Terraform vs OpenTofu(2026)
Terraform is better for teams that need industry standard. OpenTofu is the stronger choice if truly open source. Terraform is open-source (from $0) and OpenTofu is open-source (from $0).
Full feature breakdown, pricing details, and pros & cons below.
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Terraform
Terraform by HashiCorp is the most popular open-source IaC tool — declare infrastructure in HCL, and Terraform plans and applies changes across AWS, Azure, GCP, and 3,000+ providers.
Starting at $0
Visit TerraformOpenTofu
OpenTofu is the Linux Foundation's truly open-source fork of Terraform — created after HashiCorp changed Terraform's license to BSL, offering full Terraform compatibility under MPL 2.0.
Starting at $0
Visit OpenTofuHow Do Terraform and OpenTofu Compare on Features?
| Feature | Terraform | OpenTofu |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | open-source | open-source |
| Starting price | $0 | $0 |
| HCL declarative language | ✓ | — |
| 3,000+ providers | ✓ | — |
| State management | ✓ | — |
| Plan before apply | ✓ | — |
| Module registry | ✓ | ✓ |
| Remote state (Terraform Cloud) | ✓ | — |
| Workspaces | ✓ | — |
| Terraform-compatible (HCL) | — | ✓ |
| MPL 2.0 license | — | ✓ |
| State encryption | — | ✓ |
| Provider compatibility | — | ✓ |
| Linux Foundation governance | — | ✓ |
| Growing community | — | ✓ |
Terraform Pros and Cons vs OpenTofu
Terraform
OpenTofu
Should You Use Terraform or OpenTofu?
Choose Terraform if…
- •Industry standard
- •Largest provider ecosystem
- •Mature and battle-tested
Choose OpenTofu if…
- •Truly open source
- •Drop-in Terraform replacement
- •Linux Foundation backing