Best infrastructure-as-code tool

Combined ranking

1. 1
   OpenTofu—17 pts

   GPT #2Claude #2Gemini #2Grok #1

   Community-governed MPL-licensed fork with full Terraform HCL/provider compatibility, built-in state encryption, active development momentum, and zero licensing risk; the default choice for new multi-cloud declarative IaC projects and migrations in 2026.

   To stay #1 Add native higher-level composition abstractions and built-in testing/CI primitives so teams need fewer external wrappers like Terragrunt for complex enterprise setups.

2. 2
   Terraformincumbent▲116 pts

   GPT #1Claude #1Gemini #3Grok #3

   broadest provider ecosystem, deepest module registry, strongest enterprise workflow around plans, state, policy, drift, and approvals

   To rank higher Restore a fully open-source core license to remove the OpenTofu split

3. 3
   Pulumi▼115 pts

   GPT #3Claude #3Gemini #1Grok #2

   First-class support for general-purpose programming languages, excellent testing frameworks, and robust state management that bridges development and operations.

   To rank higher Simplify the pricing and backend infrastructure setup for self-hosting without forcing teams into Pulumi Cloud.

4. 4
   AWS CDKincumbent—6 pts

   GPT #4Claude #4Gemini #5Grok #5

   best developer experience for AWS-heavy teams, rich constructs, strong TypeScript support, and tight CloudFormation integration

   To rank higher Become meaningfully multi-cloud instead of mostly AWS-specific

5. 5
   Crossplane—4 pts

   GPT #5Claude #5Gemini #4Grok —

   Leverages the Kubernetes control plane for continuous reconciliation and GitOps integration, making it the premier choice for platform engineering teams building internal developer portals.

   To rank higher Simplify the steep learning curve and verbose YAML requirements for defining custom compositions.

6. 6
   Ansibleincumbent—2 pts

   GPT —Claude —Gemini —Grok #4

   Agentless YAML playbooks with unmatched simplicity and accessibility for config management, orchestration and lighter provisioning across hybrid, on-prem, network and cloud environments plus the largest module ecosystem.

   To rank higher Introduce native declarative state management, drift detection and dependency graphing to scale reliably for large infrastructure provisioning without becoming overly procedural.

Rank history

By model

Tracked by ModelsAgree · rank 1 = 5 pts … rank 5 = 1 pt · re-polled continuously