Snyk
Terraform
| Feature | Snyk | Terraform |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $25/mo | Free / from $0.00014/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.4 / 5 | 4.5 / 5 |
| Best For | development-teams, security-engineers, devops-teams, open-source-maintainers | devops-engineers, cloud-architects, platform-teams, infrastructure-teams |
| Founded | 2015 | 2014 |
| Sca Scanning | ✓ | ✗ |
| Sast | ✓ | ✗ |
| Container Scanning | ✓ | ✗ |
| Iac Scanning | ✓ | ✗ |
| Auto Fix Prs | ✓ | ✗ |
| Sbom Generation | ✓ | ✗ |
| License Compliance | ✓ | ✗ |
| Infrastructure As Code | ✗ | ✓ |
| Multi Cloud | ✗ | ✓ |
| State Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Plan And Apply | ✗ | ✓ |
| Modules | ✗ | ✓ |
| Provider Ecosystem | ✗ | ✓ |
| Drift Detection | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Snyk Pros
- Developer-first approach integrates into existing workflows
- Automatic fix pull requests for known vulnerabilities
- Comprehensive coverage (code, deps, containers, IaC)
- Generous free tier for individual developers
✗ Snyk Cons
- Per-developer pricing expensive for large teams
- False positives require manual review
- Some language support more mature than others
✓ Terraform Pros
- Multi-cloud support with consistent workflow
- Declarative language (HCL) is readable and maintainable
- Massive provider ecosystem (3,000+ providers)
- State management tracks real infrastructure
- Terraform Cloud adds collaboration features
✗ Terraform Cons
- State file management requires careful handling
- BSL license change from open source caused controversy
- Complex modules can be hard to debug
The Verdict
Snyk is built for development teams and security engineers, with a focus on sca-scanning and sast. Terraform targets devops engineers and cloud architects and leads with infrastructure-as-code and multi-cloud.
On pricing, Terraform is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $0.00014/mo compared to $25/mo for Snyk. That $24.99986/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.