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Developer Tools · head to head

Atlantis vs Depot

Atlantis logo

Atlantis

Developer Tools

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Depot logo

Depot

Developer Tools

Cloud-based builds and CI runs 55x faster with less cost

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.; Depot developer plan minute limits may be insufficient for active development
  • They diverge on capability: Atlantis covers Pull request plans, Depot covers Depot CI.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Atlantis and Depot actually diverge.

Attributes where Atlantis and Depot differ
AttributeAtlantisDepot
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeUnknown
PlatformsLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hostedCloud, GitHub, CLI
FoundedUnknown2022

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

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 Depot

  • Depot CI
  • Container builds
  • GitHub Actions runners
  • Distributed caching
  • Build API
  • Depot Registry
  • Cross-platform builds
  • SSH debugging

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 Depot
  • Removing local applies and the credential sprawl that comes with every engineer holding production keysnot Depot
  • Getting pull request driven infrastructure without paying a per-user subscription for a hosted platformnot Depot
  • Enforcing Conftest policies as a blocking check before an apply can runnot Depot

Depot

  • Accelerating Docker builds for container-based developmentnot Atlantis
  • Replacing GitHub Actions runners with faster infrastructurenot Atlantis
  • Distributing cache across Monorepo buildsnot Atlantis
  • Debugging failed CI builds interactively with SSHnot 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.

Depot

  • Developer plan minute limits may be insufficient for active development
  • Startup plan at $200/mo is expensive for smaller teams
  • Business plan requires custom pricing consultation
  • macOS M2 runners not available on Developer plan

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

Depot

Free
  • Developer$20/month
    • 1 user
    • 500 Docker build minutes per month
    • 2,000 Depot CI minutes per month
  • Startup$200/month
    • Unlimited users
    • 5,000 Docker build minutes per month
    • 20,000 Depot CI minutes per month
  • Business$undefined/custom
    • Custom pricing
    • Unlimited users
    • Custom monthly compute

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 Depot if

  • You need depot ci.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Cloud, GitHub, CLI.
  • You also want container builds.
Depot review

Questions people ask

Is Atlantis or Depot better?
Neither clearly leads. Atlantis starts at Free and Depot at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Atlantis or Depot?
Atlantis starts at Free and Depot at Free.
Does Atlantis or Depot run on more platforms?
Atlantis runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted. Depot runs on Cloud, GitHub, CLI.
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 Depot is typically brought in for.
What can Atlantis do that Depot cannot?
Atlantis covers Pull request plans, Comment driven apply, Workspace locking, Policy checking. Depot covers Depot CI, Container builds, GitHub Actions runners, Distributed caching.

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.

Depot: How much faster are Depot runners compared to GitHub Actions?

Depot runners offer 30% faster CPUs and 10x faster networking than standard GitHub-hosted runners, enabling builds to complete significantly faster.

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.

Depot: What is included in the Developer plan?

Developer plan ($20/month) includes 500 Docker build minutes, 2,000 Depot CI minutes, 2,000 GitHub Actions minutes, 25 GB storage, unlimited concurrency, and community support.

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.

Depot: Can I use Depot with my own AWS account?

Yes, Depot Managed allows deployment within customer AWS accounts. This is available to interested customers; contact sales for details.

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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