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Best AWS CloudFormation Alternatives in 2026

Updated

20 apps from infrastructure testing tools ranked against AWS CloudFormation on the same published basis.

  1. 1
    Terratest Free plan Linux Free8.2
    AWS CloudFormation vs Terratest
  2. 2
    Checkov Free plan LinuxMac Free8.0
    AWS CloudFormation vs Checkov
  3. 3
    Test Kitchen Free plan LinuxMacWin Free8.0
    AWS CloudFormation vs Test Kitchen
  4. 4
    Chef InSpec Free plan apiLinuxMacself-hostedWin Free7.8
    AWS CloudFormation vs Chef InSpec
  5. 5
    KICS Free plan LinuxMacself-hostedWin Free7.7
    AWS CloudFormation vs KICS
  6. 7
    Cinc Auditor Free plan LinuxMacWin Free7.1
    AWS CloudFormation vs Cinc Auditor
  7. 8
    Conftest Free plan LinuxMacWin Free7.1
    AWS CloudFormation vs Conftest
  8. 9
    OpenSCAP Free plan LinuxMacself-hostedWin Free7.0
    AWS CloudFormation vs OpenSCAP
  9. 10
    Sonobuoy LinuxMacself-hostedWin 6.9
    AWS CloudFormation vs Sonobuoy
  10. 11
    Cloud-Radar 6.8
    AWS CloudFormation vs Cloud-Radar
  11. 12
    terraform-compliance Free plan Linuxself-hosted Free6.8
    AWS CloudFormation vs terraform-compliance
  12. 13
    cfn-nag Free plan LinuxMacself-hosted Free6.7
    AWS CloudFormation vs cfn-nag
  13. 14
    cfn-lint Free plan LinuxMacself-hostedWin Free6.7
    AWS CloudFormation vs cfn-lint
  14. 15
    TFLint Free plan LinuxMacself-hostedWin Free6.6
    AWS CloudFormation vs TFLint
  15. 16
    TaskCat Linux 6.5
    AWS CloudFormation vs TaskCat
  16. 17
    Kubetest2 6.4
    AWS CloudFormation vs Kubetest2
  17. 18
    Molecule Linux 6.3
    AWS CloudFormation vs Molecule
  18. 19
    KubeLinter Free plan LinuxMacself-hosted Free6.3
    AWS CloudFormation vs KubeLinter
  19. 20
    kubeconform Free plan LinuxMacself-hostedWin Free6.3
    AWS CloudFormation vs kubeconform
  20. 21
    terraform-plugin-testing Free plan LinuxMac Free6.1
    AWS CloudFormation vs terraform-plugin-testing

AWS CloudFormation alternatives compared

#AppScoreFree planFromRuns on
1Terratest8.2Free planFreeLinux
2Checkov8.0Free planFreeLinux, Mac
3Test Kitchen8.0Free planFreeLinux, Mac, Windows
4Chef InSpec7.8Free planFreeAPI, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
5KICS7.7Free planFreeLinux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
7Cinc Auditor7.1Free planFreeLinux, Mac, Windows
8Conftest7.1Free planFreeLinux, Mac, Windows
9OpenSCAP7.0Free planFreeLinux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
10Sonobuoy6.9No—Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
11Cloud-Radar6.8No——
12terraform-compliance6.8Free planFreeLinux, self-hosted
13cfn-nag6.7Free planFreeLinux, Mac, self-hosted
14cfn-lint6.7Free planFreeLinux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
15TFLint6.6Free planFreeLinux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
16TaskCat6.5No—Linux
17Kubetest26.4No——
18Molecule6.3No—Linux
19KubeLinter6.3Free planFreeLinux, Mac, self-hosted
20kubeconform6.3Free planFreeLinux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
21terraform-plugin-testing6.1Free planFreeLinux, Mac
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Questions about AWS CloudFormation alternatives

What is the best alternative to AWS CloudFormation?

Terratest, number 1 in infrastructure testing tools with a score of 8.2 out of 10. The others here: Checkov, Test Kitchen, Chef InSpec and 16 more.

What is the best free alternative to AWS CloudFormation?

Terratest is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 15 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.

How are these alternatives ranked?

Ranked mobile-first: a phone app alongside the web or desktop product, a free tier and the depth of its documentation. Paid placements never change a rank.