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Developer Tools · head to head

Atlantis vs Mode

Atlantis logo

Atlantis

Developer Tools

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

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit AtlantisFull review
Mode logo

Mode

Business Intelligence

Collaborative analytics for data teams

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit ModeFull review

The short version

  • Mode is a collaborative analytics platform.
  • Atlantis is free; Mode starts at $65/mo.
  • Only Atlantis lists pull request plans; only Mode lists SQL Editor.
  • Where Mode falls short: free tier limited to 4GB RAM and 1 CPU for SQL notebooks, insufficient for large datasets.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Atlantis and Mode actually diverge.

Attributes where Atlantis and Mode differ
AttributeAtlantisMode
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeSubscription
PlatformsLinux, Self-hostedWeb
CategoryDeveloper ToolsBusiness Intelligence

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes).

Not yet recorded: founded for Atlantis.

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 Mode

  • SQL Editor
  • Python/R Notebooks
  • Interactive Reports
  • Version Control
  • Scheduling
  • Snowflake
  • Redshift
  • BigQuery

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

Mode

  • Self-service analyticsnot Atlantis
  • Data explorationnot Atlantis
  • Ad-hoc reportingnot Atlantis
  • Collaborative analysisnot Atlantis
  • Embedded analyticsnot 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

Mode

  • Free tier limited to 4GB RAM and 1 CPU for SQL notebooks, insufficient for large datasets
  • Requires SQL knowledge for most analysis tasks, creating dependency on technical resources
  • Paid plan pricing not publicly listed; requires sales consultation
  • Recently acquired by ThoughtSpot in 2026, creating product direction uncertainty
  • Limited customization options for visual aspects and embedded analytics

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

Mode

Free
  • FreeFree
    • SQL Editor
    • Python/R Notebooks
    • Basic Charts
  • Business$65/mo
    • Advanced Visualizations
    • Collaboration
    • Integrations

Which should you pick?

Choose Atlantis if

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

Choose Mode if

  • You need sql editor.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want python/r notebooks.
Mode review

Questions people ask

Is Atlantis or Mode better?
Neither clearly leads. Atlantis starts at Free and Mode at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Atlantis or Mode?
Atlantis starts at Free and Mode at Free.
Does Atlantis or Mode run on more platforms?
Atlantis runs on Linux, Self-hosted. Mode runs on Web.
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 Mode is typically brought in for.
What can Atlantis do that Mode cannot?
Atlantis covers Pull request plans, Comment driven apply, Workspace locking, Policy checking. Mode covers SQL Editor, Python/R Notebooks, Interactive Reports, Version Control.

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.

Mode: What languages does Mode support for analysis?

Mode notebooks support SQL, Python (3.11 with pandas, NumPy, scikit-learn, matplotlib), and R (4.2.0 with ggplot2, dplyr, tidyr). Both Python and R allow additional library installation at runtime.

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.

Mode: Can I integrate Mode notebook results into reports?

Yes. Mode allows adding notebook cell results directly to reports, with synchronized scheduling so reports re-run to keep data current.

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.

Mode: Does Mode support collaborative analysis?

Yes. Mode notebooks provide moveable code blocks and markdown cells enabling exploratory analysis and team collaboration on data queries and visualizations.

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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