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Cybersecurity · head to head

Saviynt vs Spacelift

Saviynt logo

Saviynt

Cybersecurity

Cloud identity governance with privileged access in the same platform

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Spacelift logo

Spacelift

Developer Tools

Infrastructure-as-code orchestration for Terraform, OpenTofu, Pulumi and Kubernetes

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Spacelift has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Saviynt implementation typically runs a year or more with a partner, and the cost of that work regularly exceeds the first year subscription, which is rarely in the initial business case.; Spacelift users are unlimited and private workers are metered, so deployment concurrency rather than headcount drives the bill, which inverts how most engineering budgets are built and is easy to under-forecast.
  • They diverge on capability: Saviynt covers Identity governance, Spacelift covers Multi-tool orchestration.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Saviynt and Spacelift actually diverge.

Attributes where Saviynt and Spacelift differ
AttributeSaviyntSpacelift
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteBy private worker and tier, not by user
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebWeb, Self-hosted, Cloud
CategoryCybersecurityDeveloper Tools

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

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 Saviynt

  • Identity governance
  • Access certification
  • Segregation of duties
  • Privileged access
  • Cloud entitlements
  • Third party access
  • Access request

Only in Spacelift

  • Multi-tool orchestration
  • Policy as code
  • Private workers
  • Spaces
  • Blueprints
  • Drift detection

What people use each for

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

Saviynt

  • An enterprise with an audit finding that privileged administrative accounts are excluded from access reviewsnot Spacelift
  • A healthcare system governing clinician access to Epic alongside corporate applications in one certification campaignnot Spacelift
  • A company that has to prove segregation of duties in SAP to an external auditor every yearnot Spacelift
  • A federal contractor needing an identity governance service with FedRAMP authorisationnot Spacelift

Spacelift

  • Platform teams running infrastructure changes through approval gates rather than through application CInot Saviynt
  • Organisations standardising Terraform and OpenTofu across many teams with policy enforcementnot Saviynt
  • Estates needing private runners so cloud credentials never leave the networknot Saviynt
  • Teams wanting drift detection and reconciliation rather than plan-time checks alonenot Saviynt

Where each one falls short

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

Saviynt

  • Implementation typically runs a year or more with a partner, and the cost of that work regularly exceeds the first year subscription, which is rarely in the initial business case.
  • Governance quality is limited by HR and application data quality, so organisations with inconsistent joiner records spend the early phases correcting source data rather than certifying access.
  • Pricing is per governed identity, so counting contractors, service accounts and non-employee identities materially changes the bill and the definition is worth negotiating explicitly.
  • The privileged access module is younger than the governance core and is not a full substitute for a dedicated PAM product in estates with heavy session recording or credential rotation requirements.
  • Connectors to less common applications require custom development, and each one adds a maintenance burden that reappears every time the target application changes its API.

Spacelift

  • Users are unlimited and private workers are metered, so deployment concurrency rather than headcount drives the bill, which inverts how most engineering budgets are built and is easy to under-forecast.
  • There is no affordable paid entry point. The free tier stops at two users and the next tier is a five-figure commitment with nothing in between.
  • Three of the five tiers are quote-only, so a shortlist cannot be costed without entering a sales process with each vendor on it.
  • The self-hosted build lags the hosted one, has no public worker pool and lacks the Azure and Google Cloud integrations available in the SaaS product, with OIDC federation offered as the workaround.
  • Stacks, Rego policies, Blueprints, Spaces and Spacelift-managed state are proprietary constructs, so leaving means rebuilding the orchestration layer rather than pointing it at a different runner.

Pricing, plan by plan

Saviynt

On request
  • Saviynt Identity Cloud$undefined/year
    • Priced per governed identity per year
    • Modules for governance, privileged access and cloud entitlements
    • SaaS delivery with FedRAMP authorised offering available

Spacelift

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Two users
    • Public workers only
    • No private workers
  • Starter Plus$undefined/year
    • Unlimited users
    • Two public workers
    • One to two private workers
  • Business$undefined/year
    • Unlimited users
    • Three private workers
    • Quoted
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Unlimited users
    • Five to thirty private workers
    • Self-hosted option

Which should you pick?

Choose Saviynt if

  • You need identity governance.
  • You also want access certification.
Saviynt review

Choose Spacelift if

  • You need multi-tool orchestration.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Self-hosted, Cloud.
  • You also want policy as code.
Spacelift review

Questions people ask

Is Saviynt or Spacelift better?
Neither clearly leads. Saviynt starts at On request and Spacelift at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Saviynt or Spacelift?
Spacelift has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Saviynt and Free for Spacelift.
Does Saviynt or Spacelift run on more platforms?
Saviynt runs on Web. Spacelift runs on Web, Self-hosted, Cloud.
Can I use Spacelift for free?
Yes. Spacelift has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Saviynt starts at On request.
What is Saviynt best used for?
Saviynt is most often used for an enterprise with an audit finding that privileged administrative accounts are excluded from access reviews, a healthcare system governing clinician access to epic alongside corporate applications in one certification campaign, a company that has to prove segregation of duties in sap to an external auditor every year, a federal contractor needing an identity governance service with fedramp authorisation. Of those, an enterprise with an audit finding that privileged administrative accounts are excluded from access reviews and a healthcare system governing clinician access to epic alongside corporate applications in one certification campaign are not what Spacelift is typically brought in for.
What can Saviynt do that Spacelift cannot?
Saviynt covers Identity governance, Access certification, Segregation of duties, Privileged access. Spacelift covers Multi-tool orchestration, Policy as code, Private workers, Spaces.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Saviynt: Does Saviynt replace a PAM vendor?

It can for time-bound privileged access, but organisations with heavy session recording, credential rotation or legacy server access requirements often keep a dedicated PAM product alongside it.

Spacelift: How is Spacelift priced?

By tier and by private worker count rather than per user. Users are unlimited on every paid plan. The published figure on the pricing page carries no period label, and the FAQ describes the tier as an annual subscription, so confirm the period in writing.

Saviynt: Is there a FedRAMP authorised version?

Yes, Saviynt offers a FedRAMP authorised government cloud offering, which matters where that is an eligibility requirement rather than a preference.

Spacelift: Does it support OpenTofu?

Yes, and Spacelift sponsors the OpenTofu project, which is a substantive hedge for anyone avoiding Terraform under the Business Source Licence.

Saviynt: How is it priced?

Per governed identity per year, quoted. Define carefully whether service accounts and contractors count toward the identity total.

Spacelift: Is there a self-hosted version?

Yes, described as carrying Enterprise functionality, but it is priced on request and lags the hosted product on cloud integrations.

Spacelift: Why not just use the CI system we already have?

That is the real comparison. General purpose CI handles state, drift, approval gates and concurrency control for infrastructure poorly, and whether that is worth a five-figure floor depends on how much infrastructure change your organisation actually ships.

Spacelift: What happens to our pipelines if we leave?

They do not port. Rego policies, Blueprints, Spaces and managed state are Spacelift constructs and the orchestration has to be rebuilt elsewhere.

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