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Software · head to head

.NET vs Pulumi

.

.NET

Software

Free, cross-platform, open source developer platform

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: .NET .NET 8 and .NET 9 both reach end of support on 10 November 2026, per dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/platform/support/policy (Aug 2026), forcing an upgrade to .NET 10 by that date; Pulumi the free Individual plan allows one user and one concurrent stack update

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which .NET and Pulumi actually diverge.

Attributes where .NET and Pulumi differ
Attribute.NETPulumi
Pricing modelopen-sourcefreemium
PlatformsWebLinux, Windows, Mac, Api
FoundedUnknown2017

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 .NET

Nothing recorded that Pulumi does not also cover.

Only in Pulumi

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

What people use each for

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

.NET

No use cases recorded yet. See the .NET review.

Pulumi

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

Where each one falls short

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

.NET

  • .NET 8 and .NET 9 both reach end of support on 10 November 2026, per dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/platform/support/policy (Aug 2026), forcing an upgrade to .NET 10 by that date
  • Standard Term Support releases get only 2 years of patches versus 3 years for Long Term Support releases, per Microsoft's own support policy page, so teams on an STS release face a shorter upgrade cycle

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

.NET

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the .NET review.

Pulumi

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

Which should you pick?

Choose .NET if

  • You want to start without paying.
.NET 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 .NET or Pulumi better?
Neither clearly leads. .NET 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, .NET or Pulumi?
.NET starts at Free and Pulumi at Free.
Does .NET or Pulumi run on more platforms?
.NET runs on Web. Pulumi runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Api.
Can I use .NET for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What can .NET do that Pulumi cannot?
Pulumi covers Multi-language support, Multi-cloud, State management, Secrets management.
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