Terraform vs OpenTofu (2026): Should You Switch After the BSL Change?

The question isn't "Terraform vs OpenTofu." The real question is whether your infrastructure control plane is owned by a vendor — or governed as open infrastructure. Here's how the timeline actually played out: 2023: HashiCorp switched Terraform from MPL to BSL. Every infrastructure team debated switching. Most didn't. 2024–2025: OpenTofu matured under Linux Foundation governance. Terraform deepened its HCP integration. The gap between the two stopped being about features and started being about platform models. 2026: The decision has real weight. Teams that delayed are now facing renewal cycles, growing HCP dependency, or organizational pressure around vendor lock-in. What Actually Changed — Two Layers Layer 1 — The BSL Change (2023) MPL → BUSL license restriction SaaS competitors directly impacted HashiCorp signaled platform consolidation intent Community trust fractured OpenTofu fork initiated under Linux Foundation Layer 2 — What Happened Since (2024–2026) OpenTofu: governance matu