Best Cloud Management Software in 2026
Updated
In short: Terraform is ranked #1 of 32 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of Pulumi and Cloudify. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Pulumi. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Terraform at $0.10/mo.
For teams managing cloud environments, compare how each option handles infrastructure, governance, and access to resources. Cloud coverage and providers help frame the environments supported, while deployment model and infrastructure as code describe other aspects of fit. Provisioning automation, policy governance, and a self-service catalog offer further points to assess. Terraform, Pulumi, and Cloudify are among the entries to consider. Check free-plan availability and paid-from pricing alongside these capabilities, and focus on the mix of automation and oversight your cloud operations require.
32 cloud management software ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
#1 Terraform Top pick · 8.0 Free plan · $0.10/mo
#2 Pulumi Runner-up · 7.8 Free plan · $40/mo
#3 Cloudify Also great · 7.7 Free plan · Free
- Free planFree trial apiLinuxmacOSself-hostedWebWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms$0.10/mofirst paid tier About TerraformVisit site - Free planFree trial apiLinuxmacOSself-hostedWebWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms$40/mofirst paid tier About PulumiVisit site - Free planFree trial apiLinuxmacOSself-hostedWebWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - Free planFree trial apiself-hostedWeb
- Free plan
- Yes
- Cloud coverage
- hybrid
- Cloud providers
- Amazon Web Services, DigitalOcean, Google Compute Engine, Hetzner Cloud, Latitude.sh, Linode, OVHcloud, Microsoft Azure, Vultr
- Policy governance
- Yes
- Provisioning automation
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms$23/mofirst paid tier About Cloud 66Visit site - Free plan apiLinuxself-hostedWeb
- Free plan
- No
- Paid from
- 29 /user/mo
- Policy governance
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms$45/mofirst paid tier About CycloidVisit site - Free plan apiLinuxself-hostedWeb
- Free plan
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - Free plan apiLinuxself-hostedWeb
- Free plan
- Yes
- Cloud coverage
- hybrid
- Provisioning automation
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - Free plan apiLinuxmacOSself-hostedWebWindows
- Cloud coverage
- hybrid
- Cloud providers
- AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, Alibaba Cloud
- Policy governance
- Yes
- Provisioning automation
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - Free plan apiLinuxself-hostedWeb
- Free plan
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - Free plan Linuxself-hostedWindowsRecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms
- Free trial Linuxself-hostedWeb
- Free plan
- No
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms$50/mofirst paid tier About HPE Morpheus VM Essentials SoftwareVisit site - Free plan apiLinuxself-hostedWeb
- Free plan
- Yes
- Policy governance
- Yes
- Provisioning automation
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms$1,000/mofirst paid tier About Platform9 Private Cloud DirectorVisit site - Free plan apiLinuxself-hostedRecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms
- apiLinuxself-hostedWeb
- Free plan
- Yes
- Cloud coverage
- hybrid
- Cloud providers
- OpenStack, Microsoft Azure, AWS, DigitalOcean, VMware vCenter, OpenNebula
- Policy governance
- Yes
- Provisioning automation
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - self-hostedWebRecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms
- apiLinuxself-hostedWeb
- Free plan
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - apiself-hostedWeb
- Cloud coverage
- hybrid
- Cloud providers
- AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Red Hat OpenShift, IBM Fusion, SUSE Rancher, CNCF-conformant Kubernetes
- Policy governance
- Yes
- Provisioning automation
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - apiself-hostedWeb
- Cloud coverage
- hybrid
- Cloud providers
- AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, IBM Cloud, VMware, OpenStack, private clouds
- Policy governance
- Yes
- Provisioning automation
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - apiLinuxmacOSself-hostedWindows
- Cloud coverage
- hybrid
- Cloud providers
- Amazon EC2, Amazon EKS, Canonical Kubernetes, Equinix Metal, Google GCE, Google GKE, LXD, MAAS, Manual, MicroK8s, Microsoft AKS, Microsoft Azure, OpenStack, Oracle OCI, VMware vSphere
- Provisioning automation
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - apiLinuxself-hostedWeb
- Policy governance
- Yes
- Provisioning automation
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - AndroidiOSWeb
- Policy governance
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - Web
- Free plan
- No
- Cloud coverage
- single
- Cloud providers
- Google Workspace
- Policy governance
- Yes
- Provisioning automation
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - Web
- Free plan
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - Web
- Provisioning automation
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - Windows
- Free plan
- No
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms
Is your platform on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored. They are labelled, and the editorial order and scores never change for payment.
Questions about this list
Which cloud management software is ranked first on The Geeks Club?
Terraform is ranked #1 of 32 with a score of 8.0. Pulumi is second and Cloudify third.
How many of these have a free plan?
12 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, Terraform has the lowest first paid tier we found: $0.10/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on how quickly a newcomer can get going: documentation depth, a free tier or trial, and the platforms it runs on. Paid placements never change a rank.