Terraform Cloud vs Spacelift, Github Actions, and more
Objective comparison of Terraform Cloud vs Spacelift, Scalr, and DIY approaches. Analyze pricing, governance features, and workflow flexibility.
As organizations scale their use of Terraform, local execution becomes insufficient, necessitating a centralized platform for automation, collaboration, and governance. These platforms are often referred to as Terraform Automation and Collaboration Software (TACOS).
The decision-making process for selecting such a platform has grown more complex following changes in HashiCorp's pricing and licensing. This has led to a "build vs. buy" consideration, where organizations must choose between building a custom solution using general-purpose CI/CD tools like GitHub Actions, or adopting a specialized commercial platform.
This article provides an objective comparison of the leading contenders—Terraform Cloud, Spacelift, Scalr, and the DIY GitHub Actions approach—evaluated on key criteria such as pricing, concurrency, and feature set.
Platform Overviews
- Terraform Cloud (TFC): As the offering from HashiCorp, the creators of Terraform, TFC is the default platform for many organizations. It provides a polished user experience and deep integration with the broader HashiCorp product ecosystem. Its workflow is based on workspaces and a limited set of integrations called "Run Tasks."
- GitHub Actions (DIY): This approach involves using a general-purpose CI/CD tool, rather than a specialized TACOS platform, to run Terraform operations. While it leverages existing tooling, it requires significant engineering effort to build, secure, and maintain a comparable set of features for state management, secrets, and policy enforcement.
- Spacelift: A flexible orchestration platform designed to manage the entire infrastructure delivery pipeline. It supports multiple Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools beyond Terraform, offering a high degree of power and control. Its architecture is built for customization, featuring "hooks" for custom logic, the ability to use custom runner images, and a comprehensive resource inventory.
- Scalr: An enterprise-focused platform positioned as a direct alternative to Terraform Cloud. It provides a different approach to governance and pricing, featuring a hierarchical model designed to manage complexity in large organizations and offering unique flexibility in where state files are stored.
Head-to-Head Comparison
The selection of a platform involves trade-offs between cost structure, operational model, and ease of adoption.
Feature | Terraform Cloud (Standard Plan) | GitHub Actions / DIY | Spacelift (Business Plan) | Scalr (Annual Plan) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Pricing Model | Resources Under Management (RUM): ~$0.00014 per resource, per hour. | Engineering Time: Costs are primarily driven by the salary of the engineers required for building and maintenance. | Concurrency-based: Costs are determined by the number of concurrent runs (workers). | Run-based: Costs are based on the number of |
Cost Predictability | Low. The bill is directly tied to the total number of provisioned infrastructure resources, which can be difficult to forecast and can escalate quickly with scale. | Low. Costs are tied to unpredictable engineering effort for initial build and ongoing maintenance. | High. Costs are based on purchased capacity (workers) and do not fluctuate with the size of the managed infrastructure. | High. Costs are tied directly to deployment frequency, a metric that is generally easier to forecast than resource count. |
Workflow Customization | Limited. Relies on a curated list of "Run Tasks" for third-party integrations. The execution environment is fixed. | High. Full control over the pipeline logic in YAML, but all orchestration must be built manually. | Very High. Allows custom "hooks" before/after any run phase and the use of custom Docker images as runner environments. | Moderate. Focuses on extending the native Terraform workflow rather than complete customization. Supports PR-based apply triggers. |
Governance Model | Sentinel & OPA: Supports HashiCorp's proprietary Sentinel and OPA. Policy checks are limited to specific points in the run. | Manual Integration: Requires manually adding steps in the CI/CD pipeline to run external tools like OPA or Checkov. | OPA-Native: Deeply integrated OPA engine with extensive policy points (login, trigger, plan, etc.), a policy library, and a testing workbench. | Hierarchical OPA & Checkov: Policies are inherited down a three-tiered hierarchy (Account > Environment > Workspace). |
Multi-IaC Support | No. Supports Terraform and Terragrunt only. | Yes. Can be configured to run any IaC tool. | Yes. Native support for Terraform, OpenTofu, Pulumi, CloudFormation, Kubernetes, and Ansible. | Limited. First-class support for Terraform, OpenTofu, and Terragrunt. |
Similarity to TFC | N/A (It is TFC). | None. A fundamentally different approach, requiring the creation of a custom workflow from the ground up. | Low. Spacelift utilizes a different operational paradigm and workflow, offering more power at the cost of a steeper learning curve. | High. Scalr is designed as a drop-in replacement that uses the same remote backend configuration, simplifying migration. |
Summary of Use Cases
The optimal platform choice depends on an organization's scale, technical requirements, and tolerance for operational overhead.
- Terraform Cloud is suitable for small teams operating within the free tier (under 500 resources) or for organizations deeply invested in the HashiCorp ecosystem that can accommodate the RUM pricing model.
- GitHub Actions can be a viable option for organizations with significant platform engineering resources and a requirement for full control over the tooling chain, provided they account for the high Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) associated with maintaining a custom solution.
- Spacelift is designed for organizations with mature platform teams that manage a diverse set of IaC tools and require highly customizable, complex deployment pipelines with granular policy controls and a holistic view of all infrastructure assets.
- Scalr is targeted at organizations whose primary challenge is managing infrastructure across numerous teams and environments. Its hierarchical model and predictable pricing are beneficial for enforcing standards and controlling costs at scale.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a Terraform workspace and Terraform Cloud?
A Terraform workspace is a feature within the Terraform CLI that allows for multiple state files to be associated with a single configuration. Terraform Cloud is a managed platform that provides remote state storage, execution, and collaboration features; it uses workspaces as a primary organizational construct for managing infrastructure.
What is the difference between Terraform Enterprise and Spacelift?
Terraform Enterprise (TFE) is the self-hosted version of Terraform Cloud, offering the same core functionality for deployment within a customer's own infrastructure. Spacelift also offers a self-hosted option but has a broader scope, functioning as a multi-IaC orchestration platform that adds layers of abstraction and control, but also requires a significant investment in learning its unique concepts and policy engine.
What is the new name of Terraform Cloud?
Terraform Cloud has not been renamed.
Is Spacelift good?
Spacelift is a powerful and highly flexible platform. Its strengths include support for multiple IaC tools, extensive workflow customization, and a robust OPA-based policy engine. Features like a centralized resource inventory (visualizing all deployed resources across all stacks), scheduled drift detection with automated remediation, and advanced security controls (like per-stage credential exposure) make it well-suited for large, complex environments. For teams with simpler needs, its extensive capabilities may introduce unnecessary complexity.
What is the difference between Terraform and cloud?
Terraform is an Infrastructure as Code tool used to define and provision infrastructure through code. The cloud (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP) refers to the public cloud providers whose services are provisioned and managed by a tool like Terraform.
Why use a Spacelift?
An organization would typically choose Spacelift if it requires a single platform to orchestrate multiple IaC tools, needs to implement highly customized deployment workflows with specific logic (via "hooks" and custom runner images), or desires to leverage its granular, OPA-native policy engine for governance. It is also chosen for its developer self-service capabilities via "Blueprints," which allow platform teams to offer templatized, governed infrastructure to developers through a simple UI.
Is Spacelift free?
No, Spacelift is a commercial product with pricing based on the number of concurrent runs (workers). It does offer a powerful free tier with features not found in TFC's lower tiers.
What is Spacelift Terraform?
The correct phrasing is Spacelift for Terraform. Spacelift is the management and orchestration platform, while Terraform is one of the IaC tools that it can manage. Spacelift provides a governance and automation layer on top of tools like Terraform.
What is the difference between OpenTofu and Terraform?
Terraform, created by HashiCorp, transitioned to a Business Source License (BSL) in August 2023. In response, OpenTofu was created as a fork of the last open-source (MPL) version of Terraform. Now managed by the Linux Foundation, OpenTofu serves as a community-driven, open-source alternative. While currently very similar, their feature sets are expected to diverge over time.
Key Sources Used
env0: Terraform Cloud/Enterprise Pricing - A Complete Guide (2024) - Used for the detailed breakdown of the RUM pricing model and its financial impact.
Spacelift Blog: Top 8 Terraform Cloud Alternatives & Case Studies - Used for information on Spacelift's feature set, multi-IaC support, and validated migration benefits (e.g., Power Digital).
Scalr Blog: Terraform Cloud vs Spacelift & Case Studies - Used for details on the hierarchical governance model, backend flexibility, and successful migration stories (e.g., TV4, Ably).
dev.to Community: Why we spent an entire quarter migrating from Terraform Cloud to a home-grown solution - Used for insights into the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and engineering effort required for DIY solutions.