# Ansible vs CFEngine

**Leader by Vioscale score:** Ansible

| Attribute | Ansible | CFEngine |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 57.5 (61% (medium)) | 50.1 (57% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 22 | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 2,140 | 0 |
| adoption.github_stars | 70,473 | 532 |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | 2,699,011 | - |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"on_prem":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | Ansible is an open source IT automation engine that automates provisioning, configuration management, application deployment, orchestration, and many other IT processes. It is free to use, and the project benefits from the experience and intelligence of its thousands of contributors. | Provides automated configuration deployment and continuous enforcement of desired system state across large-scale infrastructures, with capabilities for security hardening and compliance verification. Available in open-source community and commercial enterprise editions. |
| features.capabilities | `{"open_source_core":true}` | `{"model":"both","hosting":"both","language":"CFEngine policy language","idempotent":true,"architecture":"agent","desired_state":true,"windows_support":true,"content_registry":true,"open_source_core":true,"policy_compliance":true,"enterprise_edition":true}` |
| integrations.count | 22 | 2 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Terraform"},{"name":"VMware"},{"name":"ServiceNow"},{"name":"AWS"},{"name":"Microsoft Azure"},{"name":"Google Cloud Platform"},{"name":"Cisco"},{"name":"Juniper"},{"name":"F5"},{"name":"HPE"},{"name":"Dell Technologies"},{"name":"NetApp"},{"name":"SAP"},{"name":"Pure"},{"name":"Palo Alto Networks"},{"name":"CyberArk"},{"name":"HashiCorp Vault"},{"name":"Splunk"},{"name":"Dynatrace"},{"name":"Infoblox"},{"name":"Aruba"},{"name":"Windows"}]` | `[{"name":"Git"},{"name":"Docker"}]` |
| language.primary | Python | C |
| license.spdx | GPL-3.0 | - |
| market.availability | - | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true}` | `{"cli":true,"web":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"hybrid","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Ansible (Open Source)","description":"Free open-source project"},{"free":false,"name":"Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform","description":"Enterprise platform with security hardening and support","contactSales":true}],"summary":"Free open-source version or paid enterprise platform","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.ansible.com","retrievedAt":"2026-08-05T14:05:30.789Z"}` | `{"type":"hybrid","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Community Edition","summary":"Free, open source","features":["GitHub source access","Community support"],"description":"Open source under GPL v3, runs on Linux","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise Edition","summary":"Commercial with enterprise features","features":["Inventory & compliance reports","Web UI (Mission Portal)","APIs","Alerts & dashboards","Enhanced platform support"],"description":"Commercial license, runs on Windows and Linux","contactSales":true}],"summary":"Free open-source community edition or commercial enterprise edition","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://cfengine.com","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T12:11:00.175Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | low | low |
| pricing.transparent | - | no |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/ansible/ansible/releases/tag/v2.21.3","date":"2026-08-10T16:46:28Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.21.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/ansible/ansible/releases/tag/v2.20.8","date":"2026-08-10T16:45:07Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.20.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/ansible/ansible/releases/tag/v2.19.12","date":"2026-08-10T16:43:51Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.19.12"},{"url":"https://github.com/ansible/ansible/releases/tag/v2.18.19","date":"2026-08-10T16:42:12Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.18.19"},{"url":"https://github.com/ansible/ansible/releases/tag/v2.21.3rc1","date":"2026-08-03T22:47:24Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.21.3rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/ansible/ansible/releases/tag/v2.20.8rc1","date":"2026-08-03T22:46:13Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.20.8rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/ansible/ansible/releases/tag/v2.19.12rc1","date":"2026-08-03T22:35:50Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.19.12rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/ansible/ansible/releases/tag/v2.18.19rc1","date":"2026-08-03T22:35:39Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.18.19rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/ansible/ansible/releases/tag/v2.21.2","date":"2026-07-13T19:39:26Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.21.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/ansible/ansible/releases/tag/v2.21.2rc1","date":"2026-07-06T18:32:45Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.21.2rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/ansible/ansible/releases/tag/v2.21.1","date":"2026-06-18T19:35:26Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.21.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/ansible/ansible/releases/tag/v2.20.7","date":"2026-06-18T19:36:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.20.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/ansible/ansible/releases/tag/v2.19.11","date":"2026-06-18T19:37:59Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.19.11"},{"url":"https://github.com/ansible/ansible/releases/tag/v2.18.18","date":"2026-06-18T19:39:12Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.18.18"},{"url":"https://github.com/ansible/ansible/releases/tag/v2.16.19","date":"2026-06-18T19:40:26Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.16.19"},{"url":"https://github.com/ansible/ansible/releases/tag/v2.21.1rc1","date":"2026-06-11T19:29:45Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.21.1rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/ansible/ansible/releases/tag/v2.20.7rc1","date":"2026-06-11T19:31:04Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.20.7rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/ansible/ansible/releases/tag/v2.19.11rc1","date":"2026-06-11T19:32:36Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.19.11rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/ansible/ansible/releases/tag/v2.18.18rc1","date":"2026-06-11T19:33:53Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.18.18rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/ansible/ansible/releases/tag/v2.16.19rc1","date":"2026-06-11T19:40:34Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.16.19rc1"}]` | - |
| security.disclosure_policy | - | yes |
| security.scorecard | 7.5 | 6.6 |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":7,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=pypi&package_name=ansible-core&per_page=100","last_12m":1,"max_severity":"HIGH"}` | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fcfengine%2Fcore&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Configuration Management Tools)

| Capability | Ansible | CFEngine |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Architecture | - | Agent-based |
| Push / pull model | - | Both |
| Config language | - | CFEngine policy language |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Masterless mode | - | - |
| Hosting | - | 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 | ✓ | ✓ |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T16:07:00.976Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*