Spacelift vs Scalr
SEPT 2026 auditA comparison of Spacelift and Scalr built from values read directly from each provider's own documentation, with the source recorded against every figure.
The short answer
Choose Spacelift if…
Orchestrating more than one IaC tool under one policy engine — Terraform, OpenTofu and Pulumi together — with drift detection, policy as code and an audit trail as the product rather than an add-on.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Choose Scalr if…
A bill that follows activity rather than inventory: $0.99 a run past 50 free a month, no per-user fee and no per-resource charge, with unlimited users and environments on both plans.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Consider something else if…
- Spacelift: You need to know what it costs. The first paid tier shows $20,000 with no period attached anywhere on the page, and what a plan buys is features and private workers rather than a volume you can forecast.
- Scalr: You need SSO or an audit trail on paper. Scalr's pricing page lists drift detection, policy enforcement and the registries among core features and names neither — where Spacelift and Pulumi both put them in a named tier.
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.
Spacelift 0
Scalr 0
At a glance.
| Criterion | Spacelift | Scalr |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| What the free plan includes | Described only as 'always free for small teams', with no credit card and no time limit; the page puts no number on what small means. | 50 runs a month with all core features, five concurrent runs, and no time limit or card. The plans differ only in volume. |
| Entry paid plan | $20,000 for Starter +, printed with no period attached — the plan card shows the figure beside the tier name and a trial button, and nothing on the page says whether it is monthly or annual. Recorded without a magnitude for that reason. | $0.99 per run past the free 50 a month, with volume discounts — Scalr's own example is 100 runs for $99. There is no monthly plan fee to clear first. |
| Pricing model | By concurrent private worker: Starter + includes one, and what a plan buys beyond that is features rather than volume — Spaces, workflow customization, policy, drift detection and cloud cost estimation. | Per run, and nothing else — the page states there are no per-user fees and no per-resource charges, which is the distinction from Pulumi and from the seat-based tools it competes with. Both plans start with five concurrent runs. |
| Auth | ||
| Audit logs | Supported — In the Business tier, alongside 5-30 private workers | Not stated on the pricing page. Scalr lists drift detection, policy enforcement and the module and provider registries among its core features and does not mention an audit trail there. |
Where they differ.
What the free plan includes
- Spacelift
- Described only as 'always free for small teams', with no credit card and no time limit; the page puts no number on what small means.
- Scalr
- 50 runs a month with all core features, five concurrent runs, and no time limit or card. The plans differ only in volume.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Spacelift Pricing ↗
“Always free for small teams NO CREDIT CARD, NO TIME LIMIT”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
- Scalr Pricing ↗
“Both start with five concurrent runs by default as of September 2026, an”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
Entry paid plan
- Spacelift
- $20,000 for Starter +, printed with no period attached — the plan card shows the figure beside the tier name and a trial button, and nothing on the page says whether it is monthly or annual. Recorded without a magnitude for that reason.
- Scalr
- $0.99 per run past the free 50 a month, with volume discounts — Scalr's own example is 100 runs for $99. There is no monthly plan fee to clear first.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Spacelift Pricing ↗
“Starter + For growing teams looking to optimize team workflows with infrastructure automation. $20,000 Start your trial”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
- Scalr Pricing ↗
“The Free plan covers up to 50 runs per month. Business is usage-based at $0.99 per run with volume discounts (for example, 100 runs is $99 per month).”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
Pricing model
- Spacelift
- By concurrent private worker: Starter + includes one, and what a plan buys beyond that is features rather than volume — Spaces, workflow customization, policy, drift detection and cloud cost estimation.
- Scalr
- Per run, and nothing else — the page states there are no per-user fees and no per-resource charges, which is the distinction from Pulumi and from the seat-based tools it competes with. Both plans start with five concurrent runs.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Spacelift Pricing ↗
“INCLUDED IN STARTER PLUS: 1 private worker Spaces IaC support Workflow customization VCS integration Resource visualization Cloud cost estimation”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
- Scalr Pricing ↗
“Simple Pricing Predictable pricing. No per-user fees, no per-resource charges.”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
Audit logs
- Spacelift
- Supported — In the Business tier, alongside 5-30 private workers
- Scalr
- Not stated on the pricing page. Scalr lists drift detection, policy enforcement and the module and provider registries among its core features and does not mention an audit trail there.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Spacelift Pricing ↗
“5-30 private workers Concurrent-VCS connections Audit trail SSO integration with SAML 2.0 OIDC API Keys Internal source control system”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
- Scalr Pricing ↗
“the full set of core features such as drift detection, policy enforcement, and the module and provider registries”
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.
Documented by only one.
These criteria are published by one provider and not the other. An absence here means we have not found a source, not that the feature is missing.
Questions this comparison answers.
Entry paid plan: Spacelift or Scalr?
Spacelift: $20,000 for Starter +, printed with no period attached — the plan card shows the figure beside the tier name and a trial button, and nothing on the page says whether it is monthly or annual. Recorded without a magnitude for that reason.
Scalr: $0.99 per run past the free 50 a month, with volume discounts — Scalr's own example is 100 runs for $99. There is no monthly plan fee to clear first.
Should I choose Spacelift or Scalr?
Pick Spacelift if Orchestrating more than one IaC tool under one policy engine — Terraform, OpenTofu and Pulumi together — with drift detection, policy as code and an audit trail as the product rather than an add-on.
Pick Scalr if A bill that follows activity rather than inventory: $0.99 a run past 50 free a month, no per-user fee and no per-resource charge, with unlimited users and environments on both plans.