Bicep vs Terraform vs OpenTofu: Choosing the Right IaC Tool for Your Cloud Infrastructure

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is a critical component of modern cloud deployment strategies, enabling teams to automate infrastructure provisioning, ensure consistency, and reduce manual errors. Among the leading IaC tools today are Bicep, Terraform, and OpenTofu. Each has its own strengths and ideal use cases, making the choice dependent on your specific needs.

Here is a link to the comparison of these tools (19) Quick Comparison IaC Tools : What is right for you? | LinkedIn

In this article, I’ll compare Bicep, Terraform, and OpenTofu and share my personal experience in selecting the right tool for our organization.

My Experience: Why We Moved from Terraform to Bicep

In one of my roles, we initially used Azure as our primary cloud provider. To build our Infrastructure as Code (IaC), we engaged a consulting firm to implement Terraform. While Terraform is an excellent tool, the consultants implemented the IaC and left—without fully enabling the internal team to manage it effectively.

This led to significant challenges: the internal team struggled to update and maintain the Terraform scripts due to a lack of deep expertise in HCL and Terraform's state management. Given that we were working exclusively with Azure, we made the decision to move to Bicep instead. The transition to Bicep made our lives easier, as it was better integrated with Azure, had simpler syntax, and was more accessible to our engineers.

This experience reinforced an important lesson: it’s not always about using the most powerful or widely adopted technology—it's about using what fits best for your environment and team.

My Experience: Why We Chose OpenTofu Over Terraform

In another organization, we were using Terraform for multi-cloud deployments, but we had growing concerns about HashiCorp’s licensing changes. Since Terraform moved to the Business Source License (BSL), it introduced uncertainties for enterprises looking for long-term cost-effective solutions.

After evaluating alternatives, we decided to move to OpenTofu purely for licensing reasons. Since OpenTofu is an open-source fork of Terraform, it follows the same syntax and functionality but without licensing restrictions. This allowed us to continue using our existing Terraform modules while benefiting from a fully open-source ecosystem.

This experience reinforced another key lesson: sometimes the best choice is not about features but about sustainability and cost-effectiveness. OpenTofu gave us the same power as Terraform but with the assurance of an open-source future.

My Experience: AWS CDK vs Terraform

During my time at Amazon, I led teams that worked extensively with AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK). AWS CDK is a powerful Infrastructure as Code framework that allows developers to define cloud resources using familiar programming languages like TypeScript, Python, and Java.

While Terraform is often chosen for its multi-cloud capabilities, AWS CDK proved to be a better choice for AWS-specific environments. It offered:

• Stronger integration with AWS services
• More flexibility in defining infrastructure using real programming languages
• Improved developer productivity with higher-level abstractions

This reinforced a crucial insight: When working within a single cloud provider, it is often better to use that provider’s native IaC framework rather than an external tool like Terraform. Native tools are typically better optimized, receive more direct support from the provider, and reduce the learning curve for engineers already familiar with the ecosystem.

Final Thoughts

Each of these IaC tools has its place depending on the cloud strategy of your organization. Bicep is excellent for Azure users, Terraform provides broad multi-cloud capabilities, and OpenTofu emerges as a promising open-source alternative for those who prefer community-driven development. Meanwhile, AWS CDK offers a powerful native approach for AWS users.

However, my experience has taught me that the best tool is not necessarily the one with the most features—it’s the one that fits best with your environment and your team’s expertise. Using Terraform in an Azure-exclusive environment with a team unfamiliar with HCL caused unnecessary friction. Moving to Bicep was a pragmatic decision that led to better adoption and maintainability. On the other hand, choosing OpenTofu allowed us to continue using Terraform’s ecosystem without licensing constraints, making it a financially sustainable choice. Similarly, AWS CDK was the better choice within AWS due to its deeper integration and flexibility.

Before choosing an IaC tool, consider your team’s expertise, cloud strategy, and long-term maintainability. The right choice is the one that enables your team to work efficiently and effectively.

What are your thoughts? Have you faced similar challenges when selecting an IaC tool? Let’s discuss in the comments! 🚀