OpenStack Heat vs AWS CloudFormation

OpenStack Heat8.9Visit AWS CloudFormation8.7Visit

Higher score OpenStack Heat #6 in IT Configuration Management Software 8.9/10 Open source ✓ 0 of 4 features Visit OpenStack Heat

vs

AWS CloudFormation #8 in IT Configuration Management Software 8.7/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 1 of 4 features Visit AWS

• OpenStack Heat fits best

  Self-hosted OpenStack resource orchestration

• AWS CloudFormation fits best

  AWS-native infrastructure lifecycle management

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Side by side

Feature	OpenStack Heat 8.9/10 Visit ↗	AWS CloudFormation 8.7/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.9	8.7
Ranking	#6 in IT Configuration Management Software	#8 in IT Configuration Management Software
Best for	Self-hosted OpenStack resource orchestration	AWS-native infrastructure lifecycle management
Pricing model	Free	Free plan + paid
Starting price	Open source	Free plan
Free plan	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted	Cloud
Platforms	Linux	Web, Windows, macOS, Linux
Support	Community, Docs	Docs
Integrations	6 integrations	7 integrations
Built for	Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features OpenStack Heat 0/4 · AWS CloudFormation 1/4
Configuration as code	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Drift detection	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Agentless operation	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Compliance policies	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Deployment model	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Operating system coverage	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Managed node limit	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Declarative YAML/JSON templates model resources and dependencies Lifecycle controls include rollback, suspension, resumption, and restoration Broad support for OpenStack compute, networking, storage, and security resources	Free managed provisioning with no additional charge for native AWS providers Change sets, drift detection, imports, and rollback support lifecycle control StackSets extend deployments across AWS accounts and Regions
Cons	Supports OpenStack rather than multiple cloud platforms Self-hosted operation requires an OpenStack environment Dedicated drift detection is not part of its documented feature set	Supports AWS resources rather than multiple cloud platforms Provisioning operations run in AWS, not through self-hosted execution Some third-party providers and custom hooks incur usage-based charges
Our verdict	OpenStack Heat is an open-source infrastructure orchestration service for cloud users, operators, and developers running OpenStack environments. It uses declarative Heat Orchestration Templates to describe applications, resources, and… Read the review →	AWS CloudFormation is a managed infrastructure-as-code service for defining, provisioning, updating, and deleting AWS resources as stacks. It is aimed at teams managing AWS infrastructure through declarative YAML or JSON templates, using… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• OpenStack Heat — where it wins

  • Declarative YAML/JSON templates model resources and dependencies
  • Lifecycle controls include rollback, suspension, resumption, and restoration
  • Broad support for OpenStack compute, networking, storage, and security resources

  Where it doesn't

  • Supports OpenStack rather than multiple cloud platforms
  • Self-hosted operation requires an OpenStack environment
  • Dedicated drift detection is not part of its documented feature set

• AWS CloudFormation — where it wins

  • Free managed provisioning with no additional charge for native AWS providers
  • Change sets, drift detection, imports, and rollback support lifecycle control
  • StackSets extend deployments across AWS accounts and Regions

  Where it doesn't

  • Supports AWS resources rather than multiple cloud platforms
  • Provisioning operations run in AWS, not through self-hosted execution
  • Some third-party providers and custom hooks incur usage-based charges

• OpenStack Heat8.9/10 · Open source

  A focused orchestration service for managing OpenStack resources through declarative templates.

  Visit OpenStack HeatFull verdict →
• AWS CloudFormation8.7/10 · Free plan

  A managed, AWS-native way to define, preview, and manage infrastructure stacks.

  Visit AWSFull verdict →