Software · head to head
Packer vs Pulumi
Pulumi
Software
Modern infrastructure as code using programming languages
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Packer packer 1.10.0 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1 with IBM Corporation as licensor, not an OSI open source licence; Pulumi the free Individual plan allows one user and one concurrent stack update
- They diverge on capability: Packer covers Image building, Pulumi covers Multi-language support.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Packer and Pulumi actually diverge.
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 Packer
- Image building
- Multi-platform support
- Provisioners
- Builders
- Post-processors
- Variables
- Data sources
- Validation
Only in Pulumi
- Multi-language support
- Multi-cloud
- State management
- Secrets management
- RBAC
- Stacks
- Automation API
- Policy as Code
Both cover
- AWS
- Azure
- GCP
- On-premise deployment
- Cloud deployment
- Linux support
- Windows support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Packer
- Building identical machine images for multiple clouds from one templatenot Pulumi
- Baking golden AMIs and VM images into a CI pipelinenot Pulumi
- Creating immutable infrastructure artifacts consumed by Terraformnot Pulumi
Pulumi
- Defining cloud infrastructure as code in TypeScript, Python, Go, C# or Java rather than a DSLnot Packer
- Managing Pulumi state and secrets in a hosted backend instead of self-managed storagenot Packer
- Policy, drift detection and deployment workflows for platform engineering teamsnot Packer
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Packer
- Packer 1.10.0 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1 with IBM Corporation as licensor, not an OSI open source licence
- The Additional Use Grant forbids offering Packer to third parties on a hosted or embedded basis in a paid product that competes with IBM's paid versions of Packer
- Each version converts to the MPL 2.0 Change License only four years after that version is first published, and the Change Date is set separately per version
- Alternative licensing for uses outside the grant must be arranged with the licensor rather than taken under the public licence
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
Packer
Free- Open SourceFree
- Multi-platform image building
- Template-driven
- Provisioner support
Pulumi
Free- Pulumi CommunityFree
- Open source
- Community support
- Self-hosted
- Pulumi Cloud$10/month
- Hosted backend
- Team collaboration
- RBAC
Which should you pick?
Choose Packer if
- You need image building.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, Windows, Mac.
- You also want multi-platform support.
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.
Questions people ask
- Is Packer or Pulumi better?
- Neither clearly leads. Packer 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, Packer or Pulumi?
- Packer starts at Free and Pulumi at Free.
- Does Packer or Pulumi run on more platforms?
- Packer runs on Linux, Windows, Mac. Pulumi runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Api.
- Can I use Packer for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Packer best used for?
- Packer is most often used for building identical machine images for multiple clouds from one template, baking golden amis and vm images into a ci pipeline, creating immutable infrastructure artifacts consumed by terraform. Of those, building identical machine images for multiple clouds from one template and baking golden amis and vm images into a ci pipeline are not what Pulumi is typically brought in for.
- What can Packer do that Pulumi cannot?
- Packer covers Image building, Multi-platform support, Provisioners, Builders. Pulumi covers Multi-language support, Multi-cloud, State management, Secrets management. Both handle AWS, Azure, GCP, On-premise deployment.