Best AWS CDK Alternatives in 2026
Updated
20 platforms from infrastructure as code tools ranked against AWS CDK on the same published basis.
- 1AWS CDK vs Terraform
- 2AWS CDK vs Pulumi
- 3AWS CDK vs Terramate
- 4AWS CDK vs Cloudify
- 5AWS CDK vs Spacelift
- 6AWS CDK vs OpenTofu
- 7AWS CDK vs Terragrunt
- 8AWS CDK vs Kusion
- 9AWS CDK vs Scalr
- 10AWS CDK vs AWS CloudFormation
- 11AWS CDK vs env0
- 13AWS CDK vs CDK8s
- 14AWS CDK vs Firefly
- 15AWS CDK vs HashiCorp Nomad
- 16AWS CDK vs Azure Bicep
- 17AWS CDK vs Google Config Connector
- 18AWS CDK vs Sceptre
- 19AWS CDK vs Terrateam
- 20AWS CDK vs AWS Controllers for Kubernetes
- 21AWS CDK vs Crossplane
AWS CDK alternatives compared
| # | Platform | Score | Free plan | From | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Terraform | 8.0 | Free plan | $0.10/mo | API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 2 | Pulumi | 7.9 | Free plan | $40/mo | API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 3 | Terramate | 7.9 | Free plan | $449/mo | API, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 4 | Cloudify | 7.8 | Free plan | Free | API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 5 | Spacelift | 7.6 | Free plan | $1666.67/mo | API, self-hosted, Web |
| 6 | OpenTofu | 7.2 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 7 | Terragrunt | 7.2 | Free plan | $500/mo | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 8 | Kusion | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 9 | Scalr | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | API, Linux, self-hosted, Web |
| 10 | AWS CloudFormation | 7.0 | Free plan | Free | API, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 11 | env0 | 7.0 | Free plan | Free | API, self-hosted, Web |
| 13 | CDK8s | 6.7 | Free plan | Free | self-hosted |
| 14 | Firefly | 6.6 | No | $2,499/mo | API, self-hosted, Web |
| 15 | HashiCorp Nomad | 6.6 | No | — | API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 16 | Azure Bicep | 6.2 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 17 | Google Config Connector | 6.1 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 18 | Sceptre | 5.9 | No | — | Linux, Mac |
| 19 | Terrateam | 5.9 | Free plan | $1,000/mo | API, Linux, self-hosted, Web |
| 20 | AWS Controllers for Kubernetes | 5.7 | No | — | — |
| 21 | Crossplane | 5.7 | No | — | — |
Make your platform an alternative to AWS CDK
See the priceThe sponsored alternative slot on this page is labelled Sponsored.
Questions about AWS CDK alternatives
What is the best alternative to AWS CDK?
Terraform, number 1 in infrastructure as code tools with a score of 8.0 out of 10. The others here: Pulumi, Terramate, Cloudify and 16 more.
What is the best free alternative to AWS CDK?
Terraform is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 13 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
How are these alternatives ranked?
Ranked on how quickly a newcomer can get going: documentation depth, a free tier or trial, and the platforms it runs on.