Comparison

Puppet vs Puppet Bolt

On the evidence we track, Puppet Bolt leads this comparison with a composite score of 54/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
Puppet46
★Puppet Bolt54
Score
vioscaleAI score
Puppet46 / 100medium · 64%
Puppet Bolt54 / 100medium · 71%
Pricing
Free tier
Puppet✓
Puppet Bolt–
Model
Puppetfreemium
Puppet Boltcommercial
Price level
Puppetlow
Puppet Bolt–
Transparent
Puppet✗
Puppet Bolt–
Integrations
Count
Puppet13
Puppet Bolt11
Adoption
Dependent repos
Puppet12,289
Puppet Bolt–
Github stars
Puppet7,962
Puppet Bolt–
Activity
Commits last 30d
Puppet0
Puppet Bolt–
Release
History
Puppet12 items
Puppet Bolt–
License
Spdx
Puppet Bolt–
Language
Primary
PuppetRuby
Puppet Bolt–
Market
Availability
Content
Faq
Puppet6 items
Puppet Bolt3 items

Capabilities

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

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

What each one is

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

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

Puppet Bolt

Leader

A framework for managing infrastructure resources by specifying desired states through modules and code, supporting multiple operating systems.

Independently observed

Pricing

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

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 ↗

Puppet Bolt

Leader

Pricing not documented yet.

Platform & deployment

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

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

Integrations

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

In common (11)
  • ServiceNow
  • VMware
  • Argo CD
  • Jenkins
  • Dynatrace
  • Datadog
  • New Relic
  • Splunk
  • Tenable Nessus
  • CIS Benchmarks
  • DISA STIG

Puppet

13 total - 2 not shared
  • Grafana
  • Prometheus
Independently observed

Puppet Bolt

Leader
11 total - 0 not shared
  • ServiceNow
  • VMware
  • Argo CD
  • Jenkins
  • Dynatrace
  • Datadog
  • New Relic
  • CIS Benchmarks
  • Tenable Nessus
  • DISA STIG
  • Splunk
Independently observed
Still deciding?

Puppet or Puppet Bolt: 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.