Comparison

Ansible vs Puppet

On the evidence we track, Ansible leads this comparison with a composite score of 58/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Machine formatsJSONMarkdownGraphQLor send Accept: application/json
Ansible58
Puppet47
Score
Vioscale score
Ansible58 / 100medium · 61%
Puppet47 / 100medium · 58%
Pricing
Free tier
Ansible
Puppet
Model
Price level
Ansiblelow
Puppetlow
Transparent
Ansible
Puppet
Integrations
Count
Ansible22
Puppet13
Adoption
Dependent repos
Ansible2,140
Puppet12,289
Github stars
Ansible70,473
Puppet7,922
Package downloads weekly
Ansible2,699,011
Puppet
Activity
Commits last 30d
Ansible22
Puppet0
Release
History
Ansible20 items
Puppet12 items
License
Spdx
AnsibleGPL-3.0
Language
Primary
AnsiblePython
PuppetRuby
Market
Availability
Ansible

Capabilities

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

Core
Architecture
Ansible-
PuppetAgent-based
Push / pull model
Ansible-
Puppet-
Config language
Ansible-
Puppet-
Deployment
Masterless mode
Ansible-
Puppet-
Hosting
Ansible-
PuppetCloud + self-hosted
Correctness
Idempotent
Ansible-
Puppet
Model
Desired-state declarative
Ansible-
Puppet
Ecosystem
Content registry
Ansible-
Puppet
Platform
Windows support
Ansible-
Puppet
Scope
Cloud provisioning
Ansible-
Puppet
Governance
Policy / compliance
Ansible-
Puppet
Commercial
Enterprise edition
Ansible-
Puppet
Licensing
Open-source core
Ansible
Puppet

What each one is

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

Ansible

Leader

Ansible is an open source IT automation engine that automates provisioning, configuration management, application deployment, orchestration, and many other IT processes. It is free to use, and the project benefits from the experience and intelligence of its thousands of contributors.

Independently observed

Puppet

Infrastructure automation tool that maintains consistent configurations across on-premises, hybrid, cloud, and edge environments through continuous enforcement of desired state. Automatically detects and corrects configuration drift, enforces compliance policies, and generates audit-ready documentation.

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 ↗

Puppet

HybridFree tier

Free tier for <25 nodes; custom pricing for larger deployments

  • CoreFree
    • Stable, secure, vendor-supported builds
    • Hardened binaries and packages
    • Vendor-backed SLAs
  • EnterpriseContact sales
    • Web-based console interface
    • Role-based access control
    • Infrastructure management across cloud and on-premises
    • CI/CD pipeline tooling
    • ServiceNow integration
  • AdvancedContact sales
    • AI-powered infrastructure insights
    • Event-driven workflows
    • Automated vulnerability remediation
    • Priority support
    • Security baseline enforcement
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

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

Platforms
Web
Ansible
Puppet
macOS
Ansible
Puppet
Windows
Ansible
Puppet
Linux
Ansible
Puppet
CLI
Ansible
Puppet
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Ansible
Puppet
Self-hosted
Ansible
Puppet
On-premise
Ansible
Puppet
Hybrid
Ansible
Puppet
Air-gapped
Ansible
Puppet

Integrations

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

In common (4)
  • VMware
  • ServiceNow
  • Splunk
  • Dynatrace

Ansible

Leader
22 total - 18 not shared
  • Terraform
  • AWS
  • Microsoft Azure
  • Google Cloud Platform
  • Cisco
  • Juniper
  • F5
  • HPE
  • Dell Technologies
  • NetApp
  • SAP
  • Pure
  • Palo Alto Networks
  • CyberArk
  • HashiCorp Vault
  • Infoblox
  • Aruba
  • Windows
Independently observed

Puppet

13 total - 9 not shared
  • Argo CD
  • Jenkins
  • Datadog
  • New Relic
  • Grafana
  • Prometheus
  • Tenable Nessus
  • CIS Benchmarks
  • DISA STIG
Independently observed

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

Ansible vs Puppet: an evidence-based comparison · Vioscale