Differences between Pulumi and Terraform - Infrastructure as Code tools

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Priyansh Khodiyar

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From their contrasting approaches to their support for different programming languages, we'll uncover the secrets that set them apart. Let's dive in and understand Pulumi vs. Terraform!

In Infrastructure as Code (IaC), two prominent contenders - Pulumi and Terraform, emerge as powerful tools for managing and automating infrastructure.

Pulumi empowers developers to leverage their existing programming language skills to define infrastructure. And Terraform adopts a declarative approach to orchestrate resources.

But how are they different, and which one of them is better? In this blog, we embark on a journey to explore the distinctive features and nuances that set Pulumi and Terraform apart.

By the end of this blog, you'll be better equipped to navigate the world of IaC and decide which tool best aligns with your infrastructure management needs.

Let's dive in and uncover the key differences between Pulumi and Terraform.

Revisiting Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

Before we jump into the Pulumi vs. Terraform debate, let's quickly revisit the essence of Infrastructure as Code.

In the technology landscape, manual infrastructure management can become a bottleneck for organizations striving for agility and scalability.

That's where Infrastructure as Code (IaC) comes in, revolutionizing how we build and manage our infrastructure.

In a nutshell, IaC is managing and provisioning infrastructure resources using machine-readable configuration files rather than manually configuring and managing them.

By treating infrastructure as code, we can apply software development practices like version control, testing, and automation to the infrastructure lifecycle.

Also Read: What is Configuration as Code?

Similarities between Terraform and Pulumi

When it comes to Infrastructure as Code (IaC), Terraform and Pulumi share several similarities that make them both powerful tools for creating, deploying, and managing infrastructure resources.

Let's take a closer look at some of the key similarities between these two popular IaC solutions.

Infrastructure as Code Paradigm

Terraform and Pulumi adhere to the fundamental concept of treating infrastructure as code.

They enable users to define infrastructure resources using configuration files that are version-controlled, tested, and deployed programmatically.

This paradigm shift brings the benefits of automation, repeatability, and scalability to infrastructure management.

Desired State Model

Terraform and Pulumi both employ a desired state approach to infrastructure management.

With this model, you describe the desired end-state of your infrastructure in code, specifying the resources, configurations, and dependencies.

The deployment engine of both tools then compares this desired state with the current state of the infrastructure and orchestrates the necessary actions to achieve the desired state, whether it involves creating, updating, or deleting resources.

Also Read: How to Create, Update, and Delete Namespaces in Kubernetes?

Multi-Cloud and Multi-Provider Support

Terraform and Pulumi offer robust support for multiple cloud providers, enabling you to provision infrastructure resources on platforms like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.

Additionally, they integrate various third-party services, such as CloudFlare and DigitalOcean.

Terraform's extensive collection of providers is well-known, and Pulumi can leverage Terraform providers, extending its reach to support the same set of providers and even more.

Open Source and Community Driven

Both Terraform and Pulumi are open-source projects with active communities.

They are hosted on GitHub, allowing users to contribute, raise issues, and collaborate on improving the tools.

This open-source nature fosters innovation, knowledge sharing, and continuous improvement, benefiting the community.

Also Read: Which is better - GitHub or GitLab?

Language Flexibility

While Terraform utilizes its domain-specific language (HCL), Pulumi takes a different approach by allowing infrastructure provisioning using familiar programming languages such as Python, JavaScript, and Go.

This flexibility in choosing programming languages makes Pulumi more accessible to developers who may already be proficient in a particular language.

Pulumi vs Terraform - Definition

What is Pulumi?

Pulumi is an open-source infrastructure as code (IaC) tool that allows users to create, deploy, and manage infrastructure resources using familiar programming languages like Python, JavaScript, or Go.

It provides a platform-agnostic approach, enabling users to provision and manage infrastructure across various cloud providers, including AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and Kubernetes.

With Pulumi, users can leverage the power of software engineering practices to define and manage their Infrastructure as Code.

What is Terraform?

Terraform is an incredibly powerful and widely adopted infrastructure as code (IaC) tool that makes it possible to create, deploy, and manage your infrastructure declaratively and efficiently.

It gives you a dedicated HCL (HashiCorp Configuration Language) to define your infrastructure in a human-readable and intuitive format.

Imagine building and managing your infrastructure resources with just a few lines of code. Sounds like magic, right? Well, that's exactly what Terraform is all about!

You don't need to be a master of arcane incantations or spend days deciphering complex configuration files. With Terraform, you can express your infrastructure requirements using simple code.

Pulumi, as a newcomer, has been rapidly rising with its unique approach to using familiar programming languages for infrastructure provisioning.

This flexibility has attracted developers who prefer working with code, contributing to Pulumi's growing popularity.

On the other hand, Terraform, with its domain-specific language (HCL) and extensive community support, has solidified its position as a market leader.

Its proven track record, wide adoption, and compatibility with multiple cloud providers have contributed to Terraform's dominance in the IaC landscape.

While Pulumi is gaining ground, Terraform holds a significant market share, making comparing these two giants an intriguing matchup.

Pulumi vs Terraform - Pricing

When it comes to pricing, Pulumi, and Terraform offer different approaches.

Pulumi operates on a freemium model. It allows users to start for free with limitations and offers paid plans for advanced features and support.

On the other hand, Terraform is open source and free to use, with costs primarily associated with the cloud resources you provision using the tool.

Choosing between Pulumi and Terraform requires considering your specific needs and budget.

Pulumi's paid plans cater to larger teams and enterprise requirements, while Terraform's open-source nature allows for cost optimization by selecting the most cost-effective cloud provider options.

Regardless of choice, implementing effective cost-management practices is essential for optimizing infrastructure expenses.

Differences between Pulumi and Terraform CDK

Pulumi and Terraform CDK (Cloud Development Kit) are two distinct frameworks for Infrastructure as Code (IaC) with key differences.

Pulumi allows developers to define and manage infrastructure resources using familiar programming languages like Python, JavaScript, and Go.

It embraces a general-purpose programming paradigm, enabling developers to leverage their existing coding skills.

On the other hand, Terraform CDK, as an extension of Terraform, utilizes programming languages to define infrastructure more abstractly and domain-specific way.

It provides language-specific libraries that generate Terraform configuration files.

The choice between Pulumi and Terraform CDK depends on whether you prefer the flexibility of using general-purpose languages with Pulumi or the abstraction provided by language-specific libraries with Terraform CDK.

Also Read: Everything You Need to Know About Creating and Managing Kubernetes Secrets

Pulumi vs Terraform - Security

When it comes to security, both Pulumi and Terraform prioritize the protection of infrastructure resources, but they differ in their approach.

Pulumi offers features like infrastructure-as-code security scanning, which helps identify potential security risks in the code during the development stage.

It also supports fine-grained access controls and integrates with existing security tools and policies.

On the other hand, Terraform focuses on secure provisioning by providing secure storage for sensitive information such as API keys and credentials.

It offers backends like HashiCorp Vault for secret management and supports encryption at rest for state files.

Terraform vs. Pulumi - Programming Language (or Code Versatility)

Regarding programming language versatility, Pulumi and Terraform offer different approaches.

Terraform utilizes its domain-specific language (HCL), which is specifically designed for infrastructure configuration.

While HCL is easy to learn and offers a declarative approach, it may require developers to familiarize themselves with a new language.

On the other hand, Pulumi embraces a wide range of programming languages. It includes Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Go, and .NET, allowing developers to leverage their existing coding skills and preferences.

This versatility enables teams to choose the language that best suits their needs and integrate infrastructure provisioning seamlessly into their existing workflows.

The choice between Pulumi and Terraform largely depends on whether you prefer the flexibility and familiarity of using multiple programming languages with Pulumi or the simplicity and focus of Terraform's HCL for infrastructure configuration.

Terraform vs Pulumi - State Management

State management is a critical aspect of Infrastructure as Code (IaC), and both Terraform and Pulumi provide approaches to handle it.

Terraform utilizes a state file, which records the current state of deployed infrastructure and tracks changes over time.

This state file is stored locally or in a remote backend, ensuring consistency and facilitating collaboration in multi-member teams.

Terraform allows locking the state file to prevent concurrent modifications, ensuring data integrity.

On the other hand, Pulumi takes a different approach by leveraging cloud-native infrastructure to manage the state. It automatically maintains and stores the state securely and is scalable, eliminating the need for manual state file management.

Additionally, Pulumi supports fine-grained resource-level diffs, which can improve deployment efficiency by selectively updating only the necessary resources.

The choice between Terraform and Pulumi for state management depends on factors such as preference for manual state file handling, collaboration requirements, and the desire for cloud-native state management capabilities.

Pulumi vs Terraform - Testing

When testing infrastructure code, Pulumi, and Terraform offer different approaches.

Pulumi provides native support for testing infrastructure code using familiar testing frameworks and tools for the chosen programming language.

This allows developers to write tests to validate their infrastructure code, perform unit tests, integration tests, and even test deployments in a simulated environment.

Pulumi's testing capabilities enable developers to catch issues early and ensure the correctness of their infrastructure deployments.

On the other hand, Terraform does not have built-in testing capabilities. However, external testing tools and frameworks can be used alongside Terraform to validate infrastructure code.

This may involve writing custom scripts or using tools like InSpec or Terratest to perform infrastructure testing.

The choice between Pulumi and Terraform for testing depends on the level of testing granularity desired and the familiarity with the testing frameworks available for the chosen tool.

Terraform vs. Pulimi - Cloud Deployment

Regarding cloud deployment, both Terraform and Pulumi offer powerful capabilities for provisioning and managing resources in various cloud environments.

Terraform has been specifically designed for multi-cloud and cross-platform support, allowing users to define infrastructure as code for a wide range of cloud providers, including AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and more.

It provides a declarative approach, where users define the desired state of their infrastructure, and Terraform handles the provisioning and management of resources to match that state.

On the other hand, Pulumi takes a more cloud-native approach, leveraging the native APIs and SDKs of cloud providers to provision resources.

It supports multiple cloud providers, on-premises, and Kubernetes environments, enabling users to write code in their preferred programming language to define and deploy infrastructure.

The choice for cloud deployment depends on factors such as preference for declarative or imperative approaches, desired level of cloud-native integration, and the need for multi-cloud or cross-platform support.

Also Read: What is Hybrid Cloud Security: Implementation, Challenges, and Best Practices

Pulumi vs Terraform - Support

Regarding support, both Pulumi and Terraform offer different levels of assistance to users.

Pulumi provides a range of support options, including community forums, detailed documentation, and guides to help users get started.

They also offer paid plans with additional support channels for larger teams and enterprise customers, such as email support and dedicated customer success resources.

Pulumi's support team is responsive and actively engaged in addressing user questions and issues.

On the other hand, Terraform offers support primarily through its extensive community.

The Terraform community is robust and active, with a wide range of resources available, including forums, documentation, and community-contributed modules.

While there is no direct official support from HashiCorp, the organization behind Terraform, community-driven support is often highly effective in resolving issues and providing guidance.

Pulumi vs Terraform - Pros & Cons

Pros of Pulumi

• Programming Language Flexibility: Pulumi allows developers to use familiar programming languages like Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Go, and .NET, enabling them to leverage their existing skills and preferences.

• Cloud-Native Integration: Pulumi leverages native APIs and SDKs of cloud providers, allowing for seamless integration with cloud services and resources.

• Fine-Grained Resource-Level Diffs: Pulumi supports selective updates by analyzing resource changes at a granular level, resulting in efficient deployments.

• Rich Ecosystem: Pulumi offers a growing ecosystem of libraries, modules, and examples contributed by the community, providing a wealth of resources to accelerate development.

Cons of Pulumi

• Relatively Newer Tool: Pulumi is a relatively newer player in the IaC space than Terraform, which means it may have a smaller user base and a less mature ecosystem.

• Learning Curve: While Pulumi supports popular programming languages, developers may need to learn specific patterns and best practices for infrastructure provisioning using code.

• Limited Provider Support: While Pulumi supports major cloud providers, the number of available providers may be fewer than Terraform's extensive list.

• Paid Features and Support: Advanced features and priority support come with paid plans, which may be a consideration for organizations with budget constraints.

Pros of Terraform

• Cross-Cloud and Cross-Platform Support: Terraform is designed to support multiple cloud providers, allowing users to manage infrastructure resources consistently across different environments.

• Declarative Configuration: Terraform uses a declarative approach, where users define the desired infrastructure state, allowing for infrastructure drift detection and automated updates.

• Large and Active Community: Terraform benefits from a large and active community, providing extensive documentation, modules, and community-contributed resources.

• Ecosystem of Providers: Terraform offers a wide range of providers, enabling users to provision resources from popular cloud providers and other services and platforms.

Cons of Terraform

• Limited Programming Language Support: Terraform primarily uses its domain-specific language (HCL) for infrastructure configuration, which may require developers to learn a new language specific to Terraform.

• Lack of Native Testing Support: Terraform does not provide built-in testing capabilities, requiring users to rely on external testing frameworks and tools.

• State File Management: Terraform relies on state files to track infrastructure changes, and manual management of state files can be a potential challenge in collaborative environments.

• Third-Party Integration for Advanced Features: Some advanced features and functionality may require integrating third-party tools or services, adding complexity to the overall setup.

Terraform vs Pulumi: Example

Let's look at side-by-side comparison of Terrform and Pulumi code of provisioning an AWS EC2 instance.

Terraform

# Define provider and region
provider "aws" {
  access_key = "YOUR_ACCESS_KEY"
  secret_access_key = "YOUR_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY"
  region = "us-west-2"
}
# Create an EC2 instance
resource "aws_instance" "example_instance" {
  ami           = "ami-0c94855ba95c71c99"  # Amazon Linux 2 AMI ID
  instance_type = "t2.micro"
  key_name      = "my_key_pair"
  tags = {
    Name = "Example Instance"
  }        
}

In the above example:

1. The 'provider' block specifies the provider (in this case, AWS) and the necessary credentials ('access_key' and 'secret_access_key') to authenticate with the provider. You would need to replace "YOUR_ACCESS_KEY" and "YOUR_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY" with your actual AWS credentials.

2. The 'aws_instance' resource block defines an EC2 instance that will be provisioned. It specifies the AMI (Amazon Machine Image) ID, the instance type, and the SSH key pair to use for authentication.

3. The 'tags' attribute is used to assign a name tag to the instance.

Pulumi

Since, Pulumi supports your favorite languages. Here's how to do the above action using Typescript Pulumi.

import * as pulumi from "@pulumi/pulumi";
import * as aws from "@pulumi/aws";
const stackConfig = new pulumi.Config();
const region = stackConfig.require("aws:region"); // Set your desired AWS region in the Pulumi configuration
const instance = new aws.ec2.Instance("example-instance", {
    ami: "ami-0c94855ba95c71c99", // Specify the desired AMI ID
    instanceType: "t2.micro", // Set the desired instance type
    tags: {
        Name: "example-instance",
    },
});
           export const instanceId = instance.id;

In this Pulumi code, we import the necessary Pulumi and AWS libraries. We then create an instance of the 'aws.ec2.Instance' resource, specifying the desired AMI ID, instance type, and tags.

The 'pulumi.Config' object allows us to retrieve the desired AWS region from the Pulumi configuration.

Finally, we export the 'instanceId' so that it can be used by other components or resources in your Pulumi program.

Also Read: Which one to Choose - Platform Engineering, DevOps, or SRE?

Pulumi vs Terraform: Side-by-Side Comparison

There are a few factors to consider while choosing Pulumi or Terraform. Let's look at the detailed comparison of each so that you can make an informed decision.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the limitations of Pulumi?

Pulumi's limitations include a smaller user base than Terraform and a less mature ecosystem.

Why use Pulumi instead of Terraform?

Using Pulumi instead of Terraform allows you to leverage familiar programming languages and offers seamless cloud-native integration. It also provides fine-grained resource-level diffs for efficient deployments and access to a growing ecosystem of libraries and examples.

What are the limitations of Terraform?

Terraform's limitations include relying on a domain-specific language (HCL) for infrastructure configuration and lacking built-in testing capabilities.

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Written by Priyansh Khodiyar

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Priyansh is the founder of UnYAML and a software engineer with a passion for writing. He has good experience with writing and working around DevOps tools and technologies, APMs, Kubernetes APIs, etc and loves to share his knowledge with others.

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