This blog post will look into two Infrastructure as Code (IaC) automation tools, Atlantis and Terraform Cloud (HCP Terraform)/Enterprise and analyze their similarities and differences. It will also walk through an Atlantis alternative and a Terraform Cloud alternative.
TL;DR
Atlantis is a self-hosted automation tool that runs Terraform plans and applies from Git pull requests, while Terraform Cloud is a managed platform that provides Terraform as a service, including remote runs and state management. Terraform Cloud is more scalable than Atlantis but offers fewer extensibility options.
Spacelift is a policy and Git-driven infrastructure automation platform that combines managed runs, state, RBAC, and governance with Atlantis style pull-request workflows, while supporting multiple IaC tools in one place.
What is Atlantis?
Atlantis is an open-source and self-hosted Terraform “pull request-based” automation tool. It offers an easy way to automate the Terraform workflow using pull request comments.
On every new pull request, Atlantis automatically runs the terraform plan command and comments the output back on the pull request. After the suggested changes have been reviewed, a team member can leave a pull request comment with a special meaning to apply the changes.
A great benefit of the Atlantis workflow is that it doesn’t add a new user interface (UI) for operators and developers but integrates nicely with your choice of version control system (VCS) provider. It provides the option to perform code reviews and Terraform operations via the same graphical user interface. Users don’t need access credentials for the infrastructure provider, and errors can be caught during the code review step. With the Atlantis model, each pull request contains a detailed audit log of changes made via Terraform.
Atlantis self-hosted runners can be given an identity native to your cloud (e.g., AWS instance profile) for access without credentials to the state and managed resources. They can also be configured to run inside the Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) to access local resources (e.g., VPC-internal database) but need inbound connectivity from the VCS provider to receive webhooks. Its configuration is primarily done using environment variables passed to the statically linked binary and the YAML file.
Atlantis is stateless, but one of its main drawbacks is that it doesn’t support high availability or scaling or queueing. To accommodate scaling and highly available setups, a substantial engineering effort and creativity are required to build a custom in-house solution.
Flexibility is one of the core advantages of Atlantis, as it allows easy integration with other Terraform-helper tools(e.g., tfsec, checkov, Infracost, or Terratag). It can work with Terraform wrappers, such as Terragrunt, out of the box and even add some of Terragrunt’s features to vanilla Terraform – like before and after hooks for every execution stage (init, plan, apply, etc.).
See our article about Terraform Cost Estimation with Infracost.
Atlantis has a vibrant and active community, with new versions being released often. Something to note here is that although the development is active and there are regular contributions, the efforts aren’t focused on new major features since the lead contributor moved to Hashicorp.
Atlantis can also be used with OpenTofu (a Terraform-compatible fork). In practice, this means pointing Atlantis at the tofu binary (or a wrapper) and treating OpenTofu versions similarly to Terraform versions in your workflow. If you’re evaluating Atlantis, this matters because teams choosing OpenTofu for licensing/governance reasons can keep the same PR-driven workflow.
Overall, Atlantis is a great tool suited for small-scale operations and infrastructure. It is much appreciated by its user community and offers a flexible automation solution for occasional use. Having said that, it is strongly limited by its architecture, and scaling it isn’t straightforward. If your company has large-scale infrastructure needs, other more robust and mature solutions exist.
Learn how to use Atlantis with Terraform for pull request automation.
What is Terraform Cloud?
Terraform Cloud, now integrated into HashiCorp Cloud Platform (HCP) as HCP Terraform, is a more comprehensive infrastructure provisioning tool developed by HashiCorp that works exclusively with Terraform. It provides a scalable solution for automating infrastructure delivery, handling compliance, and managing resources in a cloud-agnostic way. It is Hashicorp’s SaaS managed service offering targeting the Terraform workflow.
One of Terraform Cloud’s main offerings is a specialized CI/CD platform that standardizes Terraform deployments and reduces deployment time. It supports an excellent remote state backend, an API for remote Terraform operations, and integration with existing workflows. It integrates with VCS providers and allows fully automated or manual approval checks for infrastructure provisioning flows.
Interaction with Terraform Cloud can be achieved via the command-line interface (CLI), the UI, the API, or CI jobs. The remote or enhanced backend allows teams to run the Terraform binary from their laptops or a third-party CI job, but the operation is executed on a remote machine. This is especially useful for one-off administrative tasks like tainting or migrating resources – things that are not trivial with Atlantis and may require dedicated solutions like tfmigrate.
Terraform Cloud offers basic security essentials such as RBAC with custom workspace permissions and different access levels for different types of users. Its integration with single sign-on (SSO) allows administrators easy user onboarding and management.
Unlike Atlantis, Terraform Cloud architecture is highly scalable, so it will take a while to outgrow it. It offers a shared state, distributed execution, concurrent runs, notifications for workspace events, and VCS integrations to support its scalability.
Teams can leverage Terraform Cloud’s rich API imperatively from external scripts or declaratively from Terraform itself, using their provider. Managing Terraform with Terraform is often a secret to managing IaC at scale in dynamic organizations. It also supports exporting audit logs to external systems via its API.
One drawback of Terraform Cloud compared to Atlantis is that it is less extensible. While Atlantis lets you execute arbitrary shell commands as part of your Terraform job, Terraform Cloud depends on clever hacks like the null resource or an external wrapper.
For example, suppose you are a Terragrunt user. In that case, you may want to have a CI job (e.g., Jenkins or GitHub Actions) trigger Terragrunt that’s later shelling out to Terraform, which executes the job on your remote Terraform Cloud environment. This extra layer complicates the architecture and workflow and introduces another party to a sensitive flow.
Terraform Cloud offers native integrations and third-party tools to incorporate into the Terraform workflow, such as their proprietary policy-as-code framework, Sentinel. Leveraging Sentinel, you can create security and compliance guardrails. The disadvantage of Sentinel is that it’s not an industry standard and open-source like Open Policy Agent (OPA). HashiCorp recently announced publishing reusable Sentinel policies in their public Terraform Registry, which may give Sentinel a new lease of life in the Terraform ecosystem.
Last but not least, Terraform Cloud recently announced a drift detection feature, which allows you to monitor the synchronization between your resources and their respective Terraform definitions. This feature can, to some extent, be replicated using /plan and /apply HTTP endpoints from Atlantis, but it’s a far cry from the native, built-in solution that Terraform Cloud offers.
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Terraform Cloud vs. Terraform Enterprise
If for any reason (compliance, regulatory needs, etc.), your organization needs an on-premise version of Terraform Cloud, you can use Terraform Enterprise. Terraform Enterprise is a self-hosted distribution of Terraform Cloud.
TFC provides organizations with a private environment for installing the Terraform Cloud instance and enterprise-grade features such as single sign-on, policy-based compliance enforcement, and audit logging.
If you plan on hosting your own Terraform Enterprise distribution, have a look at the requirements, reference architectures for common cloud providers, and the installation and configuration guide.
See how much does Terraform Cloud cost and what are Terraform Enterprise alternatives.
Atlantis vs. Terraform Cloud Similarities
Atlantis and Terraform Cloud have some similarities between them:
1. On-premise support
Both Atlantis and Terraform Enterprise support on-premise (self-hosted) installations, which is ideal for organizations that need maximum control over infrastructure tooling and data.
With a self-hosted setup, you can run the platform inside your own environment, such as a private data center or a secured cloud network, while aligning with internal requirements for security, compliance, governance, and data residency.
2. Integration with VCS providers
Atlantis and Terraform Cloud integrate smoothly with popular Version Control Systems (VCS), making it easy to adopt a GitOps-style Terraform workflow.
In practice, this means Terraform plans and applies can be triggered directly from pull/merge requests, with results posted back as comments or checks, so teams can review changes, collaborate, and approve infrastructure updates using the same Git process they already rely on.
Most standard VCS platforms are supported, enabling consistent workflows across repositories and teams.
3. Integration with CI/CD
Both tools can be embedded into existing CI/CD pipelines to support end-to-end automation for infrastructure delivery. They work well alongside established CI systems and can run in parallel with application build/test workflows. This makes it easier to enforce consistent practices like policy checks, approvals, drift detection, and standardized promotion across environments.
The result is a more reliable, repeatable Terraform automation process that aligns infrastructure changes with your organization’s broader DevOps lifecycle.
What are the differences between Atlantis and Terraform Cloud?
Atlantis and Terraform Cloud both automate Terraform workflows via pull requests, but Atlantis is open-source and self-hosted, whereas Terraform Cloud is a managed SaaS platform. Let’s take a closer look at the key differences between these tools:
1. SaaS offering
Terraform Cloud/Enterprise is offered as a fully managed SaaS, meaning HashiCorp runs and maintains the control plane, upgrades, and supporting infrastructure. This can reduce operational overhead and speed up adoption for teams that prefer a hosted Terraform automation platform. Atlantis, by contrast, is typically deployed and operated by the user (self-managed).
While Atlantis can run in many environments (Kubernetes, VMs, etc.), it doesn’t provide an equivalent first-party managed SaaS offering out of the box.
2. User interface
Atlantis relies on the user interface of your version control system (VCS) (for example, GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket). Its core workflow is pull request–driven: plans and applies are initiated from PR comments, and results are surfaced back into the PR conversation.
Terraform Cloud/Enterprise includes its own dedicated web UI and portal, providing centralized views for workspaces, runs, variables, state, policy controls, and organization settings. This can be useful for teams that want a standalone Terraform operations dashboard beyond the VCS experience.
3. Open-source availability
Atlantis is open source and generally free to use, which can make it appealing for teams that want transparent code, community-driven development, and the ability to customize.
Terraform Cloud/Enterprise is proprietary software, though Terraform Cloud typically includes a free tier with limited features. In practice, the licensing model influences not only cost, but also how extensible the product is and how support and updates are delivered.
4. Remote state backend
Terraform Cloud/Enterprise provides a built-in remote state backend with state storage and locking as part of the platform experience. This simplifies state management for many teams and helps standardize how state is handled across projects.
Atlantis does not provide a native Terraform state backend. Teams usually pair it with a separate remote state solution (such as an object store backend and a locking mechanism, depending on the backend). In an Atlantis setup, state management is an adjacent concern rather than an integrated feature.
5. High availability
Terraform Cloud/Enterprise is designed to support scaling and high availability as part of a production platform, with architecture and operational patterns intended for large numbers of workspaces and runs.
Atlantis can scale, but achieving high availability typically depends on how it’s deployed (e.g., load balancing, storage considerations, and reliable webhooks) and may require additional engineering effort. In other words, both can be operated at scale, but the default “platform-level” HA story is more explicit in Terraform Cloud/Enterprise.
6. Flexibility/Extensibility
Atlantis is often viewed as flexible because it’s lightweight and can be integrated into existing CI/CD and platform tooling with relatively few constraints. Teams can add helper tools around it (policy checks, custom workflows, wrappers, notifications, etc.) and tailor the workflow to their needs.
Terraform Cloud/Enterprise supports extensions via APIs and workflow features, but deeper customization can be more structured and sometimes less straightforward, particularly when teams want to deviate from the platform’s standard run lifecycle.
7. Security features
Atlantis’ main security and governance value is tightly coupling infrastructure changes to pull requests, which naturally supports peer review and provides a PR-centric audit trail.
Terraform Cloud/Enterprise adds more platform security controls commonly required in enterprise environments, such as role-based access control (RBAC), SSO (including SAML), and centralized audit logging.
The difference is largely between “governance through Git workflow” (Atlantis) and “governance through platform controls plus workflow” (Terraform Cloud/Enterprise).
8. Drift detection
Terraform Cloud/Enterprise offers drift detection capabilities to help identify when real infrastructure diverges from the expected Terraform state. Atlantis does not include drift detection by default.
Similar outcomes can be achieved with Atlantis by adding scheduled runs or external tooling, but it requires additional design work (scheduling, alerting, and reporting) rather than being a native feature.
9. Cost calculation
Terraform Cloud/Enterprise includes cost estimation features that can provide visibility into potential cost impact during the plan phase. Atlantis does not provide cost estimation by default, but teams can integrate third-party or open-source cost tools into their PR workflow. The trade-off is that Atlantis enables a “bring your own tooling” approach, while Terraform Cloud/Enterprise provides a more integrated cost visibility experience.
Atlantis vs Terraform Cloud table comparison
The table below summarizes the differences and similarities between Atlantis and Terraform Cloud/Enterprise we’ve described above:
Atlantis and Terraform Cloud synergies
Actually, Atlantis and Terraform Cloud can be used together since Atlantis integrates seamlessly with Terraform Cloud/Enterprise. It doesn’t matter which flavor or Terraform Cloud/Enterprise your team uses since Atlantis can work with all of them.
If that’s up your alley, you can use the “pull request-based” flow with some of the benefits of a managed solution, like history, access to Sentinel policies, stopping runs, secret storage, etc. At this point, any generic CI tool would likely do the trick, so there may not be a point in maintaining a self-hosted installation of Atlantis to hand over the work to Terraform Cloud.
Alternative to Atlantis and Terraform Cloud - Spacelift
Terraform Cloud has been one of the first players in the space, but it’s not the most feature-rich platform anymore. Atlantis is great for small projects, but missing features and scaling might cause headaches.
If you’re choosing between Atlantis and Terraform Cloud, why not give a chance to Spacelift, a modern collaborative infrastructure delivery tool with a great focus on user experience? It works with Terraform, Terragrunt, and many other IaC frameworks, supports self-hosted on-prem workers, workflow customization, drift detection, and much more.
For more differences between the tools, I encourage you to check the article Spacelift vs. Atlantis and Spacelift vs. Terraform Cloud.
Spacelift provides a more mature way of automating the whole infrastructure provisioning lifecycle. Its flexible and robust workflow allows teams to get up to speed quickly and collaborate efficiently. Spacelift is highly extensible and will enable teams to enhance the Terraform workflow with custom providers, linters, security tools, and any other custom tooling they see fit.
Spacelift connects directly to the version control system of your choice and provides a truly GitOps native approach. It can support setups with multiple repositories or massive monorepos and leverages the APIs of the VCS provider to give you visibility.
Spacelift has a built-in CI/CD functionality for developing custom modules, allowing teams to incorporate testing, checks, and linting early into the development phase of modules. Another benefit of using Spacelift is its flexible workflow management. It provides a policy-based process to handle dependencies between projects and deployments with Trigger Policies.
Spacelift provides a plethora of Policies to allow teams to define and automate rules governing the infrastructure as code. By utilizing Open Policy Agent, users can create their own custom policies and ensure the compliance of Terraform resources.
Would you like a tl;dr? Check out the video below:
Check out the Documentation and the Migration from Terraform Cloud blog post and start automating your infrastructure delivery seamlessly!
Key points
We have looked into two infrastructure automation and delivery tools, Atlantis and Terraform Cloud. We analyzed each of them and discussed their strengths and weaknesses, along with a feature comparison. Finally, we saw how a modern collaborative infrastructure delivery tool like Spacelift could be used as an alternative.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this article as much as I did.
Alternative to Atlantis and Terraform Cloud - Spacelift
Spacelift is an Atlantis and Terraform Cloud alternative that works with Terraform, Terragrunt, and many other IaC frameworks. It offers a predictable pricing model and supports self-hosted on-prem workers, workflow customization, drift detection, and much more.
Frequently asked questions
Is Atlantis a good replacement for HCP Terraform for teams?
Atlantis can replace parts of HCP Terraform for teams that want a GitOps pull request workflow, and are comfortable self-hosting. It automates plan and apply from PRs, but it does not provide HCP Terraform’s managed state and locking experience, workspace governance, policy controls, variable management, private registry, and hosted runners. If you already manage backends, RBAC, secrets, and compliance elsewhere, Atlantis is often a solid fit.
How do HCP Terraform agents compare to self-hosted Atlantis runners?
HCP Terraform agents are HashiCorp-managed remote runners you place in your network to execute plans and applies against private resources, with built-in workspaces, state, RBAC, audit trails, and policy controls in HCP Terraform. Self-hosted Atlantis runners automate Terraform via pull requests in your own infra, so you own scaling, secrets, isolation, and governance, and you typically pair it with separate state backends and policy tooling.
Can I use Atlantis with OpenTofu?
Yes, in most cases you can use Atlantis with OpenTofu, because Atlantis just shells out to a Terraform-compatible CLI, and OpenTofu keeps Terraform CLI semantics for common workflows.
