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Terragrunt vs Visual Studio

Terragrunt logo

Terragrunt

Cloud

The Open Source IaC Orchestrator Platform Teams Trust

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Visual Studio logo

Visual Studio

Developer Tools

IDE for .NET and C++ development on Windows

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Terragrunt additional complexity layer on top of Terraform; Visual Studio community edition is free only for individual developers, classroom use, academic research and open-source contribution, not general commercial use
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 29 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Terragrunt and Visual Studio actually diverge.

Attributes where Terragrunt and Visual Studio differ
AttributeTerragruntVisual Studio
Pricing modelUnknownfreemium
PlatformsAWS, Azure, GCPWeb
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 Visual Studio

Nothing recorded that Terragrunt does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Terragrunt

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

Visual Studio

  • Managing complex, large-scale projects across multiple platformsnot Terragrunt
  • Commercial development in small businessesnot Terragrunt
  • DevOps and automated deployment workflowsnot Terragrunt
  • Windows/SQL Server developer and tester rolesnot Terragrunt
  • Short-term or month-to-month IDE access needsnot 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

Visual Studio

  • Community edition is free only for individual developers, classroom use, academic research and open-source contribution, not general commercial use
  • Monthly subscriptions are $45 per user per month for Professional and $250 per user per month for Enterprise, and do not include perpetual use rights the way annual Standard subscriptions do
  • A standalone perpetually licensed Visual Studio Professional 2022 costs $499 as a one-time purchase, separate from the subscription tiers

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

Visual Studio

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Visual Studio review.

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 Visual Studio if

  • You want to start without paying.
Visual Studio review

Questions people ask

Is Terragrunt or Visual Studio better?
Neither clearly leads. Terragrunt starts at Free and Visual Studio at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Terragrunt or Visual Studio?
Terragrunt starts at Free and Visual Studio at Free.
Does Terragrunt or Visual Studio run on more platforms?
Terragrunt runs on AWS, Azure, GCP. Visual Studio runs on Web.
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 Visual Studio is typically brought in for.
What can Terragrunt do that Visual Studio cannot?
Terragrunt covers Infrastructure orchestration, Run Queue, DRY configuration, Automated hooks.

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
Visual Studio: What are the pricing differences between subscription types?

Standard subscriptions include access to more benefits, such as Azure dev/test pricing, monthly Azure individual credit, software and download access, services, training, and support. Monthly subscriptions offer flexibility but fewer benefits.

Source
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
Visual Studio: Are discounts available for startups?

There aren't any discounts available to start-ups, however an unlimited number of users within an organization can use Visual Studio Community for specific scenarios like open source work.

Source
Visual Studio: Who can use Visual Studio Community for free?

In non-enterprise organizations, up to five users can use it. Enterprise organizations (greater than 250 PCs or greater than $1M annual revenue) cannot use it beyond academic/open-source scenarios.

Source
Visual Studio: What's the renewal pricing structure?

Enterprise standard renews at $214.09/month (after initial $499.92); Professional at $66.59/month (after $99.99).

Source
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