Developer Tools · head to head
HCP Terraform vs PHP
HCP Terraform
Developer Tools
Infrastructure as code provisioning and management, formerly Terraform Cloud
- From
- Free
- Free plan
- Yes
PHP
Web Development
A popular general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited to web development
- From
- Free
- Free plan
- Yes
The short version
- Each has a real cost: HCP Terraform legacy free version deprecated; no current freemium tier; PHP distributed under the Modified BSD License, also called the PHP License version 4, per php.net/license/; there is no paid tier or vendor price to compare
- Prices and features above were last checked on 29 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which HCP Terraform and PHP actually diverge.
| Attribute | HCP Terraform | PHP |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | usage-based | open-source |
| Category | Developer Tools | Web Development |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated).
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
HCP Terraform
- Infrastructure as Code managementnot PHP
- Cloud resource provisioningnot PHP
PHP
- Server-side web developmentnot HCP Terraform
- Content management systemsnot HCP Terraform
- API backendsnot HCP Terraform
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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
PHP
- Distributed under the Modified BSD License, also called the PHP License version 4, per php.net/license/; there is no paid tier or vendor price to compare
- PHP 8.2 lost active support on 31 Dec 2024 and enters full end of life on 31 Dec 2026, with only security fixes since, per php.net/supported-versions.php (Aug 2026)
Pricing, plan by plan
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
PHP
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the PHP review.
Which should you pick?
Questions people ask
- Is HCP Terraform or PHP better?
- Neither clearly leads. HCP Terraform starts at Free and PHP at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, HCP Terraform or PHP?
- HCP Terraform starts at Free and PHP at Free.
- Does HCP Terraform or PHP run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use HCP Terraform for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is HCP Terraform best used for?
- HCP Terraform is most often used for infrastructure as code management, cloud resource provisioning. Of those, infrastructure as code management and cloud resource provisioning are not what PHP is typically brought in for.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
HCP 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.
SourcePHP: Is PHP free to use?
Yes, PHP is completely free and open-source software under the PHP Foundation governance. There are no licensing fees or paid tiers.
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.
SourcePHP: Does the PHP Foundation offer paid support?
The PHP Foundation accepts voluntary donations to support long-term development, but donations are optional and not required to use PHP.
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
Other head to heads
- HCP Terraform vs Atlantis
- HCP Terraform vs Visual Studio Code
- HCP Terraform vs ESLint
- HCP Terraform vs pnpm
- HCP Terraform vs Turborepo
- HCP Terraform vs Harness
- HCP Terraform vs Octopus Deploy
- HCP Terraform vs Moonrepo
- HCP Terraform vs Ansible
- HCP Terraform vs Spacelift
- HCP Terraform vs Coder
- HCP Terraform vs Keycloak
- HCP Terraform vs Nx Cloud
- HCP Terraform vs Pants Build
- HCP Terraform vs Swagger UI
- HCP Terraform vs Yarn
- HCP Terraform vs Django
- HCP Terraform vs MySQL
- HCP Terraform vs Next.js
- HCP Terraform vs Flask
- HCP Terraform vs Sass
- HCP Terraform vs Remix
- HCP Terraform vs npm
- HCP Terraform vs SolidStart
- HCP Terraform vs Wix Studio
- HCP Terraform vs Apache HTTP Server
- HCP Terraform vs Bolt.new
- HCP Terraform vs .NET
- HCP Terraform vs TanStack Start
- HCP Terraform vs Alpine.js
- HCP Terraform vs Astro
- HCP Terraform vs Carrd
- PHP vs Atlantis
- PHP vs Visual Studio Code
- PHP vs ESLint
- PHP vs pnpm
- PHP vs Turborepo
- PHP vs Harness
- PHP vs Octopus Deploy
- PHP vs Moonrepo
- PHP vs Ansible
- PHP vs Spacelift
- PHP vs Coder
- PHP vs Keycloak
- PHP vs Nx Cloud
- PHP vs Pants Build
- PHP vs Swagger UI
- PHP vs Yarn
- PHP vs Django
- PHP vs MySQL
- PHP vs Next.js
- PHP vs Flask
- PHP vs Sass
- PHP vs Remix
- PHP vs npm
- PHP vs SolidStart
- PHP vs Wix Studio
- PHP vs Apache HTTP Server
- PHP vs Bolt.new
- PHP vs .NET
- PHP vs TanStack Start
- PHP vs Alpine.js
- PHP vs Astro
- PHP vs Carrd