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Developer Tools · head to head

Atlantis vs curl

Atlantis logo

Atlantis

Developer Tools

Runs Terraform plan and apply from pull request comments, self-hosted and free

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
curl logo

curl

APIs

Command-line tool for transferring data using URLs with wide protocol support

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Atlantis there is no company, no service level agreement and no paid support at any price, and the six maintainers are volunteers with day jobs, which some risk committees will not accept for a component holding production cloud credentials.; curl open-source with no vendor pricing: curl is free and open-source under GPL 3.0; no subscription or licensing costs apply
  • They diverge on capability: Atlantis covers Pull request plans, curl covers HTTP/HTTPS.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Atlantis and curl actually diverge.

Attributes where Atlantis and curl differ
AttributeAtlantiscurl
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeopen-source
PlatformsLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hostedLinux, MacOS, Windows, Unix, Mobile
CategoryDeveloper ToolsAPIs
FoundedUnknown1997

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Atlantis

  • Pull request plans
  • Comment driven apply
  • Workspace locking
  • Policy checking
  • Multi-platform webhooks
  • Custom workflows

Only in curl

  • HTTP/HTTPS
  • FTP
  • Multiple protocols
  • Universal compatibility
  • Scripting tools
  • Linux support
  • MacOS support
  • Windows support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Atlantis

  • Making Terraform review meaningful by putting the actual plan output in front of the approvernot curl
  • Removing local applies and the credential sprawl that comes with every engineer holding production keysnot curl
  • Getting pull request driven infrastructure without paying a per-user subscription for a hosted platformnot curl
  • Enforcing Conftest policies as a blocking check before an apply can runnot curl

curl

  • API Developmentnot Atlantis
  • API Gatewaynot Atlantis
  • API Testingnot Atlantis
  • API Documentationnot Atlantis
  • Microservicesnot Atlantis

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Atlantis

  • There is no company, no service level agreement and no paid support at any price, and the six maintainers are volunteers with day jobs, which some risk committees will not accept for a component holding production cloud credentials.
  • The security surface is inherently sharp, because it is an internet-reachable webhook endpoint that executes applies with privileged credentials, gated by pull request comment authorisation that is coarse next to a real policy engine.
  • It is stateful, holding a working directory and lock database on local disk, so high availability and horizontal scaling are awkward and you own upgrades, webhook plumbing, secret rotation and the host itself.
  • It lacks the features that distinguish the commercial alternatives, with no native drift detection, no cost estimation, no managed state interface and no policy engine beyond the Conftest integration.
  • Terragrunt and monorepo layouts are not first-class, requiring hand-written custom workflows and repository configuration that becomes a growing maintenance burden as the number of repositories increases.

curl

  • Open-source with no vendor pricing: curl is free and open-source under GPL 3.0; no subscription or licensing costs apply
  • Commercial support costs hidden: site references 'commercial support available' but pricing is not detailed or accessible from homepage
  • No SaaS model: curl is a command-line tool and library; costs are limited to optional commercial support contracts (pricing unknown)
  • Self-support burden: free software means customers rely on community forums or undisclosed commercial support pricing

Pricing, plan by plan

Atlantis

Free
  • AtlantisFree
    • Apache-2.0, no usage limits and no seat count
    • No commercial edition and no paid support tier
    • Community support through GitHub and the CNCF Slack channel

curl

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Full curl functionality
    • Community support

Which should you pick?

Choose Atlantis if

  • You need pull request plans.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
  • You also want comment driven apply.
Atlantis review

Choose curl if

  • You need http/https.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, MacOS, Windows, Unix, Mobile.
  • You also want ftp.
curl review

Questions people ask

Is Atlantis or curl better?
Neither clearly leads. Atlantis starts at Free and curl at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Atlantis or curl?
Atlantis starts at Free and curl at Free.
Does Atlantis or curl run on more platforms?
Atlantis runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted. curl runs on Linux, MacOS, Windows, Unix, Mobile.
Can I use Atlantis for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Atlantis best used for?
Atlantis is most often used for making terraform review meaningful by putting the actual plan output in front of the approver, removing local applies and the credential sprawl that comes with every engineer holding production keys, getting pull request driven infrastructure without paying a per-user subscription for a hosted platform, enforcing conftest policies as a blocking check before an apply can run. Of those, making terraform review meaningful by putting the actual plan output in front of the approver and removing local applies and the credential sprawl that comes with every engineer holding production keys are not what curl is typically brought in for.
What can Atlantis do that curl cannot?
Atlantis covers Pull request plans, Comment driven apply, Workspace locking, Policy checking. curl covers HTTP/HTTPS, FTP, Multiple protocols, Universal compatibility.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Atlantis: Is there a company behind Atlantis?

No. It runs as a series of LF Projects under the Linux Foundation and is maintained by volunteers. There is no vendor to buy support from and no service level agreement.

curl: How much does curl cost?

curl is free and open-source software under the GPL 3.0 license. There is no cost to download, use, or modify the software.

Source
Atlantis: Is it a CNCF project?

No. It uses a channel in the CNCF Slack, which is often misread as membership, but the project sits under LF Projects rather than the CNCF.

curl: Is commercial support available for curl?

Yes. The curl website references 'commercial support available,' but pricing and details are not disclosed on the homepage and require visiting the support page.

Source
Atlantis: Does it work with OpenTofu?

Yes, there is a dedicated integration guide alongside Terraform, and it also has configuration for working with hosted Terraform backends.

curl: Can I sponsor curl financially?

Yes. The curl website offers an option to 'Sponsor curl financially.' Visitors can donate to support curl development, but the donation link must be accessed through the site's support section.

Source
Atlantis: What does it not do that a paid platform does?

Drift detection, cost estimation, a managed state and run interface, and a real policy engine. Atlantis does pull request plan and apply well and stops there.

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