HCP Terraform vs Pulumi
SEPT 2026 auditA comparison of HCP Terraform and Pulumi built from values read directly from each provider's own documentation, with the source recorded against every figure.
The short answer
Choose HCP Terraform if…
Running the reference implementation with a bill that starts at nothing and then tracks inventory: 500 managed resources free, and $0.0001359 per resource per hour after that with no plan fee to clear first.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Choose Pulumi if…
Infrastructure written in a language you already know, with a managed cloud that is free forever for individuals and open source — one user, unlimited projects and state management at $0.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Consider something else if…
- HCP Terraform: Your infrastructure churns. Billing follows the peak resource count within each hour, so a preview environment built and destroyed inside that hour is charged as though it had run the whole time — Scalr's per-run price and Spacelift's per-worker price both leave ephemeral estates alone.
- Pulumi: Your estate is large. Pulumi meters resources under management at $0.1825 each a month past the first 500, so the bill tracks how much infrastructure you have rather than how often you change it — Scalr charges per run and explicitly nothing per resource.
4 sourced criteria separate them — see where, with sources, below.
Pick the criteria you care about. The chart counts how many of them lean toward each provider — the same read as scanning the bars below, just totalled for the ones you chose.
HCP Terraform 0
Pulumi 0
At a glance.
| Criterion | HCP Terraform | Pulumi |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| What the free plan includes | 500 managed resources. The cap is stated as a condition of downgrading rather than as a description of the plan — an organisation above it cannot move down to free — and the documentation names no other free allowance, so runs, users and concurrency are not known to be capped from this page. | One user, IaC state management, unlimited projects and updates, up to 500 workflow minutes, and 5 million Pulumi Neo tokens a month — free forever for individuals and open source. |
| Entry paid plan | $0.0001359 per managed resource per hour on the Essentials plan, with no monthly plan fee to clear first. HashiCorp's own worked example is 1,000 resources held continuously for a month, which it totals at $97.85. | $40/month for Team, which includes 40 Credits at $1 each and up to 500 resources; beyond that usage is billed on demand at $0.1825 per IaC resource per month. |
| Pricing model | Per managed resource, per hour. The charge follows the peak resource count within each hour, so resources created and destroyed inside one hour are still billed for it: HashiCorp's own example bills an hour at a peak of 2,000 after 1,000 were added and 500 destroyed. Contract plans are offered at lower rates for larger organisations. | Per resource under management, converted through a credit: 1 Credit = $1, one IaC resource costs 0.1825 a month and one managed secret 0.50. Workflow minutes are metered separately at $0.01 past 500 free. |
| Observability | ||
| Self-hostable | Supported — As Terraform Enterprise, a separate self-hosted distribution of the same application | Supported — Listed as a line item on the plan comparison, not a separate product |
| Auth | ||
| SAML single sign-on | Supported — SAML 2.0, both SP- and IdP-initiated, with just-in-time provisioning | Supported — SAML/SSO with RBAC, on Enterprise; SCIM sync on the tier above |
| Audit logs | Yes, on the Standard and Premium editions, with 14 days of retention, read through a dedicated Audit Trails API that needs an organisation or audit trail token rather than a user token. The documentation disagrees with itself on the tier: the audit trails reference says Standard and Premium, while the plan-management page lists audit logging among Premium-only features. Recorded as the audit page states it. Not available on self-hosted Terraform Enterprise. | Supported — Enterprise tier, above the $40/month Team plan |
Where they differ.
What the free plan includes
- HCP Terraform
- 500 managed resources. The cap is stated as a condition of downgrading rather than as a description of the plan — an organisation above it cannot move down to free — and the documentation names no other free allowance, so runs, users and concurrency are not known to be capped from this page.
- Pulumi
- One user, IaC state management, unlimited projects and updates, up to 500 workflow minutes, and 5 million Pulumi Neo tokens a month — free forever for individuals and open source.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Manage your HCP Terraform plan ↗
“Free plans are limited to 500 managed resources. Verify that you have 500 or fewer managed resources before downgrading.”
Read 2026-09-15 · official docs
- Pulumi Pricing ↗
“limited updates and history Up to 500 workflow minutes Pulumi Neo with 5M free tokens/month”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
Entry paid plan
- HCP Terraform
- $0.0001359 per managed resource per hour on the Essentials plan, with no monthly plan fee to clear first. HashiCorp's own worked example is 1,000 resources held continuously for a month, which it totals at $97.85.
- Pulumi
- $40/month for Team, which includes 40 Credits at $1 each and up to 500 resources; beyond that usage is billed on demand at $0.1825 per IaC resource per month.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Estimate HCP Terraform cost ↗
“1,000 managed resources × $0.0001359 = $0.14”
Read 2026-09-15 · official docs
- Pulumi Pricing ↗
“Team Everything you need to get started. $40 /month Includes 40 Credits Up to 500 resources, additional usage billed on demand”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
Pricing model
- HCP Terraform
- Per managed resource, per hour. The charge follows the peak resource count within each hour, so resources created and destroyed inside one hour are still billed for it: HashiCorp's own example bills an hour at a peak of 2,000 after 1,000 were added and 500 destroyed. Contract plans are offered at lower rates for larger organisations.
- Pulumi
- Per resource under management, converted through a credit: 1 Credit = $1, one IaC resource costs 0.1825 a month and one managed secret 0.50. Workflow minutes are metered separately at $0.01 past 500 free.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Estimate HCP Terraform cost ↗
“HashiCorp calculates your bill depending on the number of resources the plaform manages per hour.”
Read 2026-09-15 · official docs
- Pulumi Pricing ↗
“Additional usage, in Credits (1 Credit = $1) 1 IaC resource 0.1825/month 1 managed secret 0.50/”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
Audit logs
- HCP Terraform
- Yes, on the Standard and Premium editions, with 14 days of retention, read through a dedicated Audit Trails API that needs an organisation or audit trail token rather than a user token. The documentation disagrees with itself on the tier: the audit trails reference says Standard and Premium, while the plan-management page lists audit logging among Premium-only features. Recorded as the audit page states it. Not available on self-hosted Terraform Enterprise.
- Pulumi
- Supported — Enterprise tier, above the $40/month Team plan
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Audit trails API reference ↗
“Note: Audit trails are available in HCP Terraform Standard and Premium editions.”
Read 2026-09-15 · official docs
- Pulumi Pricing ↗
“Unlimited users SAML/SSO and RBAC Neo scheduled tasks Internal developer platform (IDP) Audit logs Drift detection and remediation”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
When these numbers change, hear about it. Sources are re-checked monthly; a repricing goes out as a short note.
Questions this comparison answers.
Entry paid plan: HCP Terraform or Pulumi?
HCP Terraform: $0.0001359 per managed resource per hour on the Essentials plan, with no monthly plan fee to clear first. HashiCorp's own worked example is 1,000 resources held continuously for a month, which it totals at $97.85.
Pulumi: $40/month for Team, which includes 40 Credits at $1 each and up to 500 resources; beyond that usage is billed on demand at $0.1825 per IaC resource per month.
Should I choose HCP Terraform or Pulumi?
Pick HCP Terraform if Running the reference implementation with a bill that starts at nothing and then tracks inventory: 500 managed resources free, and $0.0001359 per resource per hour after that with no plan fee to clear first.
Pick Pulumi if Infrastructure written in a language you already know, with a managed cloud that is free forever for individuals and open source — one user, unlimited projects and state management at $0.