vioscaleAI
Comparison

Ansible vs Chef Infra

On the evidence we track, Ansible leads this comparison with a composite score of 64/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Ansible full profile →Chef Infra full profile →
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★Ansible64
Chef Infra56
Score
vioscaleAI score
Ansible64 / 100medium · 65%
Chef Infra56 / 100medium · 74%
Pricing
Free tier
Ansible✓
Chef Infra✓
Model
Ansiblecommercial
Chef Infracommercial
Price level
Ansiblelow
Chef Infralow
Transparent
Ansible–
Chef Infra✗
Integrations
Count
Ansible22
Chef Infra6
Security
Disclosure policy
Ansible–
Chef Infra✓
Gdpr
Ansible–
Chef Infra✓
Scorecard
Ansible7.5
Chef Infra3.2
Vulnerabilities
Reliability
Sla pct
Ansible–
Chef Infra99.9
Status page
Ansible–
Chef Infra✓
Adoption
Dependent repos
Ansible2,140
Chef Infra10,030
Github stars
Ansible70,980
Chef Infra8,252
Package downloads weekly
Ansible1,964,190
Chef Infra–
Activity
Commits last 30d
Ansible35
Chef Infra44
Release
Cadence days
Ansible–
Chef Infra233
History
Ansible20 items
Chef Infra4 items
License
Spdx
AnsibleGPL-3.0
Chef InfraApache-2.0
Language
Primary
AnsiblePython
Chef InfraRuby
Market
Availability
Ansible–
Chef InfraAvailable worldwide · HQ US
Content
Faq
Ansible6 items
Chef Infra8 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for configuration management tools. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Core
Architecture
AnsibleAgentless / SSH-push
Chef InfraAgent-based
Push / pull model
Ansible-
Chef InfraPull
Config language
Ansible-
Chef InfraRuby
Deployment
Masterless mode
Ansible✓
Chef Infra-
Hosting
AnsibleSelf-hosted only
Chef InfraCloud + self-hosted
Correctness
Idempotent
Ansible-
Chef Infra✓
Model
Desired-state declarative
Ansible✓
Chef Infra✓
Ecosystem
Content registry
Ansible-
Chef Infra✓
Platform
Windows support
Ansible-
Chef Infra✓
Scope
Cloud provisioning
Ansible✓
Chef Infra✓
Governance
Policy / compliance
Ansible-
Chef Infra✓
Commercial
Enterprise edition
Ansible-
Chef Infra✓
Licensing
Open-source core
Ansible✓
Chef Infra✓

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Ansible

Leader

A system for automating infrastructure provisioning, configuration management, and application deployment across multiple machines via standard SSH without requiring agent installation on remote systems.

Independently observed

Chef Infra

Chef Infra enables teams to define infrastructure and software configurations as code, automating deployment and management across any environment at scale.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Ansible

Leader
HybridFree tier

Free open-source version or paid enterprise platform

  • Ansible (Open Source)Free
  • Red Hat Ansible Automation PlatformContact sales
as of verify ↗

Chef Infra

from $59/moUsage-based

From $59/node/year annual billing. No free tier.

  • Business$59/node/year
    • Node Management
    • Job Orchestration
    • Configuration Management
    • Desktop Management
    • Compliance Audit
    • +5 more
  • Enterprise$189/node/year
    • Node Management
    • Job Orchestration
    • Configuration Management
    • Desktop Management
    • Compliance Audit
    • +8 more
  • Enterprise PlusContact sales
    • Node Management
    • Job Orchestration
    • Configuration Management
    • Desktop Management
    • Compliance Audit
    • +9 more
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
macOS
Ansible✗
Chef Infra✓
Windows
Ansible✗
Chef Infra✓
Linux
Ansible✗
Chef Infra✓
CLI
Ansible✓
Chef Infra✓
Deployment
Self-hosted
Ansible✓
Chef Infra✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

In common (1)
  • AWS

Ansible

Leader
22 total - 21 not shared
  • Terraform
  • VMware
  • ServiceNow
  • Microsoft Azure
  • Google Cloud Platform
  • Cisco
  • Juniper
  • F5
  • HPE
  • Dell Technologies
  • NetApp
  • SAP
  • Pure
  • Palo Alto Networks
  • CyberArk
  • HashiCorp Vault
  • Splunk
  • Dynatrace
  • Infoblox
  • Aruba
  • Windows
Independently observed

Chef Infra

6 total - 5 not shared
  • Google Compute Engine
  • GitHub
  • Jenkins
  • Azure
  • GCP
Independently observed
Still deciding?

Ansible or Chef Infra: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.