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Cloud · head to head

Terragrunt vs Tilt

Terragrunt logo

Terragrunt

Cloud

The Open Source IaC Orchestrator Platform Teams Trust

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Tilt logo

Tilt

Developer Tools

Local Kubernetes development loop that rebuilds and live-updates containers on save

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Terragrunt additional complexity layer on top of Terraform; Tilt docker acquired Tilt in 2022 and the team now splits its time across Compose and Docker Desktop, so feature velocity is modest and the product's long-term priority inside Docker is not guaranteed; treat it as a stable utility, not a growing platform.
  • They diverge on capability: Terragrunt covers Infrastructure orchestration, Tilt covers Live update.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Terragrunt and Tilt actually diverge.

Attributes where Terragrunt and Tilt differ
AttributeTerragruntTilt
Pricing modelUnknownOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsAWS, Azure, GCPLinux, macOS, Windows
CategoryCloudDeveloper Tools

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

  • Infrastructure orchestration
  • Run Queue
  • DRY configuration
  • Automated hooks
  • Infrastructure catalog
  • Least-privilege access

Only in Tilt

  • Live update
  • Tiltfile as code
  • Unified web UI
  • Selective rebuilds
  • Local and remote clusters
  • Resource dependencies
  • Extensions registry
  • Custom buttons and triggers

What people use each for

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

Terragrunt

  • Organizing Terraform code across multiple environmentsnot Tilt
  • Automating infrastructure deployment workflowsnot Tilt
  • Implementing infrastructure as code templates for developer self-servicenot Tilt

Tilt

  • A team of ten or more engineers whose application is fifteen microservices on Kubernetes and who currently wait on CI to test a changenot Terragrunt
  • An organisation onboarding new developers who want a single command that stands up the whole stack from a committed Tiltfilenot Terragrunt
  • A platform team giving product engineers a consistent local environment against a shared remote development clusternot Terragrunt
  • A codebase where one repository contains several services and rebuilding all of them on every edit is the main source of lost timenot Terragrunt

Where each one falls short

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

Terragrunt

  • Additional complexity layer on top of Terraform
  • Requires understanding of Terraform concepts
  • Paid tier pricing not clearly published

Tilt

  • Docker acquired Tilt in 2022 and the team now splits its time across Compose and Docker Desktop, so feature velocity is modest and the product's long-term priority inside Docker is not guaranteed; treat it as a stable utility, not a growing platform.
  • The Tiltfile is Starlark, a Python dialect, so non-trivial setups become real programs that need reviewing and maintaining, and the person who wrote yours becomes a single point of failure.
  • Live update only works when the running container can accept synced files and restart the process; compiled languages, distroless images and read-only filesystems often force you back to a full image rebuild, which removes the main benefit.
  • It assumes Kubernetes. If your development target is plain Docker Compose or serverless functions, Tilt adds a cluster you did not need and a layer of abstraction with no payoff.
  • There is no commercial support contract, no SLA and no paid tier, so when a Kubernetes version upgrade breaks something you are dependent on GitHub issues and a Slack channel rather than a vendor you can escalate to.

Pricing, plan by plan

Terragrunt

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Terragrunt CLI - completely free
    • Community support
  • Terragrunt Scale FreeFree
    • Free CI/CD pipeline
    • Unlimited runs and resources
    • For up to 25 infrastructure units
  • Terragrunt Scale Paid$undefined/custom
    • Volume pricing for more than 25 infrastructure units
    • Enterprise support

Tilt

Free
  • TiltFree
    • Apache 2.0 licensed
    • All features, no paid tier
    • Community support via the Kubernetes Slack #tilt channel

Which should you pick?

Choose Terragrunt if

  • You need infrastructure orchestration.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on AWS, Azure, GCP.
  • You also want run queue.
Terragrunt review

Choose Tilt if

  • You need live update.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want tiltfile as code.
Tilt review

Questions people ask

Is Terragrunt or Tilt better?
Neither clearly leads. Terragrunt starts at Free and Tilt at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Terragrunt or Tilt?
Terragrunt starts at Free and Tilt at Free.
Does Terragrunt or Tilt run on more platforms?
Terragrunt runs on AWS, Azure, GCP. Tilt runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
Can I use Terragrunt for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Terragrunt best used for?
Terragrunt is most often used for organizing terraform code across multiple environments, automating infrastructure deployment workflows, implementing infrastructure as code templates for developer self-service. Of those, organizing terraform code across multiple environments and automating infrastructure deployment workflows are not what Tilt is typically brought in for.
What can Terragrunt do that Tilt cannot?
Terragrunt covers Infrastructure orchestration, Run Queue, DRY configuration, Automated hooks. Tilt covers Live update, Tiltfile as code, Unified web UI, Selective rebuilds.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Terragrunt: Is Terragrunt free?

Yes, the Terragrunt CLI is completely free and open source. Terragrunt Scale offers a free tier for up to 25 infrastructure units.

Source
Tilt: Is Tilt free?

Yes, entirely. It is Apache 2.0 open source with no paid tier and no licence fee.

Terragrunt: What is the difference between Terragrunt and Terraform?

Terragrunt is an orchestration layer on top of Terraform that handles state management, DRY principles, and deployment automation without replacing Terraform itself.

Source
Tilt: Who owns Tilt now?

Docker, which acquired it in May 2022. It remains open source and the repository is still actively maintained.

Tilt: Do I need a remote cluster?

No. It works against a local cluster such as kind, minikube or Docker Desktop, and also against a shared remote development cluster if your services are too heavy to run locally.

Tilt: How is it different from Skaffold?

Both automate the build-deploy loop. Tilt puts more weight on the live-update path and a multi-service dashboard; Skaffold is more configuration-driven and closer to Google's tooling.

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