Comparison

cloud-init vs Puppet Bolt

No leader: the top candidate Puppet Bolt has only 0.13 confidence (low), below the 0.35 needed to declare a winner. The attribute-by-attribute breakdown below, with a source and date on every value, is the honest way to compare them.

cloud-init full profile →Puppet Bolt full profile →

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cloud-init51

Puppet Bolt54

Attribute comparison across 2 tools
Attribute	cloud-init	Puppet Bolt
Vioscale score	51 / 100medium · 68%updating	54 / 100low · 13%updating
Pricing
Free tierpricing.free_tier	✓	-
Modelpricing.model	open_source	commercial
Price levelpricing.price_level	free	-
Transparentpricing.transparent	✓	-
Integrations
Countintegrations.count	-	11
Security
Scorecardsecurity.scorecard	5.9	-
Vulnerabilitiessecurity.vulnerabilities	Count: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=nixpkgs&package_name=cloud-init&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0	-
Adoption
Dependent reposadoption.dependent_repos	0	-
Github starsadoption.github_stars	3,793	-
Activity
Commits last 30dactivity.commits_last_30d	24	-
Release
Cadence daysrelease.cadence_days	38	-
Historyrelease.history	20 items	-
Language
Primarylanguage.primary	Python	-
Market
Availabilitymarket.availability	Available worldwide · HQ GB	Available worldwide

Score

Vioscale score

cloud-init51 / 100medium · 68%updating

Puppet Bolt54 / 100low · 13%updating

Pricing

Free tier

cloud-init✓

Puppet Bolt–

Model

cloud-initopen_source

Puppet Boltcommercial

Price level

cloud-initfree

Puppet Bolt–

Transparent

cloud-init✓

Puppet Bolt–

Integrations

Count

cloud-init–

Puppet Bolt11

Security

Scorecard

cloud-init5.9

Puppet Bolt–

Vulnerabilities

cloud-initCount: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=nixpkgs&package_name=cloud-init&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0

Puppet Bolt–

Adoption

Dependent repos

cloud-init0

Puppet Bolt–

Github stars

cloud-init3,793

Puppet Bolt–

Activity

Commits last 30d

cloud-init24

Puppet Bolt–

Release

Cadence days

cloud-init38

Puppet Bolt–

History

cloud-init20 items

Puppet Bolt–

Language

Primary

cloud-initPython

Puppet Bolt–

Market

Availability

cloud-initAvailable worldwide · HQ GB

Puppet BoltAvailable worldwide

Capabilities

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

Capability comparison for Configuration Management Tools
Capability	cloud-init	Puppet Bolt
Core
Architecture	Agentless / SSH-push	-
Push / pull model	Push	-
Config 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	✓	✓

Core

Architecture

cloud-initAgentless / SSH-push

Puppet Bolt-

Push / pull model

cloud-initPush

Puppet Bolt-

Config language

cloud-init-

Puppet Bolt-

Deployment

Masterless mode

cloud-init✓

Puppet Bolt-

Hosting

cloud-initSelf-hosted only

Puppet BoltCloud + self-hosted

Correctness

Idempotent

cloud-init✓

Puppet Bolt-

Model

Desired-state declarative

cloud-init✓

Puppet Bolt✓

Ecosystem

Content registry

cloud-init-

Puppet Bolt-

Platform

Windows support

cloud-init✗

Puppet Bolt✓

Scope

Cloud provisioning

cloud-init✓

Puppet Bolt✓

Governance

Policy / compliance

cloud-init-

Puppet Bolt✓

Commercial

Enterprise edition

cloud-init-

Puppet Bolt✓

Licensing

Open-source core

cloud-init✓

Puppet Bolt✓

What each one is

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

cloud-init

An open-source utility that customizes cloud instances during boot by applying user-provided configuration data, supporting all major cloud providers and Linux distributions.

Independently observed

Puppet Bolt

Not documented yet.

Pricing

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

cloud-init

Open source

as of 2026-08-21verify ↗

Puppet Bolt

Pricing not documented yet.

Platform & deployment

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

Platform and deployment support comparison
Supports	cloud-init	Puppet Bolt
macOSPlatforms	✗	✓
WindowsPlatforms	✗	✓
LinuxPlatforms	✓	✓
CLIPlatforms	✗	✓
Cloud / SaaSDeployment	✓	✓
Self-hostedDeployment	✓	✓
On-premiseDeployment	✓	✓
HybridDeployment	✗	✓
Air-gappedDeployment	✗	✓

Platforms

macOS

cloud-init✗

Puppet Bolt✓

Windows

cloud-init✗

Puppet Bolt✓

Linux

cloud-init✓

Puppet Bolt✓

CLI

cloud-init✗

Puppet Bolt✓

Deployment

Cloud / SaaS

cloud-init✓

Puppet Bolt✓

Self-hosted

cloud-init✓

Puppet Bolt✓

On-premise

cloud-init✓

Puppet Bolt✓

Hybrid

cloud-init✗

Puppet Bolt✓

Air-gapped

cloud-init✗

Puppet Bolt✓

Integrations

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

cloud-init

Not documented yet.

Puppet Bolt

11 total

ServiceNow
VMware
Argo CD
Jenkins
Dynatrace
Datadog
New Relic
CIS Benchmarks
Tenable Nessus
DISA STIG
Splunk

Independently observed

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