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Developer Tools · head to head

Spacelift vs Transmit Security

Spacelift logo

Spacelift

Developer Tools

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

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Transmit Security logo

Transmit Security

Cybersecurity

Customer identity platform built around passwordless and fraud signals

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Spacelift has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Transmit Security pricing is not published, so it cannot be compared early against competitors that post per monthly active user rates, and the eventual quote often mixes per-user and per-transaction units.
  • They diverge on capability: Spacelift covers Multi-tool orchestration, Transmit Security covers Passwordless authentication.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Spacelift and Transmit Security actually diverge.

Attributes where Spacelift and Transmit Security differ
AttributeSpaceliftTransmit Security
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelBy private worker and tier, not by userquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Self-hosted, CloudWeb, iOS, Android
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity

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 Spacelift

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

Only in Transmit Security

  • Passwordless authentication
  • Detection and response
  • Identity verification
  • Orchestration
  • Account recovery
  • Bot and automation detection
  • Composable APIs

What people use each for

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

Spacelift

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

Transmit Security

  • A bank moving a consumer base off passwords to passkeys without losing customers at the migration stepnot Spacelift
  • An insurer whose account recovery flow is the main account takeover route and needs risk scoring inside itnot Spacelift
  • A retailer that wants bot detection at login rather than only at checkoutnot Spacelift
  • An organisation replacing an in-house customer login system that has become an unfunded engineering liabilitynot Spacelift

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Transmit Security

  • Pricing is not published, so it cannot be compared early against competitors that post per monthly active user rates, and the eventual quote often mixes per-user and per-transaction units.
  • Migrating a live consumer identity base is a high risk project, and credential migration constraints mean some users must re-register, which shows up as measurable churn.
  • The vendor is smaller than the identity incumbents, so the partner and systems integrator pool is thinner and staffing a large programme is harder.
  • Workforce identity is not the focus, so an organisation wanting one vendor for employees and customers will still run two platforms.
  • The fraud detection value depends on traffic volume feeding the models, so a smaller deployment gets less benefit from exactly the capability that justified choosing it over a plain identity provider.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Transmit Security

On request
  • Transmit Security Platform$undefined/year
    • Priced per monthly active user or per transaction by service
    • Services licensed individually or as a platform
    • Free developer tier for evaluation

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Transmit Security if

  • You need passwordless authentication.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want detection and response.
Transmit Security review

Questions people ask

Is Spacelift or Transmit Security better?
Neither clearly leads. Spacelift starts at Free and Transmit Security at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Spacelift or Transmit Security?
Spacelift has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Spacelift and On request for Transmit Security.
Does Spacelift or Transmit Security run on more platforms?
Spacelift runs on Web, Self-hosted, Cloud. Transmit Security runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Spacelift for free?
Yes. Spacelift has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Transmit Security starts at On request.
What is Spacelift best used for?
Spacelift is most often used for platform teams running infrastructure changes through approval gates rather than through application ci, organisations standardising terraform and opentofu across many teams with policy enforcement, estates needing private runners so cloud credentials never leave the network, teams wanting drift detection and reconciliation rather than plan-time checks alone. Of those, platform teams running infrastructure changes through approval gates rather than through application ci and organisations standardising terraform and opentofu across many teams with policy enforcement are not what Transmit Security is typically brought in for.
What can Spacelift do that Transmit Security cannot?
Spacelift covers Multi-tool orchestration, Policy as code, Private workers, Spaces. Transmit Security covers Passwordless authentication, Detection and response, Identity verification, Orchestration.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Transmit Security: Do we have to replace our existing identity provider?

No. The services are composable, so detection and response or verification can be adopted alongside an existing provider such as Okta or Entra ID.

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.

Transmit Security: Is fraud detection an extra licence?

It is a separate service, but it is designed to run inside the authentication flow rather than as a bolted-on second vendor. Confirm which services are in your quote.

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.

Transmit Security: Is there a way to try it?

Yes, a free developer tier exists for evaluation, though production use is an enterprise agreement.

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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