Infrastructure as Code in 2025: Overview of the most used tools

If you’ve been in the DevOps space long enough, you know that Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools are like your favorite pair of shoes, great for some scenarios, a little painful for others. Fast forward to 2025, and we’ve reached a point where every tool feels like it’s got its own personality and set of quirks. The challenge? Picking the right one, understanding where each shines, and knowing how to avoid the pain points.

In this post, I’ll break down where the major IaC tools like Terraform, Ansible, Chef, Puppet, Salt, and Crossplane excel and where they leave you wanting more. And, of course, what the future of IaC holds.

Terraform: The Cloud Maestro

Let’s be real, Terraform is still the gold standard when it comes to managing cloud infrastructure. It’s declarative, flexible, and arguably the best at handling multi-cloud environments. Whether you’re using AWS, Azure, or GCP, Terraform allows you to define your infrastructure as code and let the tool do the heavy lifting. It’s a dream for scalability and repeatability.

However, managing state files is a pain, especially when you’re working with a large team or in an environment that demands frequent changes. It’s easy to get into trouble with conflicting states, and things can get messy quickly if you’re not diligent. The good news? Terraform Cloud and tools like Spacelift are evolving to make state management less of a headache. The real power lies in how Terraform works within CI/CD pipelines to maintain consistency across environments.

Where to use Terraform:

• Multi-cloud setups.
• Managing Kubernetes infrastructure.
• When you need repeatable, consistent, and scalable infrastructure provisioning.

Where it falls short:

• State file management can be complex, especially in collaborative environments.
• Handling drift detection is still a challenge. Tools like Checkov or Sentinel can help, but you’ll have to stay on top of it.

Ansible: The Quick and Nimble Configurator

When it comes to simplicity, Ansible is hard to beat. You don’t need agents running on your machines, just SSH, and you’re off to the races. It’s fantastic for configuration management, application deployment, and smaller tasks that don’t require the heavy lifting of Terraform. The YAML syntax makes it approachable, which means you can easily automate without a ton of experience in scripting or coding.

But here’s the thing: Ansible’s procedural approach can feel a bit cumbersome when you need more sophisticated, state-aware automation. If you’re deploying infrastructure at scale or managing the full lifecycle of cloud resources, Ansible might leave you wishing you had a tool that’s more declarative. It’s great for configuring an app, but not so much for ensuring that cloud resources stay in sync across environments.

Where to use Ansible:

• Small to medium-sized environments where simplicity and speed are key.
• Configuration management and ad-hoc automation tasks.
• Application deployment.

Where it falls short:

• Lacks the state management capabilities that tools like Terraform offer.
• Can be slower than alternatives when scaling out due to procedural execution.
• Less effective in multi-cloud environments for full infrastructure management.

Puppet & Chef: The Old Guards of Compliance

Puppet and Chef have been around for years, and they’ve built a reputation as the go-to tools for configuration management in enterprise environments. They excel at ensuring consistency and compliance, which is why industries like finance, healthcare, and government continue to rely on them.

Chef stands out for its deep customization, leveraging Ruby to create a powerful yet complex DSL. It’s perfect if you need high-level control over your configurations. Puppet, on the other hand, has traditionally been the heavy hitter for policy enforcement, ensuring that configurations stay compliant over time.

But in 2025, the learning curve is a real barrier for new users. And despite their stability, they’re starting to show their age when it comes to cloud-native environments. Puppet’s agent-based architecture is cumbersome in a world where serverless and ephemeral environments are becoming the norm.

Where to use Puppet & Chef:

• Large-scale enterprises with stringent compliance needs.
• Legacy environments where ongoing configuration enforcement is critical.
• Complex applications that require deep customization.

Where they fall short:

• The learning curve can be steep, especially with Chef’s Ruby-based DSL.
• Agent-based architecture becomes problematic in modern, cloud-native or serverless setups.
• Can feel like overkill for small teams or simple use cases.

SaltStack: The Real-Time, Event-Driven Dynamo

If you need real-time automation or are managing complex, distributed systems (hello, edge computing!), SaltStack can be a game-changer. It’s fast, scalable, and incredibly powerful for managing a fleet of machines at scale. It also stands out for its event-driven automation, so when something breaks, SaltStack can respond immediately.

That said, Salt’s power comes with complexity. It can be overkill for smaller setups or tasks that don’t require real-time responses. Setting it up can be a bit of a challenge, and it often feels like a sledgehammer for a nail when you’re only looking to automate a small portion of your infrastructure.

Where to use SaltStack:

• Large, distributed environments (especially edge or IoT).
• Event-driven, real-time configuration enforcement.
• Complex infrastructures where you need speed and scale.

Where it falls short:

• Overkill for simpler use cases.
• The setup can be tricky, and documentation isn’t always as friendly as other tools.
• Still requires an agent, which may not fit well with cloud-native workflows.

Crossplane: The New Cloud-Native Frontier

Now, let’s talk about Crossplane, a tool that’s only getting more attention in 2025. It’s Kubernetes-native, which means it’s built to be declarative and works seamlessly within Kubernetes environments. Crossplane treats your cloud infrastructure as Kubernetes resources, making it a natural fit for GitOps workflows. If you’re already managing infrastructure through Kubernetes, Crossplane fits right in.

Where it starts to shine is in multi-cloud environments, allowing you to manage resources across multiple providers (AWS, Azure, GCP) in a single Kubernetes cluster. But while it’s an exciting tool with great potential, it’s still maturing. If you’re looking for something battle-tested, Crossplane may feel like it’s in beta for certain use cases.

Where to use Crossplane:

• Cloud-native environments with Kubernetes as the control plane.
• Teams leveraging GitOps for infrastructure management.
• Multi-cloud resource management in a unified platform.

Where it falls short:

• A steep learning curve, especially for teams without deep Kubernetes expertise.
• Still not as mature as tools like Terraform for non-Kubernetes resources.

Looking Ahead to 2025

So, what’s the big takeaway? No tool will be the best at everything in 2025. The key is knowing where each tool excels, understanding its weaknesses, and choosing the right one for your needs. Terraform is likely to remain the de facto standard for multi-cloud and infrastructure provisioning, but tools like Crossplane are shaping up to lead the charge in cloud-native infrastructure management.

But most importantly, we’ll see more integration across tools. Expect to see Terraform working with Crossplane, Ansible complementing SaltStack in hybrid environments, and GitOps becoming the gold standard for managing not just Kubernetes but your entire infrastructure.

So, what’s your experience with these tools in 2025? Are you sticking with the old guard, or have you already jumped into the world of Kubernetes-native IaC? Let’s talk.