Comparison

AWS CloudFormation vs Terraform

AWS CloudFormation is an MCP server published by awslabs. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Docker MCP Catalog). Terraform is an MCP server published by hashicorp. Marketplaces we read that list it: 3 (Official MCP Registry, Claude Code: claude-plugins-official, Docker MCP Catalog). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-10-26. This pair was picked by a reader, not by our comparison rule, so search engines are asked not to index the page.

Where each is published

Where each is published
Marketplace	AWS CloudFormation	Terraform
Docker MCP Catalog	Listed Version: sha256:d1c0846eb6e5 Forks (GitHub): 1 827 Pulls (Docker Hub): 18 054 Stars (Docker Hub): 0 Stars (GitHub): 9 830 Not marked · First seen 2026-10-11	Listed Version: sha256:11dd418bba60 Forks (GitHub): 199 Stars (GitHub): 1 553 Not marked · First seen 2026-10-11
Official MCP Registry	Not listed	Listed Version: 1.4.1 Forks (GitHub): 199 Stars (GitHub): 1 553 Not marked · First seen 2026-10-11
Claude Code: claude-plugins-official	Not listed	Listed Version: not stated Forks (GitHub): 4 658 Stars (GitHub): 44 447 Not marked · First seen 2026-10-11

Each figure is the marketplace's own and is never added up across marketplaces. A marketplace that publishes no figure shows none: no number is not zero.

The facts side by side

AWS CloudFormation vs Terraform
Fact	AWS CloudFormation	Terraform
Marketplaces that list it (differs)	1 (worse)	3 (better)
Stars (GitHub) (differs)	9 830 (worse)	44 447 (better)
Pulls (Docker Hub) (differs)	18 054	No figure on Docker Hub
Forks (GitHub) (differs)	1 827 (worse)	4 658 (better)
Last release (differs)	Not published	2026-10-24
Where it runs (differs)	On your machine (mcp/cfn-mcp-server)	On your machine (docker.io/hashicorp/terraform-mcp-server:1.4.1)
Transport	stdio	stdio
Tools it declares (differs)	8	9
Environment variables it asks for (differs)	5, secrets among them: 2	Not published
Parts of the bundle (differs)	Not a bundle	1
Licence (differs)	Apache-2.0	MPL-2.0
Repository (differs)	github.com/awslabs/mcp	github.com/hashicorp/terraform-mcp-server
Changes in the last 7 days (differs)	0	3
First seen	2026-10-11	2026-10-11

Lines where the two differ have a tinted background and bold values. Where the data itself says which value is better (more marketplaces, a larger figure of the same marketplace, a fresher release, a verified mark on a marketplace that lists both), the better one is also marked green with ▲ and the worse one red with ▼. Where it runs, the transport, the tools, the settings, hooks, the bundle's parts, the licence and the week's changes are marked only as different: more or fewer is not better in itself.

What each says it does

AWS CloudFormation

In its own words, on Docker MCP Catalog:

CloudFormation resource management via Cloud Control API.

Terraform

In its own words, on Official MCP Registry:

Generate more accurate Terraform and automate workflows for HCP Terraform and Terraform Enterprise

How to run each

AWS CloudFormation As a local MCP server: Docker image

Claude Code

claude mcp add --env "AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=<YOUR_AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY>" --env "AWS_SESSION_TOKEN=<YOUR_AWS_SESSION_TOKEN>" --transport stdio awslabs-cfn -- docker run -i --rm -e AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY -e AWS_SESSION_TOKEN mcp/cfn-mcp-server

Requires: AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY (secret), AWS_SESSION_TOKEN (secret)

Terraform As a local MCP server: Docker image

Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport stdio terraform-mcp-server -- docker run -i --rm -e "TFE_ADDRESS=<YOUR_ADDRESS>" -e "TFE_TOKEN=<YOUR_TOKEN>" -e "ENABLE_TF_OPERATIONS=<YOUR_ENABLED>" docker.io/hashicorp/terraform-mcp-server:1.4.1

Commands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.

Tools each declares

Only AWS CloudFormation declares

create_resource
create_template
delete_resource
get_resource
get_resource_request_status
get_resource_schema_information
list_resources
update_resource

Only Terraform declares

get_latest_module_version
get_latest_provider_version
get_module_details
get_policy_details
get_provider_capabilities
get_provider_details
search_modules
search_policies
search_providers

Both declare

None

Tool names as each marketplace publishes them. More tools is not better in itself: compare what each needs for the job.

Settings each asks for

The marketplaces of Terraform publish no settings it asks for, so we do not compare settings.

What it can do: AWS CloudFormation · What it can do: Terraform · Compare two other plugins

Data comes from the Docker MCP Catalog (desktop.docker.com/mcp/catalog) and Docker Hub. Data comes from the Official MCP Registry (registry.modelcontextprotocol.io), CC0 1.0. Data comes from the public marketplace file https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-official/blob/HEAD/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json. Figures come from our own regular passes over the marketplaces, last read on 2026-10-26. We publish no contact details for plugin publishers.