AWS CDK vs Terraform

Compare AWS CDK vs Terraform features, pricing, and performance metrics side-by-side to find the optimal platform for your engineering workflow.

Feature Comparison Matrix

Feature AWS CDK Terraform
Multi-Cloud Support ✗ AWS-focused, limited multi-cloud via custom resources ✓ 2000+ providers across all major clouds
Kubernetes-Native ✗ Not K8s-native, uses EKS construct library ✗ Not K8s-native, separate Kubernetes provider
State Management ✓ AWS CloudFormation state management ✓ Local and remote state (Terraform Cloud, S3, etc.)
Programming Languages ✓ TypeScript, Python, Java, C#, Go, .NET ✗ HCL DSL only
Module/Package Registry ✓ AWS CDK Construct Library, Construct Hub ✓ Terraform Registry (public and private)
Policy as Code ✗ AWS Config rules, Service Control Policies (separate) ✓ Sentinel (enterprise) and OPA integration
Drift Detection ✓ CloudFormation drift detection ✓ Terraform plan detects drift, Terraform Cloud notifications
Preview/Plan ✓ cdk diff and CloudFormation change sets ✓ Terraform plan output before apply
Secret Management ✓ AWS Secrets Manager, Parameter Store integration ✓ Variables with sensitive flag, Vault integration
Team Collaboration ✓ AWS IAM, CloudFormation StackSets for multi-account ✓ Terraform Cloud with RBAC, runs, workspaces
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About AWS CDK

AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK) is an Infrastructure as Code framework by Amazon that lets you define AWS cloud resources using TypeScript, Python, Java, C#, and Go. It provides high-level constructs that encapsulate best practices and defaults, making it easier to build production-ready AWS infrastructure. CDK supports synthesis to CloudFormation templates, allowing use of existing AWS tooling. It includes a large library of construct libraries maintained by AWS and the community.

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About Terraform

Terraform by HashiCorp is the industry-standard Infrastructure as Code tool that enables teams to provision and manage cloud infrastructure across 2000+ providers using declarative HCL (HashiCorp Configuration Language). It maintains state files to track resource changes, supports modules for reusable infrastructure patterns, and offers workspaces for environment management. Terraform Cloud adds remote state management, policy enforcement, and team collaboration features.

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