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CDKTF vs Pulumi: Pricing and Ratings Compared (2026)

CDKTF has shut down. Its own site says: “The Cloud Development Kit for Terraform is deprecated as of December 10, 2025.” Source

Entry prices and free plans as read on each vendor's pricing page, and user ratings as published on review sites, for CDKTF and Pulumi side by side. This page compares data; it is not a hands-on review.

On the data: On the data below the two are close or not directly comparable, so we do not name a winner for this pair.

Data comparison compiled by Toolradar, not hand-reviewed Methodology
Data comparison 28 user reviews compared Pricing checked Nov 2, 2026

Short on time? Here's the quick answer

Based on published vendor pricing and features and on public review data, here's who should pick what:

CDKTF

Define Terraform infrastructure using programming languages

Pulumi

Infrastructure as code in any language

At a glance: CDKTF vs Pulumi
At a Glance
CDKTF CDKTF
Pulumi Pulumi
Starts at
Free 100% free
Free plan, paid from $40/mo Team plan
Category
DevOps Infrastructure as Code
DevOps Infrastructure as Code
Rating
n/a 4.8/5 G2 4.8 · Capterra 4.7 28 reviews
Free plan
Yes Yes
Watch out for
n/a Team tier's $0.1825/resource overage can escalate costs.

Choose CDKTF or Pulumi?

CDKTF

Choose CDKTF if

  • You need DevOps features specifically.
Pulumi

Choose Pulumi if

  • You need DevOps features specifically.

In-Depth Analysis

CDKTF CDKTF

Define Terraform infrastructure using programming languages

Great value

CDKTF is entirely free, making it an incredibly generous offering compared to any paid Infrastructure as Code (IaC) solution.

Strengths

  • Pro: Terraform with programming languages
  • Pro: Type safety
  • Pro: Familiar for devs
  • Pro: HCL alternative
  • Pro: Active development

Weaknesses

  • Con: Learning curve
  • Con: Debugging harder
  • Con: Terraform knowledge needed
  • Con: Generation overhead
  • Con: Community smaller

Key features

Terraform CDK Multi-language Type safety HashiCorp Infrastructure as code Open source

Pulumi Pulumi

Infrastructure as code in any language

Good value

Pulumi's pricing offers a generous freemium model for individuals, making it accessible.

Watch out

Team tier's $0.1825/resource overage can escalate costs.

Strengths

  • Pro: Real programming languages
  • Pro: Multi-cloud
  • Pro: Great testing

Weaknesses

  • Con: Smaller ecosystem
  • Con: State management

Key features

Infrastructure as Code Multi-language support Secrets management Drift detection Policy enforcement AI assistance

Plans and prices: CDKTF vs Pulumi

Plans and prices of CDKTF and Pulumi, as read on each vendor's pricing page. Each plan keeps its own billing unit.
Tool Plans and prices Source
CDKTF
  • Free: Free
developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/cdktf read Sep 28, 2026
Pulumi
  • Individual: Free
  • Team: $40/mo
  • Enterprise: $400/mo
  • Business Critical: Custom pricing
pulumi.com/pricing read Nov 2, 2026

Prices as read on each vendor's own pricing page on the date shown. Plans are listed per tool and are not matched against the other tool's plans: a plan name or price in one column says nothing about the same row in the other. Details on CDKTF pricing and Pulumi pricing.

Key Takeaways

CDKTF

  • Worth considering for DevOps

Pulumi

  • Worth considering for DevOps

What the data shows

On the data below the two are close or not directly comparable, so we do not name a winner for this pair.

  • Only Pulumi has a published user rating (4.8/5 from 28 reviews); CDKTF has none we can show.
  • Pulumi starts at $40/mo; CDKTF has no public paid plan price on file.
  • Both have a free plan.

Criteria: user rating (only above 20 reviews on both sides, gap of 0.2 or more), entry price (only on the same billing basis), free plan. How we rate

Frequently Asked Questions

How do CDKTF and Pulumi compare in 2026?

On the data below the two are close or not directly comparable, so we do not name a winner for this pair. Only Pulumi has a published user rating (4.8/5 from 28 reviews); CDKTF has none we can show. Pulumi starts at $40/mo; CDKTF has no public paid plan price on file. Both have a free plan.

What are CDKTF and Pulumi used for?

CDKTF: Define Terraform infrastructure using programming languages. Pulumi: Infrastructure as code in any language.

What does CDKTF cost vs Pulumi?

CDKTF is free. Pulumi's cheapest paid plan is Team at $40/mo; it also has a free plan. Prices read on the vendors' pricing pages, latest check Nov 2, 2026.

What's the main difference between CDKTF and Pulumi?

CDKTF's main strength: terraform with programming languages. Pulumi's main strength: real programming languages.

Spotted an outdated price or a wrong fact? Suggest a correction: we check it against the vendor's own page. Work for one of these vendors? Claim your listing to update it yourself.

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