Infrastructure as code for provisioning and managing cloud resources
Terraform is an infrastructure-as-code tool for defining, provisioning, and managing cloud and on-premises infrastructure across multiple providers.
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In practice, users write HCL (HashiCorp Configuration Language) or JSON files that declare what infrastructure should exist — virtual machines, networks, databases, DNS records, and more. Running `terraform plan` shows a preview of changes before they are applied, and `terraform apply` executes them. State is tracked in a state file that records the real-world resources Terraform manages, enabling it to compute incremental changes on subsequent runs.
Terraform's module system allows reusable, versioned infrastructure components to be shared across teams or published to the public Terraform Registry. The remote state and state locking features in Terraform Cloud prevent concurrent modification conflicts in team environments. Sentinel policy-as-code and role-based access controls allow organizations to enforce compliance rules before infrastructure changes are applied.
Terraform targets DevOps engineers, platform engineers, and cloud architects working across organizations of any size. The open-source CLI is free to use without restrictions. Terraform Cloud offers a hosted backend with a free tier for small teams and paid plans starting at $20 per user per month for additional governance and collaboration features. Competing tools in the infrastructure-as-code space include Pulumi, AWS CloudFormation, Azure Bicep, and Ansible.
Terraform is distributed as a standalone binary for Linux, macOS, and Windows. It operates via API calls to provider endpoints and requires no agent installation on target systems. The open-source edition is licensed under the Business Source License (BSL) as of version 1.6; earlier versions remain under the Mozilla Public License. An OpenTofu fork maintained by the Linux Foundation continues development under the MPL-2.0 license.
Terraform automatically enforces cost-centric policies to eliminate idle, underused, and over-provisioned resources, helping organizations reduce cloud spend by up to 20%.
HCP Terraform sends alerts via Slack and email when infrastructure issues are detected, enabling teams to roll forward or roll back changes, with configurable per-team notification channels.
HCP Terraform Stacks allows teams to coordinate, deploy, and manage interdependent Terraform configurations within IaC workflows, eliminating manual tracking of cross-configuration dependencies.
Teams can create, publish, and discover reusable internal modules validated by an integrated testing workflow, with support for module deprecation warnings and lifecycle management.
Terraform integrates with version control systems to trigger infrastructure runs automatically on code changes, enabling review and approval workflows for infrastructure modifications.
Terraform lets you define, build, change, and version infrastructure safely and efficiently using declarative configuration language, covering compute, storage, networking, DNS, and SaaS resources.
HCP Terraform acts as a remote backend storing Terraform state tied to workspaces, with automatic versioning, encryption at rest, and the ability to share state outputs between workspaces.
Terraform enables end users to discover and provision infrastructure through no-code modules and a ServiceNow integration, reducing the skills gap needed to consume infrastructure resources.
With more than 4,000 providers, Terraform extends infrastructure provisioning and management across all major public clouds, private datacenters, networks, and SaaS applications.
Terraform supports 25+ run task partner integrations for single sign-on, logging, security and compliance tools, cost management, and IT service management within the automation workflow.
HCP Terraform exports audit logs to external systems via API or directly into Splunk, and provides an Explorer interface with filter capabilities and CSV downloads to monitor workspace health and compliance.
Terraform enforces security and compliance guardrails on every run using HashiCorp Sentinel and Open Policy Agent (OPA), including pre-written policy libraries for major cloud providers.
Fully free, open-source CLI for individuals running Terraform locally. No managed platform features; state is stored locally. Free forever regardless of resource count.
For individuals and small teams getting started with HCP Terraform (the hosted SaaS platform). Includes up to 500 managed resources (Resources Under Management / RUM) at no charge. New users receive a $500 trial credit on a Pay-As-You-Go plan; legacy free plans reached end-of-life March 31, 2026.
First paid tier for professional individuals or teams adopting infrastructure as code provisioning at scale. Priced at ~$0.10 per managed resource per month (or ~$0.00013 per resource per hour), billed hourly based on peak managed resources. First 500 resources included. Includes a $500 HCP trial credit.
For enterprises standardizing and managing infrastructure automation and lifecycle. Adds governance, collaboration, and scalability features on top of Essentials. Priced at ~$0.47 per managed resource per month, billed hourly on peak. Includes a $500 HCP trial credit.
Top SaaS tier for enterprises to maximize IT investments with a secure, self-service workflow. Includes all Standard and Essentials features plus advanced governance and enterprise capabilities. Priced at ~$0.99 per managed resource per month, billed hourly on peak. Contracted/volume pricing available via Sales.
Self-hosted version of HCP Terraform for compliance-heavy enterprises requiring full control over data and infrastructure (including air-gapped deployments). Pricing is custom and requires contacting HashiCorp/IBM Sales. Average contract value is approximately $36,726/year per third-party sources, but list price varies significantly by usage and negotiation.
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Common questions answered by our AI research team
Terraform supports over 3,000 provider integrations, covering AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Kubernetes, and various SaaS platforms.
Yes, Terraform works with both AWS and Azure, along with Google Cloud, Kubernetes, and many SaaS platforms through its provider ecosystem.
Yes, Terraform manages resources across multiple environments using a single workflow, spanning cloud providers, Kubernetes, and SaaS platforms.
Yes, Terraform automatically destroys resources that are no longer described in the configuration files, matching infrastructure to the declared desired state.
