# NixOS / Nix vs Puppet

**Leader by Vioscale score:** NixOS / Nix

| Attribute | NixOS / Nix | Puppet |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 61.4 (58% (medium)) | 47.2 (58% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 100 | 0 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 0 | 12,289 |
| adoption.github_stars | 17,573 | 7,922 |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true,"on_prem":true,"air_gapped":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | Nix enables reproducible, isolated package builds and declarative system configurations, ensuring that package installations cannot break existing systems and allowing rollback to previous versions. | Infrastructure automation tool that maintains consistent configurations across on-premises, hybrid, cloud, and edge environments through continuous enforcement of desired state. Automatically detects and corrects configuration drift, enforces compliance policies, and generates audit-ready documentation. |
| features.capabilities | `{"hosting":"self","language":"Nix","idempotent":true,"architecture":"declarative_os","desired_state":true,"masterless_mode":true,"windows_support":false,"content_registry":true,"open_source_core":true,"cloud_provisioning":true}` | `{"hosting":"both","idempotent":true,"architecture":"agent","desired_state":true,"windows_support":true,"content_registry":true,"open_source_core":true,"policy_compliance":true,"cloud_provisioning":true,"enterprise_edition":true}` |
| integrations.count | - | 13 |
| integrations.list | - | `[{"name":"ServiceNow"},{"name":"VMware"},{"name":"Argo CD"},{"name":"Jenkins"},{"name":"Dynatrace"},{"name":"Datadog"},{"name":"New Relic"},{"name":"Splunk"},{"name":"Grafana"},{"name":"Prometheus"},{"name":"Tenable Nessus"},{"name":"CIS Benchmarks"},{"name":"DISA STIG"}]` |
| language.primary | C++ | Ruby |
| license.spdx | LGPL-2.1 | Apache-2.0 |
| market.availability | `{"hqCountry":"NL","primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"linux":true}` | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"web":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://nixos.org","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T13:40:51.023Z"}` | `{"type":"hybrid","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Core","summary":"Free for <25 nodes","features":["Stable, secure, vendor-supported builds","Hardened binaries and packages","Vendor-backed SLAs"],"description":"Free tier for developers and small deployments","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"nodes":"<25"}},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","summary":"Custom pricing for 25+ nodes","features":["Web-based console interface","Role-based access control","Infrastructure management across cloud and on-premises","CI/CD pipeline tooling","ServiceNow integration"],"minSeats":25,"description":"Scalable automation for complex hybrid infrastructure","contactSales":true},{"free":false,"name":"Advanced","summary":"Custom enterprise pricing","features":["AI-powered infrastructure insights","Event-driven workflows","Automated vulnerability remediation","Priority support","Security baseline enforcement"],"description":"Enterprise platform with AI-driven insights and event-driven automation","contactSales":true}],"summary":"Free tier for <25 nodes; custom pricing for larger deployments","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.puppet.com/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T13:46:01.968Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | free | low |
| pricing.transparent | yes | no |
| release.history | - | `[{"url":"https://github.com/puppetlabs/puppet/releases/tag/8.10.0","date":"2024-10-22T15:14:58Z","type":"stable","version":"8.10.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/puppetlabs/puppet/releases/tag/7.34.0","date":"2024-10-22T15:15:06Z","type":"stable","version":"7.34.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/puppetlabs/puppet/releases/tag/8.9.0","date":"2024-09-06T18:10:41Z","type":"stable","version":"8.9.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/puppetlabs/puppet/releases/tag/7.33.0","date":"2024-09-06T16:46:58Z","type":"stable","version":"7.33.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/puppetlabs/puppet/releases/tag/7.32.1","date":"2024-07-24T23:37:24Z","type":"stable","version":"7.32.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/puppetlabs/puppet/releases/tag/8.8.1","date":"2024-07-24T02:51:57Z","type":"stable","version":"8.8.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/puppetlabs/puppet/releases/tag/8.8.0","date":"2024-07-22T16:34:24Z","type":"stable","version":"8.8.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/puppetlabs/puppet/releases/tag/7.32.0","date":"2024-07-22T16:35:24Z","type":"stable","version":"7.32.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/puppetlabs/puppet/releases/tag/8.7.0","date":"2024-06-10T16:51:52Z","type":"stable","version":"8.7.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/puppetlabs/puppet/releases/tag/7.31.0","date":"2024-06-10T16:52:12Z","type":"stable","version":"7.31.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/puppetlabs/puppet/releases/tag/8.6.0","date":"2024-04-10T18:21:24Z","type":"stable","version":"8.6.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/puppetlabs/puppet/releases/tag/7.30.0","date":"2024-04-10T20:53:11Z","type":"stable","version":"7.30.0"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | yes | - |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | - |
| security.gdpr | yes | - |
| security.scorecard | 6.5 | 3.5 |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=conda&package_name=nix&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | `{"count":23,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=rubygems&package_name=puppet&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":"CRITICAL"}` |

## Capabilities (Configuration Management Tools)

| Capability | NixOS / Nix | Puppet |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Architecture | Declarative-OS | Agent-based |
| Push / pull model | - | - |
| Config language | Nix | - |
| **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 | ✓ | ✓ |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T15:09:29.314Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*