Comparison

PowerShell DSC vs SaltStack

On the evidence we track, SaltStack leads this comparison with a composite score of 55/100. 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
PowerShell DSC40
SaltStack55
Score
Vioscale score
PowerShell DSC40 / 100low · 35%updating
SaltStack55 / 100medium · 69%updating
Pricing
Model
PowerShell DSCcommercial
SaltStack
Reliability
Status page
PowerShell DSC
SaltStack
Adoption
Dependent repos
PowerShell DSC
SaltStack428
Github stars
PowerShell DSC57
SaltStack15,637
Package downloads weekly
PowerShell DSC
SaltStack23,112
Activity
Commits last 30d
PowerShell DSC1
SaltStack47
Release
Cadence days
PowerShell DSC
SaltStack5
History
PowerShell DSC
SaltStack20 items
License
Spdx
PowerShell DSCCC-BY-4.0
SaltStackApache-2.0
Language
Primary
PowerShell DSCPowerShell
SaltStackPython

Capabilities

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

Core
Architecture
PowerShell DSCAgentless / SSH-push
SaltStack-
Push / pull model
PowerShell DSCPush
SaltStack-
Config language
PowerShell DSCJSON, YAML
SaltStack-
Deployment
Masterless mode
PowerShell DSC-
SaltStack-
Hosting
PowerShell DSC-
SaltStack-
Correctness
Idempotent
PowerShell DSC
SaltStack-
Model
Desired-state declarative
PowerShell DSC
SaltStack-
Ecosystem
Content registry
PowerShell DSC-
SaltStack-
Platform
Windows support
PowerShell DSC
SaltStack-
Scope
Cloud provisioning
PowerShell DSC-
SaltStack-
Governance
Policy / compliance
PowerShell DSC
SaltStack-
Commercial
Enterprise edition
PowerShell DSC-
SaltStack-
Licensing
Open-source core
PowerShell DSC
SaltStack

What each one is

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

PowerShell DSC

A declarative configuration platform where you describe desired system state in JSON or YAML, then validate and enforce it across machines. Resources handle the actual configuration work and can be written in any language.

Independently observed

SaltStack

Leader

Not documented yet.

Platform & deployment

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

Platforms
macOS
PowerShell DSC
SaltStack
Windows
PowerShell DSC
SaltStack
Linux
PowerShell DSC
SaltStack
CLI
PowerShell DSC
SaltStack

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