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Cloud · head to head

Infracost vs Orca Security

Infracost logo

Infracost

Cloud

Cloud cost estimates in pull requests, with governance in the paid tier

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Orca Security logo

Orca Security

Cloud

Agentless cloud-native application protection platform for code-to-runtime security.

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Infracost has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Infracost usage-based resources such as object storage, serverless functions and data transfer have no cost without monthly usage figures supplied by hand, and the documentation warns plainly that engineers otherwise read them as free.; Orca Security no public pricing; requires a demo and custom quote from sales.
  • They diverge on capability: Infracost covers Pull request cost diffs, Orca Security covers Agentless cloud scanning.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Infracost and Orca Security actually diverge.

Attributes where Infracost and Orca Security differ
AttributeInfracostOrca Security
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelFree open source tool, then per month by run volumequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, macOS, Linux, Windows, Dockerweb, api

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cloud).

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 Infracost

  • Pull request cost diffs
  • Multi-format parsing
  • Apache-2.0 CLI
  • FinOps policies
  • Automated remediation
  • IDE integration

Only in Orca Security

  • Agentless cloud scanning
  • Attack path analysis
  • Shadow AI detection
  • Secure code development
  • Alert prioritization
  • Workload protection

What people use each for

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

Infracost

  • Teams that want an expensive infrastructure change questioned at review rather than discovered on an invoicenot Orca Security
  • Platform groups enforcing tagging so cloud spend can be attributed to a team at allnot Orca Security
  • Organisations adopting FinOps practice without buying a full cloud management platformnot Orca Security
  • Engineers who want a cost figure in the editor while writing the Terraformnot Orca Security

Orca Security

  • Gaining full cloud asset visibility without deploying agentsnot Infracost
  • Prioritizing cloud risk with attack path correlationnot Infracost
  • Detecting shadow AI usage across cloud environmentsnot Infracost
  • Scanning code, containers, and IaC before deploymentnot Infracost
  • Reducing alert fatigue through contextual risk scoringnot Infracost

Where each one falls short

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

Infracost

  • Usage-based resources such as object storage, serverless functions and data transfer have no cost without monthly usage figures supplied by hand, and the documentation warns plainly that engineers otherwise read them as free.
  • Splitting production from non-production usage assumptions is not supported in the free usage file, which the docs attribute to a missing project filter, so that separation requires the paid product.
  • The step from 250 to 1,000 dollars a month is large and the Cloud tier includes only ten admin seats, with developer seats charged at a figure that is not published, so the cost for a large organisation cannot be computed from the pricing page.
  • Estimates are list price. Negotiated agreements, committed use discounts and reserved instance economics require SKU-level overrides available only on Enterprise, so the number in the pull request is not the number on the bill.
  • The share of the product covered by the Apache-2.0 licence is shrinking. Checks, automated fixes, policies and agent integrations are all hosted-only, so the permissive licence increasingly protects the estimation engine rather than the product.

Orca Security

  • No public pricing; requires a demo and custom quote from sales.
  • Agentless-only scanning may miss some runtime telemetry that agent-based tools capture.
  • Full value depends on integrating many of the platform's modules across code, cloud, and AI.
  • Primarily targeted at mid-to-large organizations with multi-cloud environments.

Pricing, plan by plan

Infracost

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1,000 runs a month
    • Terraform, CloudFormation and CDK estimates
    • Community support
  • Starter$250/month
    • 10,000 runs a month
    • Email support
  • Cloud$1000/month
    • Ten admin seats, developer seats charged separately
    • FinOps policies and cost guardrails
    • Dashboards and audit trails
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • SKU-level price overrides for negotiated rates
    • Business unit reporting
    • SSO with SAML group mapping

Orca Security

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Orca Security review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Infracost if

  • You need pull request cost diffs.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker.
  • You also want multi-format parsing.
Infracost review

Choose Orca Security if

  • You need agentless cloud scanning.
  • You work on web, api.
  • You also want attack path analysis.
Orca Security review

Questions people ask

Is Infracost or Orca Security better?
Neither clearly leads. Infracost starts at Free and Orca Security at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Infracost or Orca Security?
Infracost has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Infracost and On request for Orca Security.
Does Infracost or Orca Security run on more platforms?
Infracost runs on Web, macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker. Orca Security runs on web, api.
Can I use Infracost for free?
Yes. Infracost has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Orca Security starts at On request.
What is Infracost best used for?
Infracost is most often used for teams that want an expensive infrastructure change questioned at review rather than discovered on an invoice, platform groups enforcing tagging so cloud spend can be attributed to a team at all, organisations adopting finops practice without buying a full cloud management platform, engineers who want a cost figure in the editor while writing the terraform. Of those, teams that want an expensive infrastructure change questioned at review rather than discovered on an invoice and platform groups enforcing tagging so cloud spend can be attributed to a team at all are not what Orca Security is typically brought in for.
What can Infracost do that Orca Security cannot?
Infracost covers Pull request cost diffs, Multi-format parsing, Apache-2.0 CLI, FinOps policies. Orca Security covers Agentless cloud scanning, Attack path analysis, Shadow AI detection, Secure code development.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Infracost: Is the open source version genuinely useful on its own?

Yes, for estimation. It parses your definitions and produces breakdowns and diffs locally. What it does not do is comment on pull requests, enforce policy or report across an organisation, all of which are hosted-only.

Orca Security: How much does Orca Security cost?

Orca Security does not publish pricing tiers or rates on their website. Organizations must contact Orca Security directly or request a demo to receive custom pricing information based on their specific use case and requirements.

Source
Infracost: Will the estimate match my cloud bill?

No. It is list price. Committed use discounts, enterprise agreements and reserved instances need SKU-level overrides that sit in the Enterprise tier.

Infracost: Why do my S3 and Lambda resources show no cost?

Usage-based resources need monthly usage values supplied in a usage file or defined centrally. Without them they estimate at zero, which is the documented behaviour and the most common way the tool misleads.

Infracost: Has the licence ever changed?

No. The command line tool has been Apache 2.0 throughout, with no Business Source or AGPL episode, which is unusual in this category.

Infracost: What is a run?

Not defined on the public pricing page, and the run allowance is what separates the free and Starter tiers, so establish the definition before choosing between them.

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