← Terraform Plan Cost Estimate
This tool vs. Infracost
Different jobs. Infracost is a full cost-estimation product for infrastructure code. This is a small, offline tool for a quick monthly-cost number on the common AWS resources, with nothing to sign up for.
What each one is for
Infracost is an open-source CLI with optional hosted services. Per its own public documentation it supports multiple clouds (AWS, Azure and Google Cloud), prices resources from a maintained cloud pricing API, can estimate usage-based costs from a usage file, and integrates with pull requests and CI. It is the right choice if you need any of that.
This tool reads the JSON from terraform show -json, in a browser page or a single Node.js file, and prices a short list of common AWS resources from a small bundled table of approximate us-east-1 on-demand prices, then reports the monthly change for create, update and delete. It makes no network call, needs no account or API key, and can fail CI when the estimated delta is above a number you set.
| Question | This tool | Infracost (per its public docs) |
|---|---|---|
| Clouds covered | A short list of common AWS resources only | AWS, Azure and Google Cloud, with a much larger resource list |
| Where prices come from | A small bundled table, dated and approximate, with a rough region multiplier | A maintained cloud pricing API with live list prices |
| Setup | None: paste a file into a page, or run one Node file | Install the CLI and authenticate for a pricing API key |
| Network | None. The plan never leaves your device | Calls its pricing API to look up prices |
| Usage-based costs | Named, never estimated | Can be estimated from a usage file you provide |
| Pull-request comments and dashboards | No | Yes, via its integrations and hosted offering |
| Budget gate in CI | Yes: --max-delta exits 1 over the threshold | Yes, through its policy and CI features; check its docs for the current options |
| Resources it cannot price | Listed as unpriced, never counted as zero | Reported in its own output; see its docs |
Use this when you want a quick, private, order-of-magnitude answer while you iterate, or you cannot or do not want to set up an API key. Use Infracost when you need accuracy across clouds, live prices, usage estimates or a team workflow. They are not exclusive: a quick offline estimate while you work and a full breakdown in the pull request answer different questions.
Statements about Infracost summarise its public documentation as best understood when this page was written and may be out of date. Check its documentation for the current feature set.
Common questions
Is this a replacement for Infracost?
No. It is a narrow, offline alternative for one job. Infracost's public documentation describes support for AWS, Azure and Google Cloud, prices pulled from a maintained cloud pricing API, usage-based estimates from a usage file, and pull-request integrations. This tool covers a short list of common AWS resources from a bundled approximate price table. If you need more clouds, live prices or a PR workflow, use Infracost.
When is this tool the better fit?
When you want a number in thirty seconds without installing anything or creating an account: paste the plan JSON into a page, or run one Node file in CI with a --max-delta threshold. It is also useful where a plan must not leave the machine and you do not want to set up an API key, because it makes no network call at all.
Is the price table live?
No. It is a small, dated table of rounded us-east-1 on-demand prices with a rough regional multiplier. Live pricing is something Infracost does and this tool deliberately does not. Treat the output as an order-of-magnitude estimate, and verify against the provider's pricing pages.
Can I use both?
Yes. A quick offline estimate while you iterate on a change, and a full multi-cloud, live-priced breakdown in the pull request, are different jobs.
Open the Terraform Plan Cost Estimate against your own plan, or check what the same plan destroys with the Blast Radius Check.