Chef

chef.io
DevOps
Weekend Project

Smarter Infrastructure Starts Here

How to Replace Chef

Overview

Chef is a DevOps automation and infrastructure management platform that combines ClickOps ease with Policy-as-Code flexibility to orchestrate infrastructure operations across cloud and on-premises environments. It enables enterprises to automate configuration, compliance, and orchestration workflows while maintaining security and scalability. Chef is available as SaaS, on-premises, and through cloud marketplaces like AWS and Azure.

Features

28 features across 12 categories

Administration(3)

Custom User RolesPremium

Define and manage custom user roles and permissions

Unlimited Org Units

Create and manage unlimited organizational units

Unlimited User Seats

Unlimited number of user accounts

Also in: Notion, Airtable, Smartsheet

Application Management(1)

Application Delivery

Automate application delivery workflows

Compliance(2)

Compliance Audit

Audit compliance across infrastructure and applications

Continuous Compliance

Run compliance audits on schedule or on demand with standards-based content

Also in: Insider CDP, Airtable, 1Password

Data Management(1)

Data Retention & Recovery

Data retention and recovery capabilities with configurable retention periods

Also in: monday.com, Notion, Airtable

Hosting(1)

Dedicated InstancePremium

Dedicated instance hosting option with extended data retention

Also in: Squarespace, Render, WordPress.com

Infrastructure Management(7)

Agentless Execution

Execute automation without requiring agents on all nodes

Configuration Management

Manage and enforce infrastructure configurations

Desktop Management

Manage desktop environments and configurations

Environment Agnostic Execution

Execute jobs on any node, across cloud, on-prem, hybrid or air-gapped setups at scale

Infrastructure Configuration

Empower standardized infrastructure configurations that are scalable and repeatable across the enterprise

Node Management

Manage and monitor nodes across infrastructure environments

Policy-as-Code

Define infrastructure policies as code for flexibility and version control

Knowledge Management(1)

Chef Curated Premium ContentPremium

Access to Chef-curated premium content and best practices

Also in: Internal-io, Roam Research, Obsidian

Node Management(3)

Basic Enrollment

Single and bulk node enrollment capabilities

Filters and Lists

Filter and organize nodes and resources with lists

Self-enrollmentPremium

Allow nodes to self-enroll in Chef management

Also in: Kubex

Orchestration(6)

Chef Curated Premium SkillsPremium

Access to Chef-curated premium skills library

Custom Skills & InterpretersPremium

Create and manage custom skills and interpreters

Job Orchestration

Automate and execute operational jobs across infrastructure

Pre-defined Templates

Design workflows for incidents, certificate rotation and other planned or ad hoc events

Skill Management

Manage custom skills and interpreters for orchestration

Workflow Orchestration

Orchestrate disparate DevOps tools and workflows from a single control plane

Reliability(1)

99.9% Uptime SLA

Service level agreement guaranteeing 99.9% platform uptime

Security(1)

Cloud Security Posture ManagementPremium

Monitor and manage cloud security posture

User Interface(1)

ClickOps Interface

User-friendly UI-based operations interface for democratizing DevOps

Pricing

Business

$59/node/year
  • Node Management
  • Job Orchestration
  • Configuration Management
  • Desktop Management
  • Compliance Audit
  • Continuous Compliance
  • Cloud Security Posture Management
  • Application Delivery
  • Basic Enrollment
  • Filters and Lists
  • Skill Management
  • Shell, Restart, Gohai, Courier Runner skills
  • 10 monthly job runs per node
  • 10 concurrent jobs
  • On Demand Jobs
  • Unlimited User Seats
  • Unlimited Org Units
  • 30 Days Data Retention
  • 30 Days Log Retention
  • 30 Days Data Recovery
  • 99.9% Uptime SLA
  • Standard Support

Enterprise

$189/node/year
  • Node Management
  • Job Orchestration
  • Configuration Management
  • Desktop Management
  • Compliance Audit
  • Continuous Compliance
  • Cloud Security Posture Management
  • Application Delivery
  • Basic Enrollment
  • Filters and Lists
  • Skill Management
  • Custom Skills & Interpreters
  • Base skills, InSpec and Infra
  • 10 monthly job runs per node
  • 10 concurrent jobs
  • On Demand Jobs
  • Unlimited User Seats
  • Unlimited Org Units
  • Custom User Roles
  • 30 Days Data Retention
  • 30 Days Log Retention
  • 30 Days Data Recovery
  • Self-enrollment
  • Chef Curated Premium Skills
  • Chef Curated Premium Content
  • 99.9% Uptime SLA
  • Standard Support

Enterprise Plus

Custom
  • Node Management
  • Job Orchestration
  • Configuration Management
  • Desktop Management
  • Compliance Audit
  • Continuous Compliance
  • Cloud Security Posture Management
  • Application Delivery
  • Basic Enrollment
  • Filters and Lists
  • Skill Management
  • Custom Skills & Interpreters
  • Base skills, InSpec and Infra
  • 10 monthly job runs per node
  • 50 concurrent jobs
  • On Demand Jobs
  • Unlimited User Seats
  • Unlimited Org Units
  • Custom User Roles
  • 30 Days Data Retention
  • Up to 60 days Data Retention with dedicated instance
  • Up to 60 days Log Retention for dedicated instance
  • Up to 60 days Data Recovery for dedicated instance
  • Self-enrollment
  • Chef Curated Premium Skills
  • Chef Curated Premium Content
  • Dedicated Instance Optional Add-on
  • 99.9% Uptime SLA
  • Premium Support

Cost Calculator

Pricing data not available for Chef. Check their website for current pricing.

Build vs Buy

Should you build a Chef alternative or buy the subscription? Estimate based on 28 features.

Buy Chef

Better Value
Monthly costContact Sales
3-year totalVaries
Time to deployDays

Build Your Own

Development cost$12,000
Maintenance$180/mo
3-year total$18,480
Dev time~1 months

Buying Chef saves ~$18,480 over 3 years vs building.

Estimates based on 28 features and a BuildScore of 5/5. Actual costs vary.

Integrations

2 known integrations

AWS MarketplaceAzure Marketplace