Cloud & Infrastructure · head to head
Lambda (AWS Serverless) vs Pulumi
Lambda (AWS Serverless)
Cloud & Infrastructure
Run code without thinking about servers
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Pulumi
Cloud & Infrastructure
Modern infrastructure as code using programming languages
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Lambda (AWS Serverless) billed on two axes at once, $0.20 per million requests plus $0.0000166667 per GB-second of duration, so memory settings change the bill as much as traffic does; Pulumi the free Individual plan allows one user and one concurrent stack update
- They diverge on capability: Lambda (AWS Serverless) covers Function-as-a-Service, Pulumi covers Multi-language support.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Lambda (AWS Serverless) and Pulumi actually diverge.
| Attribute | Lambda (AWS Serverless) | Pulumi |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | usage-based | freemium |
| Platforms | Web, Api | Linux, Windows, Mac, Api |
| Founded | 2014 | 2017 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cloud & Infrastructure).
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 Lambda (AWS Serverless)
- Function-as-a-Service
- Event-driven execution
- Auto-scaling
- Pay-per-use
- Multiple languages
- Concurrency limits
- Dead Letter Queues
- Environment variables
Only in Pulumi
- Multi-language support
- Multi-cloud
- State management
- Secrets management
- RBAC
- Stacks
- Automation API
- Policy as Code
Both cover
- Cloud deployment
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Lambda (AWS Serverless)
- Event-driven functions without managing serversnot Pulumi
- API backends behind API Gatewaynot Pulumi
- Processing S3, DynamoDB, SQS and Kinesis eventsnot Pulumi
- Scheduled jobs without a always-on instancenot Pulumi
- Edge compute through Lambda@Edgenot Pulumi
Pulumi
- Defining cloud infrastructure as code in TypeScript, Python, Go, C# or Java rather than a DSLnot Lambda (AWS Serverless)
- Managing Pulumi state and secrets in a hosted backend instead of self-managed storagenot Lambda (AWS Serverless)
- Policy, drift detection and deployment workflows for platform engineering teamsnot Lambda (AWS Serverless)
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Lambda (AWS Serverless)
- Billed on two axes at once, $0.20 per million requests plus $0.0000166667 per GB-second of duration, so memory settings change the bill as much as traffic does
- Provisioned concurrency, used to avoid cold starts, is charged separately at $0.0000041667 per GB-second whether or not the function runs
- Ephemeral storage beyond the included 512 MB is metered
- Lambda@Edge costs $0.60 per million requests, three times the standard request rate
- VPC use and cross-region data transfer carry EC2 charges on top
Pulumi
- The free Individual plan allows one user and one concurrent stack update
- The Team plan is $40 per month base including 40 credits, and caps the organisation at 10 users
- SAML/SSO, RBAC, audit logs and drift detection require the Enterprise plan at $400 per month base
- The per-resource rate rises from $0.1825 per resource per month on Team to $0.365 on Enterprise, so upgrading raises the unit price as well as the base fee
- Managed secrets are billed separately at $0.50 per secret per month on Team and $0.75 on Enterprise
- Self-hosting, SCIM user sync, audit log export and 24x7 support are only in Business Critical, which is custom priced with no published rate
- Team includes up to 500 resources and Enterprise up to 2,000, with everything beyond billed on demand as credits
Pricing, plan by plan
Lambda (AWS Serverless)
Free- Free TierFree
- 1M free requests/month
- 400,000 GB-seconds/month
- Always free
Pulumi
Free- Pulumi CommunityFree
- Open source
- Community support
- Self-hosted
- Pulumi Cloud$10/month
- Hosted backend
- Team collaboration
- RBAC
Which should you pick?
Choose Lambda (AWS Serverless) if
- You need function-as-a-service.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want event-driven execution.
Choose Pulumi if
- You need multi-language support.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Api.
- You also want multi-cloud.
Questions people ask
- Is Lambda (AWS Serverless) or Pulumi better?
- Neither clearly leads. Lambda (AWS Serverless) starts at Free and Pulumi at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Lambda (AWS Serverless) or Pulumi?
- Lambda (AWS Serverless) starts at Free and Pulumi at Free.
- Does Lambda (AWS Serverless) or Pulumi run on more platforms?
- Lambda (AWS Serverless) runs on Web, Api. Pulumi runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Api.
- Can I use Lambda (AWS Serverless) for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Lambda (AWS Serverless) best used for?
- Lambda (AWS Serverless) is most often used for event-driven functions without managing servers, api backends behind api gateway, processing s3, dynamodb, sqs and kinesis events, scheduled jobs without a always-on instance. Of those, event-driven functions without managing servers and api backends behind api gateway are not what Pulumi is typically brought in for.
- What can Lambda (AWS Serverless) do that Pulumi cannot?
- Lambda (AWS Serverless) covers Function-as-a-Service, Event-driven execution, Auto-scaling, Pay-per-use. Pulumi covers Multi-language support, Multi-cloud, State management, Secrets management. Both handle Cloud deployment.
Related pages
More on Lambda (AWS Serverless)
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