# AWS CloudFormation vs Spacelift

**Leader by Vioscale score:** AWS CloudFormation

| Attribute | AWS CloudFormation | Spacelift |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 60.3 (73% (medium)) | 46.5 (73% (medium)) |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"on_prem":true,"air_gapped":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | A managed service for provisioning and managing AWS and third-party cloud resources through declarative templates (JSON/YAML) or programmatic languages. Automates infrastructure deployment across regions and accounts, detects configuration drift, and provides automatic rollback on errors. | Platform for orchestrating infrastructure-as-code workflows across multiple tools and clouds. Integrates provisioning, configuration management, and policy enforcement in a unified interface, with GitOps-based automation and AI-assisted capabilities for managing infrastructure at scale. |
| 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":false,"provider_ecosystem":true,"gitops_reconciliation":true,"managed_saas_offering":true}` | `{"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 | 21 | 17 |
| 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":"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"}]` |
| market.availability | `{"hqCountry":"US","primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"hqCountry":"US","primaryMarkets":["US","EU"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` | `{"cli":true,"web":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":"subscription","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Free","summary":"Free forever, no credit card required","features":["2 public workers","Unlimited users","Webhooks","Terraform provider","Spacectl CLI","OIDC API keys","Bronze support"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":0,"currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Starter Plus","summary":"$20,000","features":["1 private worker (2 available)","Spaces","IaC support (OpenTofu, Terraform, Terragrunt, Pulumi, Kubernetes)","Workflow customization","VCS integration","Resource visualization","Cloud cost estimation","Spacelift Terraform provider","Stack dependencies","Cloud integrations","Drift detection","Policy as Code engine","Public workers","Unlimited users","Webhooks","Bronze support"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":20000,"currency":"USD"}],"description":"For growing teams looking to optimize team workflows with infrastructure automation","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Business","summary":"Contact for pricing","features":["3 private workers","Blueprints","Templates","Advanced scheduling","Private provider registry","Targeted replans","Dedicated Slack support channel","Dedicated Customer Success Manager","Silver Support + CSM"],"description":"For teams looking to orchestrate infrastructure provisioning, configuration, and collaboration","contactSales":true},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","summary":"Contact for pricing","features":["5-30 private workers","Concurrent-VCS connections","Audit trail","SSO integration with SAML 2.0","OIDC API Keys","Internal source control system","Enhanced Onboarding Support","Gold Support + CSM","MFA"],"description":"For companies that need Enterprise level infrastructure orchestration and governance","contactSales":true},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise Plus","summary":"Contact for pricing","features":["12-30 private workers","Self-hosted deployment","FedRAMP certification","On-premises deployment","Air-gapped environments","Gold Support + CSM + Executive escalation"],"description":"For companies that need SaaS or self-hosted deployment with special security, compliance, and support","contactSales":true}],"addOns":[{"name":"Spacelift Intelligence"}],"summary":"Free tier for small teams. Starter Plus from $20,000. Business and Enterprise plans require quote.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://spacelift.io/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T16:37:54.513Z","startingPrice":{"amount":20000,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month","year"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | freemium | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | low | high |
| pricing.transparent | yes | no |
| reliability.status_page | yes | yes |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | yes |
| security.fedramp | yes | yes |
| security.gdpr | yes | - |
| security.hipaa | yes | - |
| security.pci | yes | - |
| security.soc2 | - | yes |

## Capabilities (Infrastructure as Code Tools)

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

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T14:30:43.067Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*