Terraform vs Pulumi vs AWS CDK — Which IaC for UK Software Teams? (2025)
Terraform is the right default for most UK software teams: largest community, most modules available, provider-agnostic (AWS + Azure + multi-cloud), and the standard tool for UK DevOps engineers. AWS CDK is better for AWS-only teams who prefer TypeScript over HCL. Pulumi is better for teams who want to write IaC in their application language (Python, TypeScript, Go) without learning HCL. Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tool choice affects how UK teams provision AWS/Azure infrastructure, manage Cyber Essentials change control, and satisfy FCA operational resilience documentation requirements.
| Factor | Terraform (HCL) | AWS CDK (TypeScript) | Pulumi (TypeScript/Python) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Language | HCL (HashiCorp Config Language) | TypeScript/Python/Java/C# | TypeScript, Python, Go, .NET |
| Multi-cloud support | ✅ AWS, Azure, GCP, 3000+ providers | AWS only | ✅ AWS, Azure, GCP |
| UK DevOps market familiarity | ✅ Largest community — most engineers know it | Growing | Smaller — premium engineers |
| Cyber Essentials change audit trail | ✅ Plan + apply output = audit trail | CDK diff + deploy = audit trail | Preview + update = audit trail |
| State management | Terraform Cloud or S3 backend | CloudFormation handles state | Pulumi Cloud or S3 backend |
| NHS/GDS IaC standard | Terraform most common in NHS Digital | Used in some NHSX projects | Rare in gov/NHS |
| Module reuse | ✅ Terraform Registry (1000s of modules) | CDK Constructs | Pulumi Registry |
| Learning curve | Medium — HCL is simple but different | Low for TypeScript devs | Low for existing language |
| ClickMasters default | ✅ All infrastructure | AWS-only TypeScript teams | By client preference |
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