Terraform vs Pulumi in 2026: The Definitive Comparison

Infrastructure as Code is no longer optional — it’s how teams manage cloud resources. But the choice between Terraform and Pulumi has never been more nuanced. Let’s break it down honestly.

Photo by Clément Hélardot on Unsplash

The State of IaC in 2026

Terraform has been the default choice for years, and its OpenTofu fork added competitive pressure. Meanwhile, Pulumi has steadily gained adoption by letting developers write infrastructure in languages they already know.

Both tools have evolved significantly. Here’s where they stand.

Language & Developer Experience

Terraform / OpenTofu

Terraform uses HCL (HashiCorp Configuration Language):

resource "aws_lambda_function" "api" {
  function_name = "my-api"
  runtime       = "nodejs20.x"
  handler       = "index.handler"
  memory_size   = 256
  timeout       = 30

  environment {
    variables = {
      DATABASE_URL = var.database_url
      STAGE        = var.environment
    }
  }

  tags = merge(local.common_tags, {
    Service = "api"
  })
}

resource "aws_api_gateway_rest_api" "api" {
  name = "my-api-gateway"

  endpoint_configuration {
    types = ["REGIONAL"]
  }
}

Pros: Declarative, consistent, easy to read even for non-developers Cons: Limited logic capabilities, no real loops/conditionals (count and for_each are workarounds), custom validation is clunky

Pulumi

Pulumi lets you use real programming languages:

import * as aws from "@pulumi/aws";
import * as pulumi from "@pulumi/pulumi";

const config = new pulumi.Config();

const api = new aws.lambda.Function("api", {
  runtime: "nodejs20.x",
  handler: "index.handler",
  memorySize: 256,
  timeout: 30,
  environment: {
    variables: {
      DATABASE_URL: config.requireSecret("databaseUrl"),
      STAGE: pulumi.getStack(),
    },
  },
  tags: { ...commonTags, Service: "api" },
});

// Type-safe, IDE autocomplete, real conditionals
if (config.getBoolean("enableMonitoring")) {
  const alarm = new aws.cloudwatch.MetricAlarm("api-errors", {
    metricName: "Errors",
    namespace: "AWS/Lambda",
    dimensions: { FunctionName: api.name },
    threshold: 5,
    evaluationPeriods: 1,
    comparisonOperator: "GreaterThanThreshold",
    alarmActions: [alertTopic.arn],
  });
}

Pros: Full programming language power, IDE support (autocomplete, refactoring), real abstractions, type safety Cons: Steeper learning curve for ops teams, more ways to write bad code, language-specific debugging

State Management

Terraform

• Local state: Simple but dangerous for teams
• Remote backends: S3, GCS, Azure Blob, Terraform Cloud
• State locking: Built-in with DynamoDB (AWS) or native (Terraform Cloud)
• State manipulation: terraform state mv, terraform import

The state file is JSON and can be inspected/edited manually (carefully).

Pulumi

• Pulumi Cloud: Default backend, free for individual use
• Self-managed: S3, GCS, Azure Blob, or local filesystem
• Encryption: State secrets are encrypted by default
• State manipulation: pulumi state delete, pulumi import

Pulumi’s secret handling is notably better — secrets in state are encrypted, not stored in plaintext like Terraform’s default behavior.

Ecosystem & Providers

Terraform

• 1,500+ providers in the registry
• Massive community with extensive documentation
• Most cloud services have day-one Terraform support
• Module registry with thousands of reusable modules

Pulumi

• 150+ native providers plus access to any Terraform provider via the Pulumi-Terraform bridge
• Growing component library (Pulumi Registry)
• Crosswalk packages for AWS, Azure, GCP with best-practice defaults
• Smaller but active community

Verdict: Terraform wins on ecosystem breadth, but Pulumi’s bridge means you’re rarely blocked.

Photo by Ales Nesetril on Unsplash

Testing

This is where Pulumi pulls ahead significantly.

Terraform Testing

# terraform test (native, introduced in 1.6)
run "verify_lambda_config" {
  command = plan

  assert {
    condition     = aws_lambda_function.api.memory_size == 256
    error_message = "Lambda memory should be 256MB"
  }
}

Terraform’s native testing is improving but still limited. Most teams rely on Terratest (Go) for integration tests.

Pulumi Testing

import * as pulumi from "@pulumi/pulumi";
import { describe, it, expect } from "vitest";

describe("Infrastructure", () => {
  it("should configure Lambda with correct memory", async () => {
    const infra = await import("./index");
    const memory = await new Promise((resolve) =>
      infra.apiFunction.memorySize.apply(resolve)
    );
    expect(memory).toBe(256);
  });

  it("should encrypt environment variables", async () => {
    const infra = await import("./index");
    const env = await new Promise((resolve) =>
      infra.apiFunction.environment.apply(resolve)
    );
    // Secrets are automatically encrypted
    expect(env).toBeDefined();
  });
});

Write tests in your language’s testing framework. Use your existing CI/CD. No new tools to learn.

Real-World Decision Framework

Choose Terraform when:

• Your team is ops-heavy with limited programming experience
• You need maximum provider coverage
• You’re joining an organization that already uses Terraform
• You want the largest pool of hirable talent
• Simple infrastructure with straightforward patterns

Choose Pulumi when:

• Your team is developer-heavy
• You need complex logic (dynamic resource creation, conditional infrastructure)
• Testing infrastructure is a priority
• You want to share abstractions as packages (npm, PyPI, etc.)
• Secret management is critical
• You’re building a platform team creating reusable components

Migration Path

Moving from Terraform to Pulumi? Pulumi offers pulumi convert to translate HCL to your target language:

# Convert existing Terraform to TypeScript
pulumi convert --from terraform --language typescript

# Import existing resources without recreating
pulumi import aws:lambda/function:Function my-api arn:aws:lambda:...

It’s not perfect — complex modules need manual cleanup — but it’s a solid starting point.

The OpenTofu Factor

OpenTofu (the open-source Terraform fork) adds another dimension. If your concern with Terraform is licensing (BSL), OpenTofu gives you a community-governed alternative with near-identical syntax.

However, OpenTofu and Terraform are slowly diverging. Features like client-side state encryption exist in OpenTofu but not Terraform, and vice versa.

Cost Comparison

For small teams, both are affordable. At enterprise scale, negotiate.

Conclusion

There’s no universally “better” tool. Terraform is the safe, proven choice with the largest ecosystem. Pulumi is the modern, developer-friendly choice with better abstractions and testing.

The best IaC tool is the one your team will actually use consistently. If your team writes TypeScript all day, forcing them into HCL creates friction. If your team manages infrastructure and doesn’t write application code, Terraform’s simplicity is a feature, not a limitation.

Pick one. Use it everywhere. Be consistent. That matters more than which one you pick.

Infrastructure as Code is a solved problem. The question is which solution fits your team.

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