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How They Work
Terraform
Terraform uses HashiCorp Configuration Language (HCL) to define cloud resources. You write .tf files describing every resource (VPCs, subnets, databases, IAM roles), then run terraform apply.
This gives fine-grained control but requires cloud expertise, state file management, and keeping infrastructure config synchronized with your application code.
Encore
Encore analyzes your TypeScript or Go application code to understand what infrastructure you need. Declare a database as a TypeScript object, and Encore provisions RDS or Cloud SQL when you deploy.
No HCL, no state files, no drift. Your infrastructure is always in sync with your code because it's defined by your code.
Same Cloud, Different Approach
Both Encore and Terraform deploy to your own AWS or GCP account. The difference is how you define infrastructure.
With Terraform, you write HCL that maps directly to cloud provider APIs. You need to understand VPCs, security groups, IAM policies, and cloud-specific configurations.
With Encore, you write application code. Encore handles the cloud-specific details (networking, IAM, security) based on best practices for each provider.
Learn more about infrastructure ownership →Local Development
Terraform is for provisioning cloud resources and doesn't help with local development. You'd need to set up Docker containers, local databases, and manage your development environment separately.
Encore runs encore run and automatically provisions local PostgreSQL, Pub/Sub emulation, and cron scheduling. A local dashboard shows distributed tracing and architecture diagrams.
Your local and production environments use the same code, eliminating "works on my machine" problems.
Learn more about local development →No HCL Required
With Terraform, adding a database means writing HCL for the instance, security groups, IAM roles, and parameter groups. Then you wire connection strings into your application.
With Encore, you declare a database as a TypeScript object. Encore creates the RDS instance with proper networking, security, and IAM, and injects connection details automatically.
import { SQLDatabase } from "encore.dev/storage/sqldb";
const db = new SQLDatabase("users", {
migrations: "./migrations",
});
// No HCL. No state files. No connection strings.
// Encore provisions RDS/Cloud SQL automatically.Databases, Pub/Sub, Cron Jobs, Object Storage, and more. See all primitives →
Built-in Observability
Terraform provisions infrastructure but doesn't help with observability. You'd write more HCL for CloudWatch alarms, set up Datadog, or integrate other monitoring tools.
Encore includes distributed tracing, metrics, and structured logging out of the box. Every request is traced across services automatically. No instrumentation code needed.
This works locally too. Run your app and get full tracing in the local development dashboard.
See observability docs →AI-Assisted Development
With Terraform, infrastructure lives in separate HCL files. AI agents like Cursor and Claude Code lack context about how these relate to your application code, leading to drift, hallucinations, and configs that are hard to review.
Encore defines infrastructure as TypeScript objects alongside your application code. AI agents see everything in one context: your APIs, databases, queues, and how they connect. This makes AI-generated code accurate, reviewable, and safe to deploy.
Built-in guardrails, auto-documentation, and observability ensure your systems stay maintainable, even when AI writes most of the code.
Learn about AI-assisted development →Customer stories
See how teams are shipping faster with Encore.
"Encore is our foundation for all new development. Since adopting it, we've seen a 2-3x increase in development speed."
"Encore is an unfair advantage. At Pave we've moved 2x faster than we did at Monzo."
"We've reduced time spent on DevOps by 95%, and we're now on track to save $60K annually."
Feature Comparison
See how Encore and Terraform differ across key capabilities.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about Encore vs Terraform.
Encore provisions infrastructure in your own AWS or GCP account based on your application code. No separate config files needed. Terraform requires writing HCL configuration files that describe every resource, state management, and manual synchronization between your application and infrastructure.
Encore is purpose-built for backend development with built-in databases, Pub/Sub, cron jobs, and distributed tracing out of the box. Terraform is a general-purpose infrastructure tool that requires you to understand cloud services and write HCL for each resource. For TypeScript or Go backends, Encore provides a significantly better developer experience.
No. Encore abstracts away infrastructure complexity. You define databases and queues as TypeScript or Go objects, and Encore provisions the corresponding AWS or GCP resources. Terraform requires understanding HCL, cloud provider APIs, state management, and infrastructure best practices.
Terraform has no local development solution and is purely for provisioning cloud resources. Encore runs everything locally with a single command: databases, Pub/Sub, cron jobs, and distributed tracing. No cloud connection required.
Encore provides infrastructure-from-code (inferred from your app), built-in observability with distributed tracing, automatic IAM policies, type-safe APIs, and auto-generated documentation. Terraform requires separate HCL files, manual observability setup, and deep cloud expertise.
Yes. Encore provisions application infrastructure (databases, Pub/Sub, compute) in your cloud account. You can use Terraform for other infrastructure concerns like networking, DNS, or resources outside your application scope. They work in the same AWS or GCP account.