Developer Tools · head to head
Earthly vs HCP Terraform
HCP Terraform
Developer Tools
Infrastructure as code provisioning and management, formerly Terraform Cloud
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Earthly pricing model not published; requires sales contact; HCP Terraform legacy free version deprecated; no current freemium tier
- Prices and features above were last checked on 29 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Earthly and HCP Terraform actually diverge.
| Attribute | Earthly | HCP Terraform |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | No pricing published on website | usage-based |
| Platforms | Web, CLI | Web |
| Founded | 2020 | Unknown |
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 Earthly
- Policy as code
- Multi-stage enforcement
- AI agent governance
- Repository-wide policies
- Incident response automation
- Compliance management
- Earthfiles build tool
- Satellites
Only in HCP Terraform
Nothing recorded that Earthly does not also cover.
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Earthly
- Enforcing engineering standards across AI and human developersnot HCP Terraform
- Automating incident response procedures across all repositoriesnot HCP Terraform
- Embedding compliance requirements into development workflowsnot HCP Terraform
- Standardizing build processes with Earthfilesnot HCP Terraform
HCP Terraform
- Infrastructure as Code managementnot Earthly
- Cloud resource provisioningnot Earthly
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Earthly
- Pricing model not published; requires sales contact
- Earthly Lunar is a recent launch (2025) with limited track record
- Primarily GitHub-focused; limited integration with other platforms
- No public documentation on pricing or feature tiers
HCP Terraform
- Legacy free version deprecated; no current freemium tier
- New users receive $500 credit but still require usage to continue service
- Terraform Enterprise requires custom pricing
Pricing, plan by plan
Earthly
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Earthly review.
HCP Terraform
Free- Essentials$0.1/month
- Per resource pricing
- Remote state storage
- VCS connection
- Standard$0.47/month
- Per resource pricing
- Essentials features plus unlimited modules
- Module deprecation
- Premium$0.99/month
- Per resource pricing
- Standard features plus module revocation
- Waypoint actions
Which should you pick?
Choose Earthly if
- You need policy as code.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, CLI.
- You also want multi-stage enforcement.
Questions people ask
- Is Earthly or HCP Terraform better?
- Neither clearly leads. Earthly starts at Free and HCP Terraform at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Earthly or HCP Terraform?
- Earthly starts at Free and HCP Terraform at Free.
- Does Earthly or HCP Terraform run on more platforms?
- Earthly runs on Web, CLI. HCP Terraform runs on Web.
- Can I use Earthly for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Earthly best used for?
- Earthly is most often used for enforcing engineering standards across ai and human developers, automating incident response procedures across all repositories, embedding compliance requirements into development workflows, standardizing build processes with earthfiles. Of those, enforcing engineering standards across ai and human developers and automating incident response procedures across all repositories are not what HCP Terraform is typically brought in for.
- What can Earthly do that HCP Terraform cannot?
- Earthly covers Policy as code, Multi-stage enforcement, AI agent governance, Repository-wide policies.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Earthly: What is the difference between Earthfiles and Earthly Lunar?
Earthfiles is an open-source build tool that reached 12,000 GitHub stars and is used by companies like NVIDIA, Intel, and Databricks. Earthly Lunar is a separate governance platform launched in 2025 for enforcing standards across development workflows.
SourceHCP Terraform: How much does HCP Terraform cost?
HCP Terraform uses per-resource pricing starting at $0.10/month/resource for Essentials, $0.47/month/resource for Standard, and $0.99/month/resource for Premium.
SourceEarthly: How does Earthly Lunar enforce standards?
Lunar converts engineering standards, compliance requirements, and processes documented in AGENTS.md files, wikis, and incident postmortems into enforceable guardrails that apply consistently across repositories and development stages.
SourceHCP Terraform: Does HCP Terraform offer a free tier?
No, the legacy free version has been deprecated. However, new users receive $500 credit to try the service.
SourceEarthly: What is the pricing for Earthly Lunar?
Pricing is not published on the website. Interested customers should contact Earthly's sales team for current pricing and feature tiers.
SourceHCP Terraform: What does the Standard plan include?
Standard plan at $0.47/month/resource includes unlimited modules, module deprecation, team notifications, no-code provisioning, and Waypoint templates.
SourceRelated pages
More on HCP Terraform
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- HCP Terraform vs Visual Studio Code
- HCP Terraform vs ESLint
- HCP Terraform vs pnpm
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- HCP Terraform vs Buildkite
- HCP Terraform vs Helix
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- HCP Terraform vs Argo CD