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Prominent pros & cons

PROS

AWS CloudFormation allows users to automate infrastructure management, reducing the need for manual interventions and increasing efficiency.
Users benefit from the integration with AWS, facilitating quick deployment and template creation for AWS services.
The ability to define infrastructure as code makes it scalable, flexible, and easily manageable, allowing programmatic control through coding.
AWS CloudFormation offers reusable templates that enhance resource management, scalability, ease of deployment, and provisioning.
Infrastructure deployment is simplified by using Scripting and templates in formats like JSON and YAML, which eliminates the need for learning specific programming languages.

CONS

AWS CloudFormation is not intuitive and lacks ease of understanding compared to other tools.
There is a need for better support of other cloud vendors and a platform that is cloud-agnostic.
Handling cross-account dynamic references is challenging and often leads to complications.
Support for immediate new AWS service integrations is lacking, delaying CloudFormation capabilities.
JSON limitations affect code readability and functionality, leading to difficulties in multi-team collaboration.
 

AWS CloudFormation Pros review quotes

Varun Akuthota - PeerSpot reviewer
Apr 2, 2024
I would rate the scalability a nine out of ten. We use it every day.
RoopeshKumar - PeerSpot reviewer
Apr 3, 2024
I appreciate the flexibility of infrastructure as code. With CloudFormation, we can define ground rules, control usage limits, and scale our infrastructure up or down programmatically. Having this level of control through code on infra is a major benefit. That's the beauty of CloudFormation.
reviewer1303905 - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 5, 2020
There is a cost-benefit to using CloudFormation that comes about because of the automation that it provides.
Learn what your peers think about AWS CloudFormation. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: August 2025.
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Bireshwar Adhikary - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 20, 2023
Automations make it pretty easy to provision AWS, development, or deployment environments.
reviewer1259031 - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 11, 2020
The nested stacks would be one of the more valuable features.
Jean Dedji - PeerSpot reviewer
Apr 19, 2024
CloudFormation itself is free to use. You will be charged for the resources you deploy using CloudFormation.
KK
Mar 20, 2025
AWS CloudFormation is valuable because it allows me to create resources using YAML files without needing to learn a specific language.
SC
Aug 5, 2025
With the help of AWS CloudFormation, I have managed the updates and rollbacks smoothly when there are changes in the infrastructure.
reviewer1470954 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 9, 2021
Its ability to treat infrastructure's code is valuable. It makes things automatable and reproducible.
it_user1301643 - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 16, 2020
The integration of the solution is very good.
 

AWS CloudFormation Cons review quotes

Varun Akuthota - PeerSpot reviewer
Apr 2, 2024
For improvement, it's crucial that AWS provides options in terms of computing services, DB related services, and machine learning solutions. If I'm not hands-on with a particular service, like machine learning applications, I struggle to write the CloudFormation code.
RoopeshKumar - PeerSpot reviewer
Apr 3, 2024
For a beginner, it's kind of difficult to set up. So, the user does need some knowledge in order to do it.
reviewer1303905 - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 5, 2020
This tool is not intuitive and there are others that are easier to understand.
Learn what your peers think about AWS CloudFormation. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: August 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Bireshwar Adhikary - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 20, 2023
Provisioning a large environment or a large number of services takes a bit more time than with Terraform.
reviewer1259031 - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 11, 2020
As soon as they manage to parametrize the whole thing and to implement parameters at all levels, it will become automatically a lot more flexible.
Jean Dedji - PeerSpot reviewer
Apr 19, 2024
If Amazon could extend CloudFormation to other cloud platforms, that would be good. Currently, it is only limited to AWS.
KK
Mar 20, 2025
Splitting CloudFormation into multiple formations results in changes to resources like API gateway URLs and Cognito pools, which causes issues, especially when trying to maintain consistency across resources.
reviewer1470954 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 9, 2021
CloudFormation is not particularly good at handling cross-account dynamic references. If you try to refer to an object that CloudFormation has created in a separate AWS account, it tends to fall apart. That's because it is a byproduct of the multi-tenant configuration. This is the most glaring shortcoming in my perspective because you can't dynamically reference objects in other accounts that CloudFormation has created, but it is not a shortcoming that you can't overcome. This is the only pain point that I've come across that didn't have a workaround natively. Sometimes the confirmation is slow, and it could be faster. The downside to CloudFormation when you're fully embracing it is that the AWS services do not get released immediately fully CloudFormation enabled. If you need to use the latest AWS service that just got announced or reinvented, you're not going to be able to continue with CloudFormation for the first X number of months. This is because they develop the products separately, and then they hand it to the CloudFormation team, which later on develops a CloudFormation integration. So, if you need to be on the newest thing AWS has, CloudFormation is often going to be a constraint that prevents you from doing that.
it_user1301643 - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 16, 2020
The solution needs to offer better support to other cloud vendors.
Mbula Mboma - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 12, 2024
The Infrastructure Composer is not fully complete, making it necessary to tweak the code manually after generating it, which could be improved.