Softwr

Software · head to head

Pulumi vs AWS (Amazon Web Services)

Pulumi logo

Pulumi

Software

Modern infrastructure as code using programming languages

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
AWS (Amazon Web Services) logo

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

Software

The leading cloud computing platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Pulumi the free Individual plan allows one user and one concurrent stack update; AWS (Amazon Web Services) data transfer in is free and data transfer out is charged, which is the standard source of unexpected bills
  • They diverge on capability: Pulumi covers Multi-language support, AWS (Amazon Web Services) covers EC2 - Virtual Servers.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Pulumi and AWS (Amazon Web Services) actually diverge.

Attributes where Pulumi and AWS (Amazon Web Services) differ
AttributePulumiAWS (Amazon Web Services)
Pricing modelfreemiumusage-based
PlatformsLinux, Windows, Mac, ApiWeb, Api, Cli, Mobile
Founded20172006

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 Pulumi

  • Multi-language support
  • Multi-cloud
  • State management
  • Secrets management
  • RBAC
  • Stacks
  • Automation API
  • Policy as Code

Only in AWS (Amazon Web Services)

  • EC2 - Virtual Servers
  • S3 - Object Storage
  • RDS - Managed Database
  • Lambda - Serverless Computing
  • CloudFront - CDN
  • VPC - Virtual Network
  • IAM - Access Management
  • CloudWatch - Monitoring

Both cover

  • Kubernetes

What people use each for

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

Pulumi

  • Defining cloud infrastructure as code in TypeScript, Python, Go, C# or Java rather than a DSLnot AWS (Amazon Web Services)
  • Managing Pulumi state and secrets in a hosted backend instead of self-managed storagenot AWS (Amazon Web Services)
  • Policy, drift detection and deployment workflows for platform engineering teamsnot AWS (Amazon Web Services)

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

  • Web hostingnot Pulumi
  • Data storagenot Pulumi
  • Machine learningnot Pulumi
  • Big data analyticsnot Pulumi
  • Application developmentnot Pulumi

Where each one falls short

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

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

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

  • Data transfer in is free and data transfer out is charged, which is the standard source of unexpected bills
  • Discounts require one or three year Savings Plan commitments rather than being automatic
  • Every service is priced separately, so a working architecture has no single published cost
  • The free tier is a promotional allowance rather than an ongoing free plan

Pricing, plan by plan

Pulumi

Free
  • Pulumi CommunityFree
    • Open source
    • Community support
    • Self-hosted
  • Pulumi Cloud$10/month
    • Hosted backend
    • Team collaboration
    • RBAC

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

Free
  • AWS Free TierFree
    • EC2 750 hours/month
    • 5GB S3 storage
    • 20GB data transfer
  • Pay-As-You-GoFree
    • No upfront payment
    • No long-term commitments
    • Pay only for what you use

Which should you pick?

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.
Pulumi review

Choose AWS (Amazon Web Services) if

  • You need ec2 - virtual servers.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api, Cli, Mobile.
  • You also want s3 - object storage.
AWS (Amazon Web Services) review

Questions people ask

Is Pulumi or AWS (Amazon Web Services) better?
Neither clearly leads. Pulumi starts at Free and AWS (Amazon Web Services) at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Pulumi or AWS (Amazon Web Services)?
Pulumi starts at Free and AWS (Amazon Web Services) at Free.
Does Pulumi or AWS (Amazon Web Services) run on more platforms?
Pulumi runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Api. AWS (Amazon Web Services) runs on Web, Api, Cli, Mobile.
Can I use Pulumi for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Pulumi best used for?
Pulumi is most often used for defining cloud infrastructure as code in typescript, python, go, c# or java rather than a dsl, managing pulumi state and secrets in a hosted backend instead of self-managed storage, policy, drift detection and deployment workflows for platform engineering teams. Of those, defining cloud infrastructure as code in typescript, python, go, c# or java rather than a dsl and managing pulumi state and secrets in a hosted backend instead of self-managed storage are not what AWS (Amazon Web Services) is typically brought in for.
What can Pulumi do that AWS (Amazon Web Services) cannot?
Pulumi covers Multi-language support, Multi-cloud, State management, Secrets management. AWS (Amazon Web Services) covers EC2 - Virtual Servers, S3 - Object Storage, RDS - Managed Database, Lambda - Serverless Computing. Both handle Kubernetes.
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on Pulumi

More on AWS (Amazon Web Services)

Keep looking

Other head to heads