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Head-to-head · Infrastructure Drift Detection Software

Pulumi vs ControlMonkey

  • Updated Nov 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 2 checks side by side
Higher score Pulumi #4 in Infrastructure Drift Detection Software 8.7/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 1 features Visit Pulumi
ControlMonkey #8 in Infrastructure Drift Detection Software 7.9/10 Pricing on request ✓ 1 of 1 features Visit ControlMonkey

Pulumi leads on 1 check, ControlMonkey on 0, and 1 is even. Who comes out ahead on the 2 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scorePulumi · 8.7/10
  • Free planonly Pulumi
  • Most featuresControlMonkey · 1 of 1

Pulumi scores higher on our rubric for infrastructure drift detection software: 8.7 against 7.9 out of 10; our editors rank them #4 and #8.

Pulumi offers free plan; ControlMonkey doesn't.

Pulumi is the better fit for teams using Pulumi across cloud and Kubernetes. ControlMonkey is the better fit for cloud teams wanting continuous Terraform drift alerts.

  • Pulumi fits best

    Teams using Pulumi across cloud and Kubernetes

  • ControlMonkey fits best

    Cloud teams wanting continuous Terraform drift alerts

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature Pulumi 8.7/10 Visit ↗ ControlMonkey 7.9/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 8.7 7.9
Ranking #4 in Infrastructure Drift Detection Software #8 in Infrastructure Drift Detection Software
Best for Teams using Pulumi across cloud and Kubernetes Cloud teams wanting continuous Terraform drift alerts
Pricing model Free plan + paid Paid
Starting price $40/mo —
Free plan ✓ (best) —
Free trial — —
Deployment Cloud, Self-hosted Cloud
Platforms Web, Windows, macOS, Linux Web
Compliance SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI DSS, SSO/SAML SOC 2, 2FA, SSO/SAML
Integrations 8 integrations 9 integrations
Built for Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Pulumi 0/1 · ControlMonkey 1/1
Approval workflows Not checked yet ✓ (best)
Specs
Cloud coverage Not checked yet Multi-cloud
IaC sources Not checked yet Terraform, OpenTofu, Terragrunt
Detection cadence Not checked yet Continuous
Drift remediation Not checked yet Guided
Our review
Pros
  • Scheduled drift detection and remediation are available on the Pro plan.
  • Supports AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Kubernetes, and multiple programming languages.
  • Offers managed and DIY state, resource import, and centralized policy enforcement.
  • Continuously compares live cloud resources with Terraform state and code.
  • Real-time alerts surface out-of-band changes and ClickOps activity.
  • Guided fixes can open a pull request or reconcile resources to code.
Cons
  • Drift detection and remediation are listed on Pro, priced at $400 per month.
  • The Free plan is limited to 1 user and up to 500 workflow minutes.
  • Essentials offers policy results in advisory mode; preventative policies are on Pro.
  • The Free Resilience Assessment is a one-time assessment, not an ongoing plan.
  • Paid subscriptions are quote-based.
  • The product is cloud-deployed and listed for web access.
Our verdict

Pulumi is an infrastructure-as-code platform for developers and platform teams that define and manage cloud infrastructure with TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, Go, .NET, Java, or YAML. Its open-source CLI and SDKs sit alongside Pulumi…

Read the review →

ControlMonkey is a cloud infrastructure and IaC governance platform for DevOps and platform teams that need to identify changes made outside declared infrastructure code. It continuously compares cloud resources with Terraform state and…

Read the review →
  1. PulumiInfrastructure Drift Detection Software 8.7Free plan
  2. ControlMonkeyInfrastructure Drift Detection Software 7.9Pricing on request

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Pulumi — where it wins

    • Scheduled drift detection and remediation are available on the Pro plan.
    • Supports AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Kubernetes, and multiple programming languages.
    • Offers managed and DIY state, resource import, and centralized policy enforcement.

    Where it doesn't

    • Drift detection and remediation are listed on Pro, priced at $400 per month.
    • The Free plan is limited to 1 user and up to 500 workflow minutes.
    • Essentials offers policy results in advisory mode; preventative policies are on Pro.

  • ControlMonkey — where it wins

    • Continuously compares live cloud resources with Terraform state and code.
    • Real-time alerts surface out-of-band changes and ClickOps activity.
    • Guided fixes can open a pull request or reconcile resources to code.

    Where it doesn't

    • The Free Resilience Assessment is a one-time assessment, not an ongoing plan.
    • Paid subscriptions are quote-based.
    • The product is cloud-deployed and listed for web access.

More comparisons

All infrastructure drift detection software comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Nov 2026

Last updated · How we research and update