Puppet vs Chef

Detailed comparison across 10 dimensions

Winner: Puppet

Puppet clearly comes out ahead of Chef on Staquest's weighted six-dimension score. Puppet has a free tier; Chef does not. Chef's paid plans start at $4.91/mo.

Quick Overview

Overview	PuppetAutomation tool for managing and deploying server configurations.	ChefInfrastructure automation platform for configuration management.
Type	saas tool	saas tool
Company	Perforce Software	Progress Software
Free Tier
Has API
Open Source
Learning Curve	-	-
Integration	-	-
Trending	Stable	Stable
GitHub Stars	-	-
Industries	DevelopmentSaaS & Cloud	DevelopmentSaaS & Cloud
Categories	devops	devops
Website	Visit	Visit

Dimension Scores

Winners by Dimension

Overall Winner

Puppet

Puppet: 6.0Chef: 5.1(+9.6 pts)

Pricing Value

Puppet15% weight

Puppet

8.0

Chef

6.9

Features

Tie15% weight

Puppet

3.0

Chef

3.0

Free Tier

Puppet10% weight

Puppet

7.5

Chef

2.0

Ease of Use

Tie10% weight

Puppet

5.0

Chef

5.0

Scalability

Tie10% weight

Puppet

9.4

Chef

9.4

Integrations

Tie10% weight

Puppet

8.0

Chef

8.0

API Quality

Tie10% weight

Puppet

6.0

Chef

6.0

Momentum

Tie10% weight

Puppet

3.0

Chef

3.0

Community

Tie5% weight

Puppet

3.0

Chef

3.0

Open Source

Puppet5% weight

Puppet

7.0

Chef

2.0

Pricing Comparison

Puppet

Open Source Puppet

Free

open source

Core configuration management
Community support
No official SLAs

Puppet Core–

custom

Vendor-backed SLAs
Stable, secure software builds
Access to support portal
High and critical CVE support

Puppet Enterprise

Contact sales

custom

Full enterprise support
SLA for incidents and CVEs
Priority ticketing
Advanced automation and compliance features
Web-based GUI
Role-based access control (RBAC)

Chef

Business

$5/mo

usage based

Node Management
Job Orchestration
Configuration Management
Desktop Management
Compliance Audit
Continuous Compliance
+2 more

Enterprise

$16/mo

usage based

Node Management
Job Orchestration
Configuration Management
Desktop Management
Compliance Audit
Continuous Compliance
+2 more

Enterprise Plus

Contact sales

custom

Node Management
Job Orchestration
Configuration Management
Desktop Management
Compliance Audit
Continuous Compliance
+6 more

Feature Comparison

Feature	puppet	chef
Access To Support Portal
Advanced Node Management
Advanced Automation And Compliance Features
Application Delivery
Community Support
Chef Curated Premium Content
Core Configuration Management
Chef Curated Premium Skills
Full Enterprise Support
Cloud Security Posture Management
High And Critical Cve Support
Compliance Audit
No Official Slas
Configuration Management
Priority Ticketing
Continuous Compliance
Role-Based Access Control (Rbac)
Desktop Management
Sla For Incidents And Cves
Job Orchestration
Stable, Secure Software Builds
Node Management
Vendor-Backed Slas
Self-Enrollment
Web-Based Gui

Showing 25 of 25 features

Dashes mean the feature isn't listed in our data. The tool may still support it.

Frequently asked questions

Is Puppet or Chef better?

On Staquest's weighted six-dimension scoring, Puppet comes out ahead overall, though Chef can be the better fit depending on your priorities — see the dimension-by-dimension breakdown above.

Does Puppet or Chef have a free tier?

Puppet offers a free tier; Chef does not currently list one.

Which is better for pricing value, Puppet or Chef?

Puppet scores higher on pricing value in Staquest's analysis. It is the highest-weighted dimension in this comparison.

What are the main differences between Puppet and Chef?

Puppet is open source. The feature comparison and dimension scores above cover the full breakdown.

View Puppet View Chef