TACOS are a commodity

Stop overpaying for Terraform automation

Terraform and OpenTofu automation is a commodity. There is little differentiation between these tools: they let you run Terraform plan and apply in a safe and predictable way.

Why, then, does HashiCorp/IBM charge some people upwards of $500k per year to do that? Even some of the other solutions out there are trying to charge users $30k/month. Yes, per month. That’s absolutely bonkers.

What does that actually get you? Infrastructure-as-code automation and orchestration is not rocket science.

We have no illusion about what we are

Look, Terrateam automates infrastructure management. But we have no illusions about how difficult this problem actually is.

We think it’s hard enough that it is worth paying for, especially as you scale your team, but it should not be a discussion point in a budget meeting.

As of this writing, our most expensive plan is $24k/year. Per year! Not per month.

IBM and the VC-backed Terraform tax

IBM has already started changing Terraform Cloud pricing, squeezing every last drop from smaller users.

This shift started long ago with the switch to RUM pricing.

But IBM isn’t the only one. The other TACOS-that-you’ve-probably-heard-of are charging more as well.

Bootstrapped by choice

One reason Terrateam is not a VC-backed company is that we don’t think the problem we are solving makes sense to VCs. We’re bootstrapped, and we like it that way.

Terraform automation is a problem worth paying for, but the right amount. And the right amount is not an interesting return to most VCs.

Fair and honest pricing

We keep our costs low. We have a fair, honest, and transparent pricing model. If you are paying a lot of money, make sure you are getting your value out of it. If you are, that’s fine. For example, we offer consulting packages as well, which do cost more because it’s a very hands-on service.

This is a commodity

Terraform automation tools range from free to outrageously expensive. As the buyer, you have tons of options and leverage. Choose the solution that fits your problem.