Support","Dedicated shared Slack Channel","24-hour support response time"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":449,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"For SMBs and pioneering DevOps and Platform teams to get started.","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"users":"unlimited","resources":"5000","data_retention_days":"90"}},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","summary":"Custom pricing. Custom resources/retention. 4-hour support, PoC program, Cloud and Cloud-prem deployment options.","features":["All Teams features","SSO SAML 2.0","RBAC","Audit Logs","Private Source Control System integration","Cloud and Cloud-prem deployment options","4-hour support response time","PoC Program","Onboarding and Training","Dedicated Support and Account Manager"],"description":"For businesses looking to scale their IaC practices.","contactSales":true,"includedLimits":{"users":"unlimited","resources":"custom","data_retention_days":"custom"}}],"summary":"From free to $449/month. Free Community plan with 14-day free trial for Teams.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://terramate.io","retrievedAt":"2026-08-03T21:12:58.044Z","freeTrialDays":14,"startingPrice":{"amount":449,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | open_source | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | free | low |
| pricing.transparent | yes | no |
| release.cadence_days | 4 | 7 |
| 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/terramate-io/terramate/releases/tag/v0.17.2","date":"2026-07-31T12:40:47Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.17.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/terramate-io/terramate/releases/tag/v0.17.1","date":"2026-05-26T13:24:47Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.17.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/terramate-io/terramate/releases/tag/v0.17.1-rc1","date":"2026-05-21T15:07:55Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.17.1-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/terramate-io/terramate/releases/tag/v0.17.0","date":"2026-05-06T14:47:23Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.17.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/terramate-io/terramate/releases/tag/v0.17.0-rc6","date":"2026-04-29T12:23:33Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.17.0-rc6"},{"url":"https://github.com/terramate-io/terramate/releases/tag/v0.17.0-rc5","date":"2026-04-15T10:58:06Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.17.0-rc5"},{"url":"https://github.com/terramate-io/terramate/releases/tag/v0.17.0-rc4","date":"2026-04-08T11:50:30Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.17.0-rc4"},{"url":"https://github.com/terramate-io/terramate/releases/tag/v0.17.0-rc3","date":"2026-04-07T08:53:39Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.17.0-rc3"},{"url":"https://github.com/terramate-io/terramate/releases/tag/v0.17.0-rc2","date":"2026-03-11T10:45:21Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.17.0-rc2"},{"url":"https://github.com/terramate-io/terramate/releases/tag/v0.17.0-rc1","date":"2026-03-09T08:51:01Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.17.0-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/terramate-io/terramate/releases/tag/v0.16.0","date":"2026-02-17T15:48:59Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.16.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/terramate-io/terramate/releases/tag/v0.16.0-rc1","date":"2026-02-16T13:33:33Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.16.0-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/terramate-io/terramate/releases/tag/v0.15.5","date":"2026-01-20T13:34:33Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.15.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/terramate-io/terramate/releases/tag/v0.15.5-rc1","date":"2026-01-13T17:14:48Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.15.5-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/terramate-io/terramate/releases/tag/v0.15.4","date":"2026-01-09T10:58:58Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.15.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/terramate-io/terramate/releases/tag/v0.15.3","date":"2026-01-06T15:39:04Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.15.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/terramate-io/terramate/releases/tag/v0.15.3-rc1","date":"2026-01-05T16:58:12Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.15.3-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/terramate-io/terramate/releases/tag/v0.15.2","date":"2025-12-19T13:56:44Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.15.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/terramate-io/terramate/releases/tag/v0.15.1","date":"2025-12-04T10:41:06Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.15.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/terramate-io/terramate/releases/tag/v0.15.0","date":"2025-11-24T12:00:31Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.15.0"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | yes | - |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | - |
| security.hipaa | yes | - |
| security.pci | yes | - |
| security.scorecard | 5.9 | - |
| 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":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=nixpkgs&package_name=terramate&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Infrastructure as Code Tools)

| Capability | AWS CDK | Terramate |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Paradigm | General language | Declarative DSL |
| Language | TypeScript, Python, Java, .NET, Go | HCL |
| **Portability** |  |  |
| Multicloud / cloud-agnostic | ✗ | ✓ |
| **Architecture** |  |  |
| State management | Vendor-managed | Self-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: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T15:17:01.957Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*