Comparison

Puppet vs SaltStack

On the evidence we track, SaltStack leads this comparison with a composite score of 57/100. 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
★SaltStack57
Score
vioscaleAI score
Puppet46 / 100medium · 64%
SaltStack57 / 100medium · 72%
Pricing
Free tier
Puppet✓
SaltStack✓
Model
Puppetfreemium
SaltStackopen_source
Price level
Puppetlow
SaltStackfree
Transparent
Puppet✗
SaltStack–
Integrations
Count
Puppet13
SaltStack–
Adoption
Dependent repos
Puppet12,289
SaltStack0
Github stars
Puppet7,962
SaltStack15,715
Package downloads weekly
Puppet–
SaltStack31,513
Activity
Commits last 30d
Puppet0
SaltStack100
Release
Cadence days
Puppet–
SaltStack6
History
Puppet12 items
SaltStack20 items
License
Spdx
SaltStackApache-2.0
Language
Primary
PuppetRuby
SaltStackPython
Market
Availability
SaltStack–
Content
Faq
Puppet6 items
SaltStack–

Capabilities

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

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

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

SaltStack

Leader

An event-driven framework for automating the deployment, configuration, and management of IT infrastructure, designed to maintain consistent system state across distributed environments.

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 ↗

SaltStack

Leader
Open sourceFree tier
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

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

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

Integrations

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

Puppet

13 total
  • ServiceNow
  • VMware
  • Argo CD
  • Jenkins
  • Dynatrace
  • Datadog
  • New Relic
  • Splunk
  • Grafana
  • Prometheus
  • Tenable Nessus
  • CIS Benchmarks
  • DISA STIG
Independently observed

SaltStack

Leader

Not documented yet.

Still deciding?

Puppet or SaltStack: 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.