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Developer Tools · head to head

HCP Terraform vs Tilt

HCP Terraform logo

HCP Terraform

Developer Tools

Infrastructure as code provisioning and management, formerly Terraform Cloud

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Tilt logo

Tilt

Developer Tools

Local Kubernetes development loop that rebuilds and live-updates containers on save

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: HCP Terraform legacy free version deprecated; no current freemium tier; Tilt docker acquired Tilt in 2022 and the team now splits its time across Compose and Docker Desktop, so feature velocity is modest and the product's long-term priority inside Docker is not guaranteed; treat it as a stable utility, not a growing platform.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which HCP Terraform and Tilt actually diverge.

Attributes where HCP Terraform and Tilt differ
AttributeHCP TerraformTilt
Pricing modelusage-basedOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWebLinux, macOS, Windows

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 HCP Terraform

Nothing recorded that Tilt does not also cover.

Only in Tilt

  • Live update
  • Tiltfile as code
  • Unified web UI
  • Selective rebuilds
  • Local and remote clusters
  • Resource dependencies
  • Extensions registry
  • Custom buttons and triggers

What people use each for

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

HCP Terraform

  • Infrastructure as Code managementnot Tilt
  • Cloud resource provisioningnot Tilt

Tilt

  • A team of ten or more engineers whose application is fifteen microservices on Kubernetes and who currently wait on CI to test a changenot HCP Terraform
  • An organisation onboarding new developers who want a single command that stands up the whole stack from a committed Tiltfilenot HCP Terraform
  • A platform team giving product engineers a consistent local environment against a shared remote development clusternot HCP Terraform
  • A codebase where one repository contains several services and rebuilding all of them on every edit is the main source of lost timenot 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

Tilt

  • Docker acquired Tilt in 2022 and the team now splits its time across Compose and Docker Desktop, so feature velocity is modest and the product's long-term priority inside Docker is not guaranteed; treat it as a stable utility, not a growing platform.
  • The Tiltfile is Starlark, a Python dialect, so non-trivial setups become real programs that need reviewing and maintaining, and the person who wrote yours becomes a single point of failure.
  • Live update only works when the running container can accept synced files and restart the process; compiled languages, distroless images and read-only filesystems often force you back to a full image rebuild, which removes the main benefit.
  • It assumes Kubernetes. If your development target is plain Docker Compose or serverless functions, Tilt adds a cluster you did not need and a layer of abstraction with no payoff.
  • There is no commercial support contract, no SLA and no paid tier, so when a Kubernetes version upgrade breaks something you are dependent on GitHub issues and a Slack channel rather than a vendor you can escalate to.

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

Tilt

Free
  • TiltFree
    • Apache 2.0 licensed
    • All features, no paid tier
    • Community support via the Kubernetes Slack #tilt channel

Which should you pick?

Choose HCP Terraform if

  • You want to start without paying.
HCP Terraform review

Choose Tilt if

  • You need live update.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want tiltfile as code.
Tilt review

Questions people ask

Is HCP Terraform or Tilt better?
Neither clearly leads. HCP Terraform starts at Free and Tilt at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, HCP Terraform or Tilt?
HCP Terraform starts at Free and Tilt at Free.
Does HCP Terraform or Tilt run on more platforms?
HCP Terraform runs on Web. Tilt runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
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 Tilt is typically brought in for.
What can HCP Terraform do that Tilt cannot?
Tilt covers Live update, Tiltfile as code, Unified web UI, Selective rebuilds.

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.

Source
Tilt: Is Tilt free?

Yes, entirely. It is Apache 2.0 open source with no paid tier and no licence fee.

HCP 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.

Source
Tilt: Who owns Tilt now?

Docker, which acquired it in May 2022. It remains open source and the repository is still actively maintained.

HCP 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.

Source
Tilt: Do I need a remote cluster?

No. It works against a local cluster such as kind, minikube or Docker Desktop, and also against a shared remote development cluster if your services are too heavy to run locally.

Tilt: How is it different from Skaffold?

Both automate the build-deploy loop. Tilt puts more weight on the live-update path and a multi-service dashboard; Skaffold is more configuration-driven and closer to Google's tooling.

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