A template is the YAML or JSON file, with no state. A stack is one deployment of a template, with a name and an ARN, and it owns every resource it creates: update the stack and CloudFormation 24 updates them, delete it and they go too. One template can back booknest-staging and booknest-prod, with parameters (Parameters) holding the differences. A change set previews an update before you execute it (Change Sets and Policies). A StackSet deploys one template as stack instances into many accounts and regions (StackSets).
MENU
Templates and Stacks
Templates, Stacks and Stack Sets at a Glance