# CFEngine vs Rudder

| Attribute | CFEngine | Rudder |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 49.1 (63% (medium)) | 54 (75% (high)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 63 | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 0 | 0 |
| adoption.github_stars | 538 | 715 |
| content.faq | `[{"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}]` | `[{"answer":"A platform for automating IT infrastructure management across cloud, hybrid, and on-premises environments, providing patch management, vulnerability management, compliance verification, and configuration management capabilities. It is indexed under Configuration Management Tools.","source":"https://www.rudder.io/pricing/","question":"What is Rudder?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Rudder does not publish its prices. Pricing is quoted on request, across 2 plans (Rudder Enterprise and Rudder Corporate Security Suite), 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://www.rudder.io","question":"How much does Rudder cost?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Rudder 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://www.rudder.io/pricing/","question":"What platforms does Rudder support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Rudder can be deployed cloud / SaaS, hybrid, on-premise and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://www.rudder.io/pricing/","question":"Can Rudder be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 4 integrations for Rudder, including CI/CD, ticketing, CMDB and monitoring. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.rudder.io","question":"What does Rudder integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed ISO 27001 and GDPR for Rudder. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as Rudder not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://www.rudder.io","question":"What security certifications does Rudder have?","confidence":0.48},{"answer":"Yes. Rudder is published under the GPL-3.0 licence, a copyleft licence, so check its terms before embedding it in a closed-source product. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/Normation/rudder","question":"Is Rudder open source?","confidence":0.95},{"answer":"Rudder is available worldwide. The vendor is headquartered in France.","source":"https://www.rudder.io","question":"Where is Rudder available?","confidence":0.75}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true,"on_prem":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | A configuration management platform that automates IT infrastructure operations, enforces security policies, and enables compliance across systems. | Centralizes security policy enforcement across Linux and Windows systems in cloud or on-premises environments. Continuously audits infrastructure against security baselines, automatically detects deviations, and can remediate them in real-time. |
| features.capabilities | `{"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}` | `{"model":"pull","hosting":"both","language":"YAML","idempotent":true,"architecture":"agent","desired_state":true,"masterless_mode":true,"windows_support":true,"open_source_core":true,"policy_compliance":true,"enterprise_edition":true}` |
| integrations.count | 2 | 10 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Git"},{"name":"Docker"}]` | `[{"name":"CI/CD"},{"name":"ticketing"},{"name":"CMDB"},{"name":"monitoring"},{"name":"Centreon","native":true,"category":"monitoring","direction":"outbound"},{"name":"Consul","native":true,"category":"infrastructure","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"ELK Stack","native":true,"category":"logging","direction":"outbound"},{"name":"GLPI","native":true,"category":"cmdb","direction":"outbound"},{"name":"OpenScap","native":true,"category":"compliance","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Vault","native":true,"category":"secrets","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Zabbix","native":true,"category":"monitoring","direction":"outbound"},{"name":"Ansible AWX","native":false,"category":"orchestration","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"iTop","native":false,"category":"itsm","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Rundeck","native":false,"category":"orchestration","direction":"bidirectional"}]` |
| language.primary | C | Scala |
| license.spdx | - | GPL-3.0 |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"linux":true,"windows":true}` | `{"cli":true,"web":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` |
| pricing | `{"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"}` | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Rudder Core","features":["Base infrastructure security automation"],"description":"Open source and free version","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Rudder Enterprise","features":["Linux and Windows support","Real-time infrastructure insights","Security configuration management","Choice of: Patch & vulnerability management OR Policy & benchmark compliance","Unlimited standard support","Security patches for 18 months"],"commitment":"annual","description":"Enhanced infrastructure security with choice of specialized module","contactSales":true},{"free":false,"name":"Rudder Corporate Security Suite","features":["Security configuration management with continuous enforcement","Patch and vulnerability management with automated campaigns","Policy and benchmark compliance (CIS, NIST, ISO 27001)","Real-time compliance scoring and dashboards","Unlimited premium support with guaranteed response times","Dedicated customer success manager","Security patches for 24 months","9-month update window"],"commitment":"annual","description":"Complete platform with all security and compliance solutions","contactSales":true}],"summary":"Free open source core. Enterprise and Corporate plans with annual per-node pricing; contact for quotes.","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.rudder.io/pricing/","retrievedAt":"2026-10-13T15:15:03.968Z","billingPeriods":["year"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | freemium | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | low | low |
| pricing.transparent | no | no |
| release.cadence_days | - | 4 |
| release.history | - | `[{"url":"https://github.com/Normation/rudder/releases/tag/9.2.0.beta1","date":"2026-08-31T15:32:13Z","type":"prerelease","version":"9.2.0.beta1"},{"url":"https://github.com/Normation/rudder/releases/tag/9.1.4","date":"2026-08-07T07:18:16Z","type":"stable","version":"9.1.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/Normation/rudder/releases/tag/9.0.9","date":"2026-08-07T07:17:57Z","type":"stable","version":"9.0.9"},{"url":"https://github.com/Normation/rudder/releases/tag/9.0.2","date":"2025-12-11T15:39:07Z","type":"stable","version":"9.0.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/Normation/rudder/releases/tag/8.3.7","date":"2025-12-11T15:12:01Z","type":"stable","version":"8.3.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/Normation/rudder/releases/tag/9.0.1-1","date":"2025-12-11T14:46:13Z","type":"stable","version":"9.0.1-1"},{"url":"https://github.com/Normation/rudder/releases/tag/8.3.6-1","date":"2026-08-07T07:08:37Z","type":"stable","version":"8.3.6-1"},{"url":"https://github.com/Normation/rudder/releases/tag/9.0.0","date":"2025-10-24T11:59:41Z","type":"stable","version":"9.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/Normation/rudder/releases/tag/9.0.0.rc2","date":"2025-10-15T07:55:37Z","type":"prerelease","version":"9.0.0.rc2"},{"url":"https://github.com/Normation/rudder/releases/tag/9.0.0.rc1","date":"2025-10-15T07:54:48Z","type":"prerelease","version":"9.0.0.rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/Normation/rudder/releases/tag/9.0.0.beta2","date":"2025-10-07T18:20:01Z","type":"prerelease","version":"9.0.0.beta2"},{"url":"https://github.com/Normation/rudder/releases/tag/8.3.5","date":"2025-10-02T20:51:47Z","type":"stable","version":"8.3.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/Normation/rudder/releases/tag/8.3.4","date":"2025-10-02T20:38:57Z","type":"stable","version":"8.3.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/Normation/rudder/releases/tag/8.2.9","date":"2025-10-02T14:43:18Z","type":"stable","version":"8.2.9"},{"url":"https://github.com/Normation/rudder/releases/tag/9.0.0.beta1","date":"2025-10-07T18:19:06Z","type":"prerelease","version":"9.0.0.beta1"},{"url":"https://github.com/Normation/rudder/releases/tag/9.0.0.alpha1-1","date":"2025-10-07T18:17:48Z","type":"prerelease","version":"9.0.0.alpha1-1"},{"url":"https://github.com/Normation/rudder/releases/tag/8.3.3","date":"2025-07-17T14:16:22Z","type":"stable","version":"8.3.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/Normation/rudder/releases/tag/8.2.8","date":"2025-07-17T14:12:59Z","type":"stable","version":"8.2.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/Normation/rudder/releases/tag/8.3.1","date":"2025-05-07T15:20:10Z","type":"stable","version":"8.3.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/Normation/rudder/releases/tag/8.2.6","date":"2025-05-07T15:03:43Z","type":"stable","version":"8.2.6"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | - | yes |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | yes |
| security.gdpr | - | yes |
| security.iso27001 | - | yes |
| security.scorecard | 6.9 | 6.4 |
| security.trust_center | https://cfengine.com/blog/2022/security-holiday-calendar-part-1/ | https://www.rudder.io/blog/automated-cis-compliance-rudder-9/ |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"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}` | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fnormation%2Frudder&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Configuration Management Tools)

| Capability | CFEngine | Rudder |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Architecture | Agent-based | Agent-based |
| Push / pull model | Both | Pull |
| Config language | CFEngine policy language | YAML |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Masterless mode | - | ✓ |
| Hosting | Cloud + self-hosted | 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 2026-10-16T21:26:18.704Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*