Infrastructure as code
If I can't provision it, it loses points.
My default
One tool in this layer.
Infrastructure as real code. And it can use any Terraform provider, so nearly everything is provisionable from one codebase.
Pricing: Free and open source with a self-managed S3 backend (no Pulumi Cloud fees).
Use when it fits
2 tools in this layer.
The pipeline I'd pick if a project needs one. Today I deploy with Pulumi directly.
Pricing: Free on public repositories. Private: 2,000 minutes a month on Free, 3,000 on Pro and Team, then Linux 2-core $0.006 a minute (macOS $0.062). Self-hosted runners are free; a $0.002-a-minute charge announced for them in December 2025 was postponed.
Fine, and its providers power half of Pulumi's ecosystem. I prefer Pulumi.
Pricing: Both CLIs are free. HCP Terraform's free tier covers 500 managed resources (the old free plan ended on 31 March 2026). An S3 backend needs no HCP account at all.
Never
One tool in this layer.
I hate it. Pulumi does the same job with real code.
Pricing: Free for AWS resource types. Third-party registry extensions and custom hooks bill per handler operation, after a free tier.
Instead: Pulumi: real code, an S3 backend, and every other vendor through Terraform providers.
Where they're used
The jobs that pick or avoid a tool from this layer.
- 14 Provisioning everything Infrastructure as code across AWS and every vendor. My picks: Pulumi
- 17 An AWS foundation for a client Accounts, access, backups and cost from day one. My picks: AWS Organizations + IAM Identity Center, Pulumi, AWS Backup, Savings Plans and Reserved Instances, Cost Explorer (with Claude Code)
- 18 Moving on-premises systems to AWS Lift databases and apps into AWS. My picks: Claude Code, AWS Database Migration Service, AWS Organizations + IAM Identity Center, Pulumi
Want this stack in your AWS account?
Cloudless Labs is a Sydney consultancy. We migrate on-premises systems to AWS, build serverless apps on this stack, and coach teams to ship with Claude Code and Codex.