Stacktape vs. Elastic Beanstalk

AWS Elastic Beanstalk and Stacktape are both AWS-native platforms, but they represent different generations of deployment tools with distinct approaches to developer experience.

Traditional PaaS vs. modern Infrastructure as Code

Elastic Beanstalk represents AWS's traditional Platform-as-a-Service approach, launched in 2011. It focuses on deploying web applications using familiar platforms like Java, .NET, PHP, Node.js, Python, and Ruby.

Stacktape represents a modern Infrastructure as Code approach with developer-friendly abstractions. It supports both traditional web applications and serverless architectures, with explicit configuration written in YAML, JSON, or TypeScript.

Application scope: Web apps vs. full infrastructure

Elastic Beanstalk is optimized for traditional web applications running on EC2 instances. It automatically provisions load balancers, auto-scaling groups, and health monitoring for container-based applications.

Stacktape supports the full spectrum of AWS services: web applications, serverless functions, databases, storage, messaging, and complex multi-service architectures. You can build modern cloud-native applications with mixed deployment models.

Serverless and modern architecture support

Elastic Beanstalk doesn't support AWS Lambda functions or serverless architectures. It's designed around the traditional model of always-running EC2 instances behind load balancers.

Stacktape fully supports serverless computing with Lambda functions, event-driven architectures, and pay-per-use pricing models. You can combine containers and serverless functions in the same application.

Developer experience and deployment workflow

Elastic Beanstalk uses a more traditional deployment approach with platform versions, application versions, and environment management through the AWS console or CLI. Configuration is done through the AWS console or configuration files.

Stacktape provides a modern Git-based deployment workflow with Infrastructure as Code. Your entire infrastructure is versioned, reviewable, and deployable through standard development practices like pull requests and CI/CD pipelines.

Cost model and service fees

Elastic Beanstalk itself is free - you only pay for the underlying AWS resources (EC2, Load Balancers, etc.). However, it's optimized for always-running infrastructure which can be more expensive than serverless options.

Stacktape charges a percentage fee on top of AWS costs but can often result in lower total costs due to serverless optimizations and better resource utilization. The transparent pricing model helps with cost planning.