Is SST or Pulumi better?

Neither clearly leads. SST 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, SST or Pulumi?

SST starts at Free and Pulumi at Free.

Does SST or Pulumi run on more platforms?

SST runs on AWS, Cloudflare, Node.js. Pulumi runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Api.

Can I use SST for free?

Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.

What is SST best used for?

SST is most often used for deploying next.js frontends with serverless backends, managing databases and storage alongside application code, creating staging environments for feature testing. Of those, deploying next.js frontends with serverless backends and managing databases and storage alongside application code are not what Pulumi is typically brought in for.

What can SST do that Pulumi cannot?

SST covers Single config file, Resource linking, Local development, Multi-cloud support. Pulumi covers Multi-language support, Multi-cloud, State management, Secrets management.

Cloud · head to head

SST vs Pulumi

SST

Cloud

Build full-stack apps on your own infrastructure

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Pulumi

Cloud

Modern infrastructure as code using programming languages

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: SST primarily optimized for AWS with Cloudflare support; Pulumi the free Individual plan allows one user and one concurrent stack update
They diverge on capability: SST covers Single config file, Pulumi covers Multi-language support.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which SST and Pulumi actually diverge.

Attributes where SST and Pulumi differ
Attribute	SST	Pulumi
Pricing model	Unknown	subscription
Platforms	AWS, Cloudflare, Node.js	Linux, Windows, Mac, Api
Founded	Unknown	2017

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 SST

Single config file
Resource linking
Local development
Multi-cloud support
Multiple deployment stages
VPC tunneling

Only in Pulumi

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

What people use each for

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

SST

Deploying Next.js frontends with serverless backendsnot Pulumi
Managing databases and storage alongside application codenot Pulumi
Creating staging environments for feature testingnot Pulumi

Pulumi

Infrastructure as codenot SST
Cloud resource provisioningnot SST
DevOps automationnot SST
Multi-cloud managementnot SST

Where each one falls short

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

SST

Primarily optimized for AWS with Cloudflare support
Learning curve for developers unfamiliar with infrastructure concepts
Limited documentation for some advanced use cases

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

SST

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the SST review.

Pulumi

Free

IndividualFree
- 1 user
- Unlimited projects/stacks
- 500 workflow minutes monthly
Team$40/month
- Up to 10 users
- Secure collaboration
- CI/CD integration
Enterprise$400/month
- Unlimited users
- SAML/SSO
- RBAC
Business Critical$null/custom
- Self-hosting
- Advanced compliance
- SCIM integration

Which should you pick?

Choose SST if

You need single config file.
You want to start without paying.
You work on AWS, Cloudflare, Node.js.
You also want resource linking.

SST review

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

Questions people ask

Is SST or Pulumi better?: Neither clearly leads. SST 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, SST or Pulumi?: SST starts at Free and Pulumi at Free.
Does SST or Pulumi run on more platforms?: SST runs on AWS, Cloudflare, Node.js. Pulumi runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Api.
Can I use SST for free?: Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is SST best used for?: SST is most often used for deploying next.js frontends with serverless backends, managing databases and storage alongside application code, creating staging environments for feature testing. Of those, deploying next.js frontends with serverless backends and managing databases and storage alongside application code are not what Pulumi is typically brought in for.
What can SST do that Pulumi cannot?: SST covers Single config file, Resource linking, Local development, Multi-cloud support. Pulumi covers Multi-language support, Multi-cloud, State management, Secrets management.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

SST: Is SST free?

Yes, SST is open source and free. You only pay for cloud resources from AWS and other providers.

Source

Pulumi: How much does Pulumi cost?

Pulumi offers a free Individual tier forever, Team plan at $40/month with 40 credits, and Enterprise at $400/month with 400 credits. Credit usage varies by resource type and workflow needs.

Source

SST: What cloud providers does SST support?

SST supports over 150 providers through built-in AWS and Cloudflare components, plus Pulumi and Terraform providers.

Source

Pulumi: What is included in the Pulumi free tier?

The free Individual tier includes 1 user, unlimited projects/stacks, 500 workflow minutes monthly, and 5 million Neo tokens free.

Source

Pulumi: How are Pulumi credits charged?

1 Pulumi Credit equals $1 USD. Credits are drawn from a shared pool. IaC resources cost $0.1825/month per resource on Team and $0.365 on Enterprise; ESC secrets cost $0.50-$0.75/month; workflow minutes cost $0.01 each.

Source

Pulumi: Does Pulumi offer volume discounts?

Yes, the Enterprise tier ($400/month) includes volume discounts and is designed for approximately 2,000 IaC resources.

Source

SST vs Pulumi

SST

Pulumi

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in SST

Only in Pulumi

What people use each for

SST

Pulumi

Where each one falls short

SST

Pulumi

Pricing, plan by plan

SST

Pulumi

Which should you pick?

Choose SST if

Choose Pulumi if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on SST

More on Pulumi

Keep looking

Other head to heads