Lucid Train compared with Cloudcraft.
Cloudcraft wants credentials on your account. Lucid Train reads the files you already have.
Lucid Train reads infrastructure as code from files, so it needs no cloud credentials, no read-only role and no security review, and it works against environments you have no access to. It also diagrams the application architecture above the infrastructure, not just the resource inventory. Cloudcraft connects to a live AWS account and can therefore see resources created by hand outside your infrastructure code.
No credentials, no access review
Terraform, CloudFormation, CDK output and Kubernetes manifests all describe infrastructure precisely and all of them are files on disk. Reading files means there is nothing to authorise, nothing to revoke, and no security conversation before you can try it, and it works for environments you are not permitted to reach.
It diagrams the application, not just the resources
Cloudcraft is an infrastructure inventory tool. Lucid Train reads the codebase as well, so it draws the services, their dependencies and the data they own alongside the infrastructure they run on. Those are different questions and most architecture conversations are about the first one.
Multi-cloud and beyond AWS
Because it reads configuration rather than calling one provider's API, a single diagram can span AWS, Azure and GCP, with provider showing up as the icon rather than as a boundary. Cloudcraft is AWS-focused with Azure support.
What Cloudcraft is good at
Live account scanning, which reading files cannot do: it enumerates what actually exists, including resources created in the console that no infrastructure code knows about, and it estimates cost from real resource types and sizes.
Side by side
| Lucid Train | Cloudcraft | |
|---|---|---|
| Needs cloud credentials | No | Yes |
| Reads infrastructure as code | Yes, Terraform, CFN, CDK, K8s | Limited |
| Diagrams application architecture | Yes | Infrastructure only |
| Generates from a codebase | Yes | No |
| Multi-cloud in one diagram | Yes | AWS and Azure |
| Runs fully offline | Yes | No |
| Diagram to code as a specification | Yes | No |
| Live account inventory | No | Yes |
| Cost estimation | No | Yes |
| Price | CLI free and open source; desktop $3/month, 7-day trial, no card | Free tier, then per seat |
Questions
Does Lucid Train need AWS credentials?
No, and it never asks for them. Everything comes from files. If you want to diagram live state, export a description with the AWS CLI and point it at that output.
Does it estimate cost?
No. Cloudcraft and the AWS pricing calculator are the right tools for that.
Which for an architecture review?
Lucid Train, because a review is usually about how the system is designed, and it covers the application layer as well as the infrastructure.
Affiliation
Lucid Train is an independent product and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the product described on this page. All names and trademarks belong to their respective owners. Pricing and features were checked on 19 August 2026 and change without notice; check the vendor's own site before deciding.
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