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Software · head to head

Consul vs Pulumi

Consul logo

Consul

Software

Service discovery, networking, and security

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Pulumi logo

Pulumi

Software

Modern infrastructure as code using programming languages

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Consul namespaces, admin partitions and other multi tenancy controls are Consul Enterprise only; Pulumi the free Individual plan allows one user and one concurrent stack update
  • They diverge on capability: Consul covers Service discovery, Pulumi covers Multi-language support.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Consul and Pulumi actually diverge.

Attributes where Consul and Pulumi differ
AttributeConsulPulumi
Pricing modelopen-sourcefreemium
PlatformsLinux, Windows, Mac, CloudLinux, Windows, Mac, Api
Founded20142017

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

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 Consul

  • Service discovery
  • Health checking
  • Key/value store
  • Multi-datacenter
  • DNS interface
  • Service mesh
  • Load balancing
  • Configuration management

Only in Pulumi

  • Multi-language support
  • Multi-cloud
  • State management
  • Secrets management
  • RBAC
  • Stacks
  • Automation API
  • Policy as Code

Both cover

  • Kubernetes
  • On-premise deployment
  • Cloud deployment
  • Linux support

What people use each for

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

Consul

  • Service discovery and health checking across dynamic infrastructurenot Pulumi
  • Running a service mesh with mutual TLS between servicesnot Pulumi
  • Distributed key value configuration storage for applicationsnot Pulumi

Pulumi

  • Defining cloud infrastructure as code in TypeScript, Python, Go, C# or Java rather than a DSLnot Consul
  • Managing Pulumi state and secrets in a hosted backend instead of self-managed storagenot Consul
  • Policy, drift detection and deployment workflows for platform engineering teamsnot Consul

Where each one falls short

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

Consul

  • Namespaces, admin partitions and other multi tenancy controls are Consul Enterprise only
  • Audit logging, OIDC authentication and FIPS 140-2 builds require Consul Enterprise, so compliance driven deployments cannot use the free edition
  • Automated backups, redundancy zones, read replicas and automated server upgrades are Enterprise only
  • Long Term Support releases are Enterprise only, so community users must upgrade to stay supported
  • Service mesh and advanced traffic management sit in the Premium Enterprise tier above Standard Enterprise
  • HashiCorp does not publish a Consul rate on its pricing page, which lists per resource prices for Terraform instead

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

Consul

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Service discovery
    • Health checking
    • KV store

Pulumi

Free
  • Pulumi CommunityFree
    • Open source
    • Community support
    • Self-hosted
  • Pulumi Cloud$10/month
    • Hosted backend
    • Team collaboration
    • RBAC

Which should you pick?

Choose Consul if

  • You need service discovery.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
  • You also want health checking.
Consul review

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.
Pulumi review

Questions people ask

Is Consul or Pulumi better?
Neither clearly leads. Consul 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, Consul or Pulumi?
Consul starts at Free and Pulumi at Free.
Does Consul or Pulumi run on more platforms?
Consul runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud. Pulumi runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Api.
Can I use Consul for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Consul best used for?
Consul is most often used for service discovery and health checking across dynamic infrastructure, running a service mesh with mutual tls between services, distributed key value configuration storage for applications. Of those, service discovery and health checking across dynamic infrastructure and running a service mesh with mutual tls between services are not what Pulumi is typically brought in for.
What can Consul do that Pulumi cannot?
Consul covers Service discovery, Health checking, Key/value store, Multi-datacenter. Pulumi covers Multi-language support, Multi-cloud, State management, Secrets management. Both handle Kubernetes, On-premise deployment, Cloud deployment, Linux support.
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