Comparison

Chef Infra vs Puppet

On the evidence we track, Chef Infra leads this comparison with a composite score of 56/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

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★Chef Infra56
Puppet46
Score
vioscaleAI score
Chef Infra56 / 100medium · 74%
Puppet46 / 100medium · 64%
Pricing
Free tier
Chef Infra✓
Puppet✓
Model
Chef Infracommercial
Puppetfreemium
Price level
Chef Infralow
Puppetlow
Transparent
Chef Infra✗
Puppet✗
Integrations
Count
Chef Infra6
Puppet13
Reliability
Sla pct
Chef Infra99.9
Puppet–
Status page
Chef Infra✓
Puppet–
Adoption
Dependent repos
Chef Infra10,030
Puppet12,289
Github stars
Chef Infra8,252
Puppet7,962
Activity
Commits last 30d
Chef Infra44
Puppet0
Release
Cadence days
Chef Infra233
Puppet–
History
Chef Infra4 items
Puppet12 items
License
Spdx
Chef InfraApache-2.0
Language
Primary
Chef InfraRuby
PuppetRuby
Market
Content
Faq
Chef Infra8 items
Puppet6 items

Capabilities

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

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

What each one is

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

Chef Infra

Leader

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

Independently observed

Puppet

Automates the configuration, deployment, and management of IT infrastructure across on-premises and cloud environments by defining and maintaining desired system states, with built-in security and compliance controls.

Independently observed

Pricing

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

Chef Infra

Leader
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 ↗

Puppet

HybridFree tier

Free tier for up to 25 nodes. Commercial, Enterprise, and Advanced plans available by custom quote or contacting sales.

  • Core (Free)Free
    • Continuous enforcement of desired state
    • Centralize, import, and execute existing scripts & processes (Command Line Only)
    • Flexible agent-based and agentless architecture
    • Audit and activity logs, configuration correction reports
    • Access to Puppet Forge
    • +2 more
  • Core (Commercial)Contact sales
    • All Core (Free) features
    • Vendor-backed SLAs
    • Stable, secure software builds and hardened binaries
    • Standard support included with 24x7 premium support available
    • Training engagement with Certified Puppet Engineers
    • +1 more
  • EnterpriseContact sales
    • All Core features
    • Intuitive web interface and easier-to-use web-based GUI
    • Unify declarative and imperative workflows in a single platform
    • Role-based access control (RBAC) for user management
    • Out-of-the-box CI/CD pipeline tooling with team workspaces
    • +7 more
  • AdvancedContact sales
    • All Enterprise features
    • Natural language interface to Puppet services and infrastructure data (Puppet AI Infra Assistant)
    • Advanced patching
    • Vulnerability remediation with 3rd party scanner integration (including Nessus)
    • Predict infrastructure code impact prior to deployment
    • +5 more
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

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

Platforms
Web
Chef Infra✗
Puppet✓
macOS
Chef Infra✓
Puppet✓
Windows
Chef Infra✓
Puppet✓
Linux
Chef Infra✓
Puppet✓
CLI
Chef Infra✓
Puppet✓
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Chef Infra✗
Puppet✓
Self-hosted
Chef Infra✓
Puppet✓
On-premise
Chef Infra✗
Puppet✓
Hybrid
Chef Infra✗
Puppet✓

Integrations

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

In common (1)
  • Jenkins

Chef Infra

Leader
6 total - 5 not shared
  • Google Compute Engine
  • GitHub
  • AWS
  • Azure
  • GCP
Independently observed

Puppet

13 total - 12 not shared
  • ServiceNow
  • VMware
  • Argo CD
  • Dynatrace
  • Datadog
  • New Relic
  • Splunk
  • Grafana
  • Prometheus
  • Tenable Nessus
  • CIS Benchmarks
  • DISA STIG
Independently observed
Still deciding?

Chef Infra or Puppet: 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.