Stackorder vs Spacelift

In short

Both: Plan on pull requests and order applies across dependent stacks.
Spacelift: A commercial platform, SaaS first, that runs each job in a container on its workers or yours, with an OPA policy engine, optional managed state and drift reconciliation.
Stackorder: Free and self-hosted; runs on your GitHub Actions runners and holds no cloud credentials; no policy engine, state or registry; GitHub and S3 only.

Spacelift is a commercial, closed-source platform for infrastructure as code. It is SaaS first, and its SaaS product is now called Spacelift Deploy; a self-hosted edition is sold on the Enterprise+ tier. Every job runs in a fresh Docker container on Spacelift's public workers or on private workers you run, and the platform adds a policy engine, optional managed state, drift reconciliation and stack dependencies that pass outputs downstream.

Where Spacelift runs each job in a fresh container on its workers or yours, Stackorder runs nothing itself: GitHub Actions runs every plan and apply on your runners, and a server you host, one container and Postgres, decides which stacks run and in what order. It has no policy engine and no managed state; state stays in your S3 bucket.

Last reviewed 2026-09-30 against Spacelift's own repository, documentation or pricing page.

Stackorder and Spacelift side by side

Numbers link to the sources. A dash means we haven't verified it, not that it's missing.

Feature	Stackorder	Spacelift
License	Apache-2.0, open source²⁹	Proprietary platform; open-source tooling such as spacectl and the Terraform provider under MIT^{4, 6}
Deployment	Self-hosted; setup mode creates the GitHub App from a manifest^{22, 26}	SaaS, now called Spacelift Deploy; self-hosted on AWS, Azure, GCP or on-premises Kubernetes only on the Enterprise+ tier^{1, 2, 3}
Pricing	Free and open source; you run the server²⁹	Free: 2 users, 1 public worker. Starter+: $20,000 a year, unlimited users. Business, Enterprise and Enterprise+ by quote²
Maturity	v0.1.0, first released 2026-09-30; tested end to end against LocalStack, not yet against real AWS or a real GitHub organization by default^{27, 28}	—not verified
Where Terraform runs	Your GitHub Actions runners, GitHub-hosted or self-hosted; it manages no runners or agents¹⁸	A fresh Docker container per job, on Spacelift's public workers or on private workers you run⁷
State backend	Bring your own S3; never takes or releases the state lock¹⁸	Optional Spacelift-managed state on S3, with history and rollback, chosen when a stack is created; or your own backend⁸
Modules	No registry; lists each module's consumers, and for git modules the version each pins and how far behind it is¹⁸	Private module registry on paid accounts, with tests per version; module trigger policies see each module's consumers¹⁰
Self-hosted footprint	One container of about 30 MB and Postgres; actions that use no Docker¹⁸	SaaS. Self-hosted: server and drain services on Kubernetes or ECS, PostgreSQL, object storage buckets, a queue and an optional MQTT broker⁵
Cross-stack dependencies	A graph of stacks and modules from `depends_on`, module sources and `terraform_remote_state` reads, including cross-repository edges; applies in waves^{19, 20}	Stack dependencies form a DAG, across repositories, and pass outputs downstream as inputs⁹
Cloud credentials	Not held by the server; the runner assumes your IAM role with its own GitHub OIDC token²¹	Spacelift assumes your AWS role, or a private worker does and the credentials never reach Spacelift; Spacelift-signed OIDC as an alternative¹⁷
Human sign-in	GitHub OAuth through the App, `read:org` scope only²²	SAML 2.0 single sign-on from the Enterprise tier²
Git hosts	GitHub only, by design¹⁸	GitHub (including GitHub Enterprise), GitLab, Azure DevOps, Bitbucket Cloud and Data Center, and raw Git¹
OpenTofu	Yes, with `tool: tofu`; tested end to end with OpenTofu 1.12^{25, 27}	Yes, first-class; all OpenTofu versions¹⁶
Drift detection	Scheduled per stack with `drift.schedule`; with `open_issue`, one GitHub issue per drifted stack, closed when the drift is gone; never applies to fix drift²³	Scheduled proposed runs with optional reconciliation; private workers only; Starter+ and above¹¹
Policy checks	Not a policy engine; run OPA, conftest, Checkov or Infracost in hooks, and `stackorder check` records a named check the apply gate honors²⁴	Built-in OPA/Rego policy engine with several policy types¹²
Pull request workflow	A check per stack, one sticky comment, and `stackorder plan`, `apply` and `unlock` comments; applies before merge by default, or on merge¹⁹	Proposed runs on pushes, reported as commit statuses; opt-in plan comments and `/spacelift` commands; deploying before merge is supported^{13, 14}

Key differences

Hosted platform or a server you run

Spacelift is SaaS. Its self-hosted edition is listed only on the Enterprise+ tier, needs a license key from sales, and runs server and drain services on Kubernetes or ECS with PostgreSQL, several object storage buckets and a queue. Stackorder is open source and self-hosted: one container and a Postgres database.

Where Terraform runs

Spacelift runs every job in a fresh Docker container on its public workers or on private workers you deploy, which reach Spacelift over MQTT or HTTP long-polling. It does not run jobs on GitHub Actions; its only action installs the spacectl CLI. Stackorder runs every plan and apply on your GitHub Actions runners, with actions that use no Docker.

Dependencies

Spacelift's stack dependencies form a DAG that rejects cycles, queues a dependent stack's tracked run after its upstream finishes, passes outputs downstream as inputs, and can link stacks in different repositories. Stackorder infers edges from module sources and terraform_remote_state reads as well as depends_on, plans downstream stacks in the pull request, and applies in waves; its cross-repository edges trigger plan-only runs rather than ordering one run.

Credentials

With Spacelift's AWS integration, either Spacelift assumes your role or, on private workers, the worker does, and then the credentials never reach Spacelift. The Stackorder server never assumes a role: each GitHub Actions job does, with its own GitHub OIDC token.

Policy, state and drift

Spacelift has a built-in OPA/Rego policy engine, optional managed state with history and rollback, and drift detection that can reconcile with a tracked run. Stackorder is not a policy engine, stores no state, and never applies to fix drift; it records the verdicts of the tools you run in hooks, and keeps one GitHub issue per drifted stack when open_issue is on.

Git hosts and pricing

Spacelift works with GitHub, GitLab, Azure DevOps, Bitbucket and raw Git. On 2026-09-30 its free plan covered 2 users and 1 public worker, and Starter+ cost $20,000 a year. Stackorder is GitHub only, by design, and free under Apache-2.0.

Where Spacelift is strong

A managed service with a free plan: 2 users and 1 public worker, with no credit card and no time limit.²
Stack dependencies that form a DAG, pass outputs downstream as inputs, and link stacks in different repositories.⁹
A built-in OPA/Rego policy engine with several policy types.¹²
Drift detection on a schedule, with optional reconciliation.¹¹
Optional managed state with history, rollback and state import.⁸
A private module registry with test cases per version, and module consumers visible to trigger policies.¹⁰
GitHub, GitLab, Azure DevOps, Bitbucket Cloud and Data Center, and raw Git.¹
Private workers can assume your AWS role themselves, so the credentials never reach Spacelift.¹⁷
OpenTofu as a first-class tool, with every OpenTofu version supported.¹⁶

When to choose which

Choose Stackorder when

Your code is on GitHub and you want Terraform or OpenTofu to run on your own GitHub Actions runners, under AWS roles the runner assumes with its own GitHub OIDC token.
You have many stacks that depend on each other or on shared modules, and you want a change planned everywhere it lands and applied in dependency waves.
You want a small open-source server you host yourself, which holds no cloud credentials and no state, and whose outage pauses applies but not pull request plans.

Choose Spacelift when

You want a managed platform with a built-in OPA policy engine, optional managed state, drift reconciliation and dependencies that pass outputs between stacks, and you can budget for a commercial contract.
Your code is on GitLab, Azure DevOps or Bitbucket, or on more than one Git host.
You want vendor-run workers, or private workers managed from the same platform, rather than GitHub Actions runners.
You need an on-premises or air-gapped installation, which Spacelift lists on its Enterprise+ tier.
You want a tool with more production use: Stackorder's first release, v0.1.0, came out on 2026-09-30.

Try Stackorder on your own repositories

Free and open source under the Apache License 2.0. The getting started guide takes one repository from nothing to a first stackorder apply; the local demo runs on one machine with no GitHub App and no AWS account.

Get started Try the local demo

Star stackorder on GitHub to follow releases.

Frequently asked questions

Is Stackorder an alternative to Spacelift?

For part of what Spacelift does, on GitHub. Both plan on pull requests and order applies across stacks. Stackorder is free, open source and self-hosted, runs Terraform on your GitHub Actions runners, and holds no cloud credentials. It has no policy engine, no managed state, no module registry and no drift remediation, all of which Spacelift offers.

Is Spacelift now called Spacelift Deploy?

Spacelift's SaaS product is now called Spacelift Deploy. Self-hosted installations keep the name Spacelift.

Does Spacelift run Terraform on GitHub Actions?

No. Jobs run in Docker containers on Spacelift's public workers or on private workers you deploy. For GitHub Actions, Spacelift offers the Setup Spacectl action, which installs its CLI.

Can Spacelift be self-hosted?

Yes, on AWS, including GovCloud, Azure, GCP or on-premises Kubernetes, and only on the Enterprise+ tier. The self-hosted edition has no public worker pool and no native Azure or GCP integrations. Stackorder is always self-hosted and free.

How do their prices compare?

On 2026-09-30, Spacelift's free plan allowed 2 users and 1 public worker, Starter+ cost $20,000 a year with unlimited users, and Business, Enterprise and Enterprise+ were priced by quote. Stackorder is free under the Apache License 2.0; you run one container and a Postgres database.