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Best Free Infrastructure as Code Tools in 2026

Data compiled by Toolradar Updated How we rate

The 15 best free infrastructure as code tools we track: 6 completely free and 9 with a free plan alongside paid tiers. Ordered by Toolradar's ranking score (review volume and rating on G2, Capterra, Trustpilot and other sites, plus media mentions), not by vendor pitches; every rating shows its date.

Key Takeaways
  • Harness is our free pick for infrastructure as code in 2026. Puppet is our overall pick.
  • We screened 45 infrastructure as code tools with a free plan to build this list.
  • 15 tools offer free plans.
Publications that cover the tools tracked here
  • TechCrunch
  • Bloomberg
  • The Information
  • Fortune
  • The Verge
  • 45 free tools screened
  • 6 100% free
  • 9 free plan + paid

Top 5 free infrastructure as code tools at a glance

Top 5 free infrastructure as code tools: free plan type, user rating and best use, as of October 2026
Tool Type Rating Best for
Harness Free plan 4.5 (430) as of Sep 2026
Modern software delivery platform
Ansible Free plan 4.4 (378) as of Sep 2026
Automate IT infrastructure with simple YAML playbooks
Terraform Free plan 4.6 (111) as of Aug 2026
Manage cloud infrastructure with declarative code
AWS CDK 100% free 4.4 (136) as of Aug 2026
Define cloud infrastructure using familiar programming languages
SaltStack Free plan 4.3 (99) as of Sep 2026
Infrastructure automation and management

Ratings from G2, Capterra, and other public review sites. Each cell shows the snapshot date so a cited number is never an undated one.

Toolradar data

The infrastructure as code tools market in numbers

Toolradar data: Toolradar tracks 56 infrastructure as code tools as of October 28, 2026. 80% of the infrastructure as code tools on Toolradar are free, freemium or open source. Toolradar re-checked the pricing of 82% of infrastructure as code tools in the last 90 days. Toolradar aggregates 2,610 public user reviews (G2, Capterra, Trustpilot and other review sites) across 26 rated infrastructure as code tools. The most cross-shopped infrastructure as code tool is Terraform, listed as an alternative to 46 other tools on Toolradar. The most compared infrastructure as code tool on Toolradar over the last 90 days is Ansible, with 195 side-by-side comparisons. Computed from the Toolradar catalog and on-site activity.

  • 56 infrastructure as code tools tracked
  • 80% are free, freemium or open source
  • 82% of prices re-checked in the last 90 days
  • 2,610 public user reviews aggregated across 26 rated tools
Most cross-shopped infrastructure as code tools on Toolradar, as of October 2026 Listed as an alternative to the most other tools on Toolradar
Rank Tool Listed as an alternative to
1 Terraform 46 tools
2 Pulumi 31 tools
3 Ansible 27 tools
Most compared infrastructure as code tools on Toolradar, last 90 days to October 2026 Side-by-side comparisons by visitors, last 90 days
Rank Tool Comparisons
1 Ansible 195
2 Harness 185
3 Terraform 157

Source and method: live infrastructure as code tools statistics

The 15 best free infrastructure as code tools

Order: Toolradar ranking score, which is the public review volume times the average rating on G2, Capterra, Trustpilot and other review sites, plus media mentions (recent ones count more). Paid placements are labelled and never change the score. How we rank.

Harness logo
1.

Harness

Free plan

Modern software delivery platform

4.5/5 across SourceForge, G2 and Capterra · 430 ratings, Sep 2026

Harness is a DevOps platform providing continuous delivery, CI/CD, infrastructure as code management, and security testing orchestration with flexible modular pricing.

Ansible logo
2.

Ansible

Free plan

Automate IT infrastructure with simple YAML playbooks

4.4/5 across G2 and SourceForge · 378 ratings, Sep 2026

Ansible is an open source automation platform by Red Hat for IT automation including configuration management, application deployment, and orchestration using simple YAML playbooks.

Terraform logo
3.

Terraform

Free plan

Manage cloud infrastructure with declarative code

4.6/5 on G2 · 111 ratings, Aug 2026

Terraform is an infrastructure as code tool by HashiCorp for provisioning, managing, and versioning infrastructure across cloud providers with declarative configuration files.

AWS CDK logo
4.

AWS CDK

100% free

Define cloud infrastructure using familiar programming languages

4.4/5 on G2 · 136 ratings, Aug 2026

AWS CDK lets you define cloud infrastructure using TypeScript, Python, Java, or C# instead of YAML templates. Write code that compiles to CloudFormation, with type checking and IDE support along the way. Constructs package reusable infrastructure patterns. The abstraction level lets you work at whatever detail makes sense-high-level components or low-level resources. Developers who find CloudFormation templates painful choose CDK because infrastructure is easier to write, test, and maintain when it's actual code.

SaltStack logo
5.

SaltStack

Free plan

Infrastructure automation and management

4.3/5 on G2 · 99 ratings, Sep 2026

SaltStack automates infrastructure with event-driven approach. Configuration management with remote execution-infrastructure automation that reacts. The speed is notable. The event-driven approach differs. The community supports it. Operations teams wanting reactive automation consider SaltStack for event-driven infrastructure.

Crossplane logo
6.

Crossplane

100% free

Build cloud infrastructure using Kubernetes

4.3/5 across G2 and SourceForge · 68 ratings, Sep 2026

Crossplane extends Kubernetes to manage cloud infrastructure. Define databases, storage, and other cloud services using the same Kubernetes resources and tools you use for applications. Cloud providers become Kubernetes resources. The same GitOps workflows manage applications and infrastructure. Composition lets you build reusable abstractions. Platform teams wanting unified infrastructure management choose Crossplane to extend Kubernetes into cloud resource provisioning.

Packer logo
7.

Packer

Free plan

Build identical machine images for multiple platforms from a single source template.

4.2/5 across SourceForge and G2 · 69 ratings, Sep 2026

Packer is an open-source tool for creating identical machine images for multiple platforms from a single source configuration. It streamlines the process of building 'golden images' that can be used across various cloud providers and virtualization technologies, ensuring consistency and reliability in deployments. By automating the image creation process, Packer helps reduce configuration drift and simplifies infrastructure management. This tool is ideal for DevOps engineers, system administrators, and developers who need to create and manage consistent machine images across different environments, such as AWS, Docker, and other cloud platforms. It integrates seamlessly into existing CI/CD pipelines, enabling automated image builds and updates. Packer's core value lies in its ability to produce immutable infrastructure, where every server is built from a pre-configured image, leading to faster deployments, easier rollbacks, and improved security posture. It supports a wide range of builders and provisioners, offering flexibility in how images are created and configured.

Pulumi logo
8.

Pulumi

Free plan

Infrastructure as code in any language

4.8/5 across G2 and Capterra · 28 ratings, Sep 2026

Pulumi is an infrastructure as code platform that lets you define, deploy, and manage cloud infrastructure using familiar programming languages like TypeScript, Python, Go, and C#.

Winglang logo
9.

Winglang

Free plan

Build and deploy cloud applications with a single language.

4.6/5 on G2 · 25 ratings, Mar 2026

Winglang is an open-source programming language designed for building and deploying cloud applications. It unifies infrastructure and application code into a single codebase, allowing developers to define their cloud resources (like queues, buckets, and databases) and their application logic (like serverless functions) within the same Wing program. This approach aims to simplify the development and deployment process for serverless and other cloud-native architectures. Winglang compiles to cloud-agnostic infrastructure as code (Terraform, CloudFormation) and application code (JavaScript, Python, Go), enabling deployment to various cloud providers such as AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. It provides a local simulation environment for testing cloud applications without deploying to a live cloud, which significantly speeds up the development feedback loop. The language is particularly well-suited for developers looking to reduce the cognitive load associated with managing separate infrastructure and application codebases, and for teams adopting serverless and event-driven architectures.

Firefly logo
10.

Firefly

Free plan

Automate cloud infrastructure management from discovery to recovery using AI and Infrastructure-as-Code.

4.8/5 on G2 · 13 ratings, Mar 2026

Firefly is an AI-powered platform designed to automate and manage cloud infrastructure using Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC). It provides a unified solution for CloudOps, FinOps, SecOps, and disaster recovery, helping platform teams achieve 100% IaC coverage, detect and remediate drift, and ensure compliance and cost efficiency across multi-cloud environments. The platform caters to platform engineers, CXOs, and operations teams by orchestrating IaC, automatically generating IaC from unmanaged resources, and detecting/fixing misconfigurations in real-time. It also helps eliminate cloud waste, enforce cost controls, and codify security policies. Firefly's AI agents provide dynamic, self-governing, and self-healing cloud operations, ensuring rapid recovery from outages and cyberattacks with minimal downtime. Firefly integrates with major cloud providers like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud, as well as Kubernetes and SaaS applications with Terraform providers. It supports various IaC types including Terraform, Pulumi, and CloudFormation, offering deep integrations for full visibility, automation, and governance throughout the cloud management lifecycle.

Architect logo
11.

Architect

100% free

Build serverless apps with infrastructure as code

4.8/5 across SourceForge and G2 · 10 ratings, Sep 2026

Architect lets you define serverless infrastructure as code using simple, readable manifests. Declare your functions, events, queues, and tables, then deploy to AWS with one command. The abstraction level hits a sweet spot-enough control to do real work, enough automation to not spend days on CloudFormation. Local development works the same as production. Teams building on AWS Lambda who want something more focused than Serverless Framework find Architect provides a cleaner developer experience.

Trivy logo
12.

Trivy

100% free

Security scanner for containers

4.3/5 on PeerSpot · 12 ratings, May 2026

Trivy is an open-source vulnerability scanner for containers, filesystems, and infrastructure as code. Scan container images for OS and library vulnerabilities. Check Kubernetes manifests and Terraform for misconfigurations. Fast and easy to integrate into CI/CD. Comprehensive database updated regularly. The security scanner DevOps teams actually run.

Serverless Framework logo
13.

Serverless Framework

Free plan

Zero-friction serverless application development and deployment for AWS Lambda and beyond.

4.1/5 on G2 · 8 ratings, Mar 2026

The Serverless Framework is an open-source framework that helps developers build and deploy serverless applications to AWS Lambda and other cloud providers. It simplifies the process of defining functions and events, deploying infrastructure and code with a single command, and extending functionality with a vast plugin ecosystem. The framework aims to reduce the complexity of serverless development, allowing developers to focus on writing code rather than managing infrastructure. It provides tools for troubleshooting, including metrics, alerts, and request querying, to help monitor and debug serverless applications. The platform also facilitates team collaboration by offering a centralized dashboard to manage applications and resources, securely share secrets and AWS accounts, and share test events for AWS Lambda functions. This makes it suitable for individual developers and teams looking to streamline their serverless development workflow. The Serverless Framework is designed for developers who want to leverage the benefits of serverless architectures, such as high productivity and low overhead, without getting bogged down by intricate cloud configurations. It supports the deployment of APIs, scheduled tasks, workflows, and event-driven applications, making it a versatile tool for various serverless use cases.

Atlantis logo
14.

Atlantis

100% free

Terraform pull request automation

3.5/5 on G2 · 11 ratings, Sep 2026

Atlantis is a self-hosted application for Terraform pull request automation. Run terraform plan automatically on pull requests and show results as comments. Apply changes through PR approvals for audit trails. Supports multiple workflows and Terraform workspaces. Lock infrastructure to prevent concurrent modifications. GitOps for Terraform that makes infrastructure changes reviewable and auditable.

Flux logo
15.

Flux

100% free

Declarative GitOps for continuous Kubernetes deployment

Flux is GitOps for Kubernetes from the CNCF. Your Git repository defines what runs in your clusters, and Flux makes reality match-continuous deployment that's declarative and auditable. The sync is automatic. Multi-tenancy supports complex environments. Helm and Kustomize are natively supported. Kubernetes teams implementing GitOps choose Flux for declarative, Git-driven cluster management.

Related

Why choose free infrastructure as code tools?

Free infrastructure as code tools are an excellent way to get started without financial commitment. Whether you're a startup, freelancer, or small business, these tools offer essential features at no cost.

What to look for in free infrastructure as code tools

  • Feature limitations: Understand what's included in the free tier vs paid plans
  • Usage limits: Check for restrictions on users, storage, or API calls
  • Data ownership: Ensure you own your data and can export it
  • Support: Free tiers often have community-only support
  • Upgrade path: Consider future needs if you outgrow the free tier

Free vs Freemium: what's the difference?

100% free 100% free, no payment ever

Completely free with no paid upgrades available. Best for simple, focused workflows that don't require advanced features.

Free plan Free tier + paid upgrades

Generous free tier with optional paid plans that unlock advanced features, higher limits, or team collaboration.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best free infrastructure as code tool in 2026?

Harness is our free infrastructure as code pick in 2026. On the full category ranking, Puppet is our overall infrastructure as code pick. Harness offers a free plan alongside paid plans: Modern software delivery platform.

Is Harness really free forever?

Harness uses a freemium model: there is a permanent free tier you can use without a credit card, plus optional paid plans that unlock higher usage limits and advanced features. The free tier itself does not expire.

What does the free tier of infrastructure as code tools typically include?

Free infrastructure as code tools typically include the core workflow features needed to evaluate the product. Paid plans usually unlock higher usage limits, team collaboration, advanced analytics, integrations, and priority support. The specific cap differs per tool.

When should I upgrade from a free infrastructure as code tool?

Upgrade when you hit one of the free tier ceilings: usage quota (output count, storage, contacts, projects), team size, or a paid-only feature your workflow depends on.

Are there infrastructure as code tools that are 100% free, not just freemium?

Yes. We found 6 completely free infrastructure as code tools (no paid upgrade path) and 9 tools with a permanent free tier alongside paid plans. AWS CDK, Crossplane, Architect are 100% free.

Are free infrastructure as code tools good enough for business use?

Yes, for most startups, freelancers, and small teams. Harness and Ansible both offer free tiers robust enough for production workflows. Larger teams typically upgrade when they need SSO, audit logs, advanced permissions, or usage past the free quota.

Last updated: October 21, 2026

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