# BOSH vs CFEngine

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** BOSH

| Attribute | BOSH | CFEngine |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 61.9 (78% (high)) | 49.1 (63% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 77 | 63 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 131 | 0 |
| adoption.github_stars | 2,080 | 538 |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"A tool chain for automating the release engineering, deployment, and ongoing management of complex distributed services. It supports multiple cloud platforms and can manage itself through self-hosting. It is indexed under Configuration Management Tools.","source":"https://bosh.io/","question":"What is BOSH?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"BOSH is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the Apache-2.0 licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://bosh.io/","question":"Is BOSH free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"BOSH supports Windows, Linux and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://bosh.io/","question":"What platforms does BOSH support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. BOSH can be deployed cloud / SaaS, on-premise and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://bosh.io/","question":"Can BOSH be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 7 integrations for BOSH, including UAA, CredHub, OpenStack, vCloud, Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage and Azure Storage. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://bosh.io/","question":"What does BOSH integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. BOSH is published under the Apache-2.0 licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/cloudfoundry/bosh","question":"Is BOSH open source?","confidence":0.95}]` | `[{"answer":"Provides automated configuration deployment and continuous enforcement of desired system state across large-scale infrastructures, with capabilities for security hardening and compliance verification. Available in open-source community and commercial enterprise editions. It is indexed under Configuration Management Tools.","source":"https://cfengine.com","question":"What is CFEngine?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"CFEngine does not publish its prices. Pricing is quoted on request, across 2 plans (Community Edition and Enterprise Edition), so the figure depends on your seat count and requirements. We record this as a pricing-transparency signal rather than guessing a number. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://cfengine.com","question":"How much does CFEngine cost?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"CFEngine supports the web, Windows, Linux and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://cfengine.com","question":"What platforms does CFEngine support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. CFEngine can be deployed cloud / SaaS, on-premise and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://cfengine.com","question":"Can CFEngine be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | A complete toolchain for deploying, managing, and monitoring large-scale distributed services across multiple cloud platforms and infrastructure providers. | A configuration management platform that automates IT infrastructure operations, enforces security policies, and enables compliance across systems. |
| features.capabilities | `{"model":"push","hosting":"self","language":"YAML","idempotent":true,"architecture":"declarative_os","desired_state":true,"masterless_mode":false,"windows_support":true,"content_registry":true,"open_source_core":true,"policy_compliance":false,"cloud_provisioning":true,"enterprise_edition":false}` | `{"model":"both","hosting":"both","language":"CFEngine policy language","idempotent":true,"architecture":"agent","desired_state":true,"windows_support":true,"content_registry":true,"open_source_core":true,"policy_compliance":true,"enterprise_edition":true}` |
| integrations.count | 5 | 2 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"UAA"},{"name":"CredHub"},{"name":"OpenStack"},{"name":"vCloud"},{"name":"Amazon S3"},{"name":"Google Cloud Storage"},{"name":"Azure Storage"}]` | `[{"name":"Git"},{"name":"Docker"}]` |
| language.primary | Ruby | C |
| license.spdx | Apache-2.0 | - |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` | `{"linux":true,"windows":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","summary":"Free and open source","freeTier":false,"sourceUrl":"https://bosh.io/","retrievedAt":"2026-10-13T22:36:19.220Z"}` | `{"type":"hybrid","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Community Edition","summary":"Free, open source","features":["GitHub source access","Community support"],"description":"Open source under GPL v3, runs on Linux","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise Edition","summary":"Commercial with enterprise features","features":["Inventory & compliance reports","Web UI (Mission Portal)","APIs","Alerts & dashboards","Enhanced platform support"],"description":"Commercial license, runs on Windows and Linux","contactSales":true}],"summary":"Free open-source community edition or commercial enterprise edition","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://cfengine.com","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T12:11:00.175Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | no | yes |
| pricing.model | open_source | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | free | low |
| pricing.transparent | yes | no |
| release.cadence_days | 6 | - |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/cloudfoundry/bosh/releases/tag/v283.1.13","date":"2026-10-10T17:12:12Z","type":"stable","version":"v283.1.13"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloudfoundry/bosh/releases/tag/v283.1.12","date":"2026-10-09T06:08:37Z","type":"stable","version":"v283.1.12"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloudfoundry/bosh/releases/tag/v283.1.11","date":"2026-09-19T19:30:10Z","type":"stable","version":"v283.1.11"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloudfoundry/bosh/releases/tag/v283.1.10","date":"2026-09-15T23:50:21Z","type":"stable","version":"v283.1.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloudfoundry/bosh/releases/tag/v283.1.9","date":"2026-09-15T11:41:43Z","type":"stable","version":"v283.1.9"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloudfoundry/bosh/releases/tag/v283.1.8","date":"2026-09-02T20:59:44Z","type":"stable","version":"v283.1.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloudfoundry/bosh/releases/tag/v283.1.7","date":"2026-08-29T18:39:40Z","type":"stable","version":"v283.1.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloudfoundry/bosh/releases/tag/v283.1.6","date":"2026-08-20T03:50:27Z","type":"stable","version":"v283.1.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloudfoundry/bosh/releases/tag/v283.1.5","date":"2026-08-18T00:55:12Z","type":"stable","version":"v283.1.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloudfoundry/bosh/releases/tag/v283.1.4","date":"2026-08-13T12:05:33Z","type":"stable","version":"v283.1.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloudfoundry/bosh/releases/tag/v283.1.3","date":"2026-08-01T16:43:01Z","type":"stable","version":"v283.1.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloudfoundry/bosh/releases/tag/v283.1.2","date":"2026-07-24T08:38:03Z","type":"stable","version":"v283.1.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloudfoundry/bosh/releases/tag/v283.1.1","date":"2026-07-17T05:30:11Z","type":"stable","version":"v283.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloudfoundry/bosh/releases/tag/v283.1.0","date":"2026-07-13T17:49:26Z","type":"stable","version":"v283.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloudfoundry/bosh/releases/tag/v283.0.0","date":"2026-07-09T21:32:09Z","type":"stable","version":"v283.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloudfoundry/bosh/releases/tag/v282.1.17","date":"2026-06-26T01:19:54Z","type":"stable","version":"v282.1.17"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloudfoundry/bosh/releases/tag/v282.1.16","date":"2026-06-18T05:49:45Z","type":"stable","version":"v282.1.16"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloudfoundry/bosh/releases/tag/v282.1.15","date":"2026-06-11T15:05:55Z","type":"stable","version":"v282.1.15"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloudfoundry/bosh/releases/tag/v282.1.14","date":"2026-06-04T23:55:18Z","type":"stable","version":"v282.1.14"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloudfoundry/bosh/releases/tag/v282.1.13","date":"2026-05-26T08:57:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v282.1.13"}]` | - |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | yes |
| security.scorecard | 7.2 | 6.9 |
| security.trust_center | - | https://cfengine.com/blog/2022/security-holiday-calendar-part-1/ |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=rubygems&package_name=bosh-template&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fcfengine%2Fcore&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Configuration Management Tools)

| Capability | BOSH | CFEngine |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Architecture | Declarative-OS | Agent-based |
| Push / pull model | Push | Both |
| Config language | YAML | CFEngine policy language |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Masterless mode | ✗ | - |
| Hosting | Self-hosted only | Cloud + self-hosted |
| **Correctness** |  |  |
| Idempotent | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Model** |  |  |
| Desired-state declarative | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Ecosystem** |  |  |
| Content registry | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Platform** |  |  |
| Windows support | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Scope** |  |  |
| Cloud provisioning | ✓ | - |
| **Governance** |  |  |
| Policy / compliance | ✗ | ✓ |
| **Commercial** |  |  |
| Enterprise edition | ✗ | ✓ |
| **Licensing** |  |  |
| Open-source core | ✓ | ✓ |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T06:27:53.550Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*