Stackorder vs env zero (formerly env0)

In short

Both: Plan on pull requests and deploy dependent stacks in order.
env zero: A SaaS control plane with hosted or self-hosted agents, approval policies, cost estimation, a private registry and drift remediation.
Stackorder: Free and entirely self-hosted; runs on your GitHub Actions runners and holds no cloud credentials; GitHub and S3 only.

env0 now goes by env zero: www.env0.com redirects to envzero.com, and in March 2026 it merged with CloudQuery under the env zero brand. It is a proprietary SaaS platform for automating and governing infrastructure as code, with OpenTofu as its default binary. Deployments run on env zero's hosted agents or on self-hosted agents, and the platform adds a remote backend, a private registry, OPA approval policies, cost estimation and drift remediation.

Stackorder has no hosted agents and no remote backend. GitHub Actions runs every plan and apply on your runners, state stays in your S3 bucket, and a server you host, one container and Postgres, decides which stacks run and in what order without ever holding cloud credentials.

Last reviewed 2026-09-30. Every env zero cell below was checked against env zero's own repository, documentation or pricing page, and its number links to that source.

Stackorder and env zero side by side

Numbers link to the sources at the end of the page. Prices are as published on 2026-09-30. A dash means we have not verified that fact for env zero, not that it is missing.

Feature	Stackorder	env zero
License	Apache-2.0, open source³³	Proprietary SaaS; its Terraform provider, Terratag and MCP server are open source³
Deployment	Self-hosted; setup mode creates the GitHub App from a manifest^{26, 30}	SaaS only, optionally with self-hosted agents; the control plane cannot be self-hosted⁴
Pricing	Free and open source; you run the server³³	Free: 250 runs a month, 30 active environments, 1 concurrent run, 1 self-hosted agent. Cloud Navigator and Cloud Pilot: custom, priced per successful apply or environment^{1, 4}
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^{31, 32}	—not verified
Where Terraform runs	Your GitHub Actions runners, GitHub-hosted or self-hosted; it manages no runners or agents²²	env zero-hosted agents by default, or self-hosted Kubernetes or Docker agents in your infrastructure^{5, 6}
State backend	Bring your own S3; never takes or releases the state lock²²	Optional env zero remote backend with locking and versioning, which can store state in your own S3 bucket; or a standard backend such as S3⁸
Modules	No registry; lists each module's consumers, and for git modules the version each pins and how far behind it is²²	Private module and provider registry, with download counts and the environments using each module¹¹
Self-hosted footprint	One container of about 30 MB and Postgres; actions that use no Docker²²	SaaS control plane. Kubernetes agent: Kubernetes 1.24 or later, one pod per deployment requesting at least 460m CPU and 1500Mi memory⁷
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^{23, 24}	Workflows, in which each environment lists what must deploy first under `needs`; Workflow Triggers chain deploys^{9, 10}
Cloud credentials	Not held by the server; the runner assumes your IAM role with its own GitHub OIDC token²⁵	On hosted agents, env zero authenticates to your cloud: assume-role, stored keys, or OIDC tokens it issues; self-hosted agents read your own secret store^{7, 21}
Human sign-in	GitHub OAuth through the App, `read:org` scope only²⁶	—not verified
Git hosts	GitHub only, by design²²	GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket and Azure DevOps; self-hosted GitHub Enterprise Server, Bitbucket Data Center and GitLab through an agent¹⁹
OpenTofu	Yes, with `tool: tofu`; tested end to end with OpenTofu 1.12^{29, 31}	Yes; OpenTofu is the default binary²⁰
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 drift²⁷	Scheduled per environment, with alerts; optional automatic remediation by redeploying or opening a pull request^{12, 13}
Policy checks	Not a policy engine; run OPA, conftest, Checkov or Infracost in hooks, and `stackorder check` records a named check the apply gate honors²⁸	OPA approval policies after plan and cost estimation, not enforced on pull request plans; cost estimates through Infracost^{14, 15}
Pull request workflow	A check per stack, one sticky comment, and `stackorder plan`, `apply` and `unlock` comments; applies before merge by default, or on merge²³	Plans on pull requests as a comment and status checks; plan and apply from comments, open to any commenter unless RBAC enforcement is turned on^{16, 17}

Key differences

A SaaS control plane or a server you run

env zero is SaaS only: self-hosted agents can run deployments in your infrastructure, but the control plane cannot be self-hosted. Stackorder is open source and self-hosted: one container and a Postgres database.

Where Terraform runs

env zero runs deployments on its own hosted agents by default, or on self-hosted Kubernetes or Docker agents that make outbound connections only. It does not use GitHub Actions to execute runs; its CLI can drive env zero from any CI. Stackorder runs every plan and apply on your GitHub Actions runners and manages no agents.

Credentials

On hosted agents, env zero's own infrastructure authenticates to your cloud, by assuming a role from its AWS account with an External ID, with stored access keys, or with OIDC tokens that env zero issues. Self-hosted agents instead read credentials from your own secret store by default. The Stackorder server never touches cloud credentials: each GitHub Actions job assumes your role with its own GitHub OIDC token.

Dependencies

env zero groups environments into Workflows, where each one lists the environments that must deploy before it, and Workflow Triggers chain deploys between environments. 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.

Governance

env zero evaluates OPA approval policies after plan and cost estimation, estimates cost through Infracost, and can remediate drift by redeploying or opening a pull request. Stackorder is not a policy engine 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

env zero works with GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket and Azure DevOps. On 2026-09-30 its free plan allowed 250 runs a month, and its paid tiers were priced by quote. Stackorder is GitHub only, by design, and free under Apache-2.0.

Where env zero is strong

A managed platform: there is no control plane for you to run.⁴
OpenTofu as the default binary, from a founding member of OpenTofu.²⁰
Scheduled drift detection with alerts, and automatic remediation by redeploying or opening a pull request.^{12, 13}
OPA approval policies evaluated after plan and cost estimation.¹⁴
An optional managed remote backend that can store state in your own S3 bucket.⁸
A private registry for modules and providers that shows which environments use each module.¹¹
GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket and Azure DevOps, plus self-hosted Git servers through an agent.¹⁹
Self-hosted agents that make outbound connections only and keep secrets in your infrastructure.⁶
A free plan with 250 runs a month and one self-hosted agent.⁴

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 env zero when

You want a managed governance layer with approval policies, cost estimation, drift remediation and a private registry.
Your code is on GitLab, Bitbucket or Azure DevOps, or spread across several Git hosts.
You accept a vendor-hosted control plane with quote-based paid tiers, and want no server of your own to run.
You want more production use behind the tool than Stackorder has yet: its 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 env0 now env zero?

Yes. env0 rebranded as env zero: www.env0.com redirects to envzero.com, and the documentation is titled env zero docs. In March 2026 env zero merged with CloudQuery, and the combined company kept the env zero brand.

Is Stackorder an alternative to env zero?

For part of what env zero does, on GitHub. Both plan on pull requests and deploy dependent stacks in order. 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, cost estimation, drift remediation or module registry.

Can env zero be self-hosted?

Only its agents. The control plane is SaaS; self-hosted Kubernetes or Docker agents run deployments inside your infrastructure and make outbound connections only. Stackorder is entirely self-hosted.

Does env zero run Terraform on GitHub Actions?

No. Runs happen on env zero's agents, hosted or self-hosted. Its CLI, authenticated with an API key, can drive env zero from any CI. With Stackorder, every plan and apply runs in your GitHub Actions jobs.

How do their prices compare?

On 2026-09-30, env zero's free plan allowed 250 runs a month, 30 active environments, one concurrent deployment and one self-hosted agent; Cloud Navigator and Cloud Pilot were custom, priced per successful apply or environment. Stackorder is free under the Apache License 2.0; you run one container and a Postgres database.