Terraform Cloud vs. Env0 vs. Firefly

Your one-stop cloud infrastructure management tooling comparison guide

When it comes to infrastructure management solutions, most vendors overpromise and underdeliver, leaving you with nothing more than an upgraded pipeline or a dashboard that needs constant supervision. So how do Terraform Cloud, Env0, and Firefly compare when it comes to the stuff that matters? Think: managing sprawl, handling multi-cloud, preventing drift, and implementing comprehensive governance? Their approaches couldn't be more different.

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The technical breakdown: what each platform actually does

Capability
Firefly
Env0
Terraform Cloud
IaC languages
Terraform, Pulumi, CloudFormation, Helm
Terraform, Pulumi, CloudFormation
Terraform only
Cloud discovery
Continuous, real-time scanning
Manual import
Manual import
IaC generation
Automated with dependency resolution
None
None
Drift detection
Automated with dependency resolution
Limited, plan-time only
Plan-time only
Drift remediation
Automated fixes
For Terraform and OpenTofu only
Manual fixes
Governance
Unified across IaC and cloud resources
IaC only
IaC only
Asset management
Complete inventory with state tracking
Limited to deployed resources
Limited to state files
AI assistance
Context-aware fixes and optimizations
None
None
Terraform Cloud

When your CI/CD pipeline only speaks Terraform

Let's be real. HashiCorp built an empire on Terraform, and Terraform Cloud is their managed offering. If you're all-in on HCL and never plan to stray, it's… serviceable.

Terraform Cloud is exactly what you'd expect from HashiCorp: great at running Terraform, but arguably uninterested in the broader DevOps lifecycle. Great for small teams who've already tackled the hard parts of their infrastructure automation, but a partial solution —at best— for complex environments.

What Terraform Cloud handles

Terraform execution: solid running of Terraform plans and applies
State management: secure, reliable remote state storage with versioning
Policy guardrails: basic policy checks through Sentinel
Variable management: secure handling of variables across workspaces

What you're still responsible for

Find unmanaged resources: no discovery capabilities to help identify what's not in code
Generate IaC: no assistance turning existing cloud resources into Terraform
Comprehensive drift management: only detects drift during scheduled or manual plan runs
Fix drift issues: no automated remediation — you'll write the fixes manually
Asset inventory: no unified inventory of cloud resources and their state
Env0

The DevOps platform that gorgets about Day 2 operations

Env0 gets a lot right with multi-IaC orchestration and some decent cost controls, but falls into the classic DevOps trap of focusing on deployment while ignoring the operational reality.

If your primary pain point is orchestration across multiple IaC tools, Env0 might be your answer. But if you're dealing with sprawling infrastructure, unmanaged resources, and comprehensive governance needs, you'll quickly hit the limits of what Env0 can solve.

What Env0 Cloud handles

Multi-IaC support: works with Terraform, Pulumi, and CloudFormation
Environment management: flexible environment organization and controls
Cost estimation: provides cost projections for infrastructure changes (but it’s dependent on Infracost)
Custom workflows: allows for customized deployment processes

What you're still responsible for

Discovering cloud resources: no automated scanning — you'll need to manually identify unmanaged resources
Creating IaC definitions: no assistance with generating infrastructure code
Comprehensive governance: limited policy enforcement with no built-in policy bundles, requiring custom policies using OPA without the benefit of ready-to-use templates.
Unified asset management: no comprehensive inventory of all cloud resources
Firefly

The complete infrastructure automation platform built for cloud reality

Firefly was built for platform engineers who deal with the messy reality of CoudOps (not the idealized GitOps world, where everything is neatly defined in code first).

Firefly is purpose-built for the reality most platform teams face: multi-cloud environments, partial IaC adoption, continuous drift, and the need for governance that doesn’t also slow down developers.

What Firefly actually solves for

Continuous cloud discovery: automatically and continuously scans your cloud providers, identifying all resources: including those created outside of IaC
Automated IaC generation: converts existing resources into proper infrastructure code with best practices applied
Complete drift management: detects both cloud-to-code and code-to-cloud drift in real-time
Intelligent remediation: AI-assisted generation of fixes with automated PR creation
Unified governance: consistent policy enforcement across both your IaC and your actual cloud resources
Comprehensive asset management: one source of truth that tracks the lifecycle and state of all cloud resources
Multi-IaC support: works with Terraform, Pulumi, CloudFormation, and Kubernetes manifests

Learn more with our Buyer’s Guide to Cloud Infrastructure Automation tools

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Let's talk pricing: what do these tools actually cost?

All these tools cost money, but you won’t always get the same bang for your buck. Here's the real deal on pricing models:
Explore Firefly pricing

Terraform Cloud

Base pricing seems reasonable until you need the enterprise features that actually matter. Expect significant investment for full functionality.

Env0

The per-environment model can get expensive as you scale. Budget-friendly for mid-sized organizations but potentially prohibitive for enterprise adoption.

Firefly

A resource-based pricing approach that correlates directly with delivered value. Expect transparent, predictable costs that scale proportionally with your infrastructure.

Let's uncomplicate your cloud — together

Let's face it: most platform engineers waste over half their time doing damage control, hunting down mysterious changes, and cleaning up infrastructure messes. Firefly exists to eliminate that wasted time by making cloud management less of a headache, so you can get back to building stuff that matters.Most platform engineers spend 60% of their time on unplanned work: putting out fires, tracking down changes, and cleaning up messes. Firefly was built to reduce that work by uncomplicating cloud management, so you can actually build cool stuff again.

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