Best Bare Metal Provisioning Software in 2026
Updated
In short: Acronis Cyber Disaster Recovery Cloud is ranked #1 of 29 as of 8 October 2026, ahead of AuroraBoot and FOG Project. The best-ranked option with a free plan is AuroraBoot. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Canonical MAAS at $2.50/mo.
Putting physical servers into service involves more than deploying an operating system: discovery, inventory, and ongoing lifecycle tasks may all matter. Compare bare-metal discovery and hardware inventory with lifecycle management and API access to understand the provisioning features described. OS image deployment and PXE bootstrapping address how systems are brought online, while out-of-band management is another capability to weigh. Free-plan availability and paid-from pricing provide cost context. AuroraBoot, Supermicro SuperDoctor 5, and Foreman are among the options shown. Consider which provisioning stages and management functions match your environment.
29 bare metal provisioning software ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
29ranked
15free plans on this page
$2.50/molowest paid tier
8 Oct 2026last checked
Input list Bare Metal Provisioning Software 25 channels on this page · 74 of 200 spec lines stated by the makers
Ch Tool Free planPaid fromBare-metal discoveryOS image deploymentPXE bootstrappingLifecycle managementHardware inventoryAPI access Spec sheet Score
01 Acronis Cyber Disaster Recovery Cloud Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedBare-metal discoverynot statedOS image deploymentnot statedPXE bootstrappingnot statedLifecycle managementnot statedHardware inventorynot statedAPI accessnot stated 0/8spec lines stated 7.4
02 AuroraBoot Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedBare-metal discoverynot statedOS image deploymentYesPXE bootstrappingYesLifecycle managementYesHardware inventorynot statedAPI accessYes 4/8spec lines stated 7.3
03 FOG Project Free planYesPaid fromnot statedBare-metal discoverynot statedOS image deploymentnot statedPXE bootstrappingnot statedLifecycle managementnot statedHardware inventorynot statedAPI accessnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 7.3
04 iVentoy Free planYesPaid fromnot statedBare-metal discoverynot statedOS image deploymentnot statedPXE bootstrappingnot statedLifecycle managementnot statedHardware inventorynot statedAPI accessnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 7.3
05 Supermicro SuperDoctor 5 Free planYesPaid fromnot statedBare-metal discoverynot statedOS image deploymentnot statedPXE bootstrappingnot statedLifecycle managementnot statedHardware inventorynot statedAPI accessnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 7.3
06 Clonezilla Free planYesPaid fromnot statedBare-metal discoverynot statedOS image deploymentnot statedPXE bootstrappingnot statedLifecycle managementnot statedHardware inventorynot statedAPI accessnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 7.2
07 Foreman Free planYesPaid fromnot statedBare-metal discoverynot statedOS image deploymentnot statedPXE bootstrappingnot statedLifecycle managementnot statedHardware inventorynot statedAPI accessnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 7.2
08 Canonical MAAS Free planYesPaid fromnot statedBare-metal discoverynot statedOS image deploymentnot statedPXE bootstrappingnot statedLifecycle managementnot statedHardware inventorynot statedAPI accessYes 2/8spec lines stated 7.1
09 NVIDIA ShadowPlay Free planNoPaid fromnot statedBare-metal discoverynot statedOS image deploymentYesPXE bootstrappingYesLifecycle managementYesHardware inventoryYesAPI accessYes 6/8spec lines stated 7.1
10 openQRM Enterprise Free planNoPaid fromnot statedBare-metal discoverynot statedOS image deploymentYesPXE bootstrappingYesLifecycle managementYesHardware inventoryYesAPI accessYes 6/8spec lines stated 7.1
11 Grendel Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedBare-metal discoveryYesOS image deploymentYesPXE bootstrappingYesLifecycle managementnot statedHardware inventorynot statedAPI accessYes 4/8spec lines stated 6.8
12 HCL BigFix Free planNoPaid fromnot statedBare-metal discoverynot statedOS image deploymentnot statedPXE bootstrappingnot statedLifecycle managementnot statedHardware inventorynot statedAPI accessnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 6.8
13 NOC-PS Free planYesPaid fromnot statedBare-metal discoveryYesOS image deploymentYesPXE bootstrappingYesLifecycle managementYesHardware inventoryYesAPI accessYes 7/8spec lines stated 6.8
14 NVIDIA Base Command Manager Free planNoPaid fromnot statedBare-metal discoverynot statedOS image deploymentYesPXE bootstrappingYesLifecycle managementYesHardware inventoryYesAPI accessYes 6/8spec lines stated 6.8
15 Serva Free planYesPaid fromnot statedBare-metal discoverynot statedOS image deploymentnot statedPXE bootstrappingnot statedLifecycle managementnot statedHardware inventorynot statedAPI accessnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 6.8
16 Confluent Free planYesPaid fromnot statedBare-metal discoveryYesOS image deploymentYesPXE bootstrappingYesLifecycle managementYesHardware inventoryYesAPI accessYes 7/8spec lines stated 6.7
17 Digital Rebar Provision Free planNoPaid fromnot statedBare-metal discoverynot statedOS image deploymentnot statedPXE bootstrappingnot statedLifecycle managementnot statedHardware inventorynot statedAPI accessYes 2/8spec lines stated 6.7
18 FAI (Fully Automatic Installation) Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedBare-metal discoverynot statedOS image deploymentnot statedPXE bootstrappingnot statedLifecycle managementnot statedHardware inventorynot statedAPI accessnot stated 0/8spec lines stated 6.7
19 MetalSoft Bare Metal Orchestrator Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedBare-metal discoveryYesOS image deploymentYesPXE bootstrappingnot statedLifecycle managementYesHardware inventoryYesAPI accessYes 5/8spec lines stated 6.7
20 OpenStack Ironic Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedBare-metal discoverynot statedOS image deploymentnot statedPXE bootstrappingnot statedLifecycle managementnot statedHardware inventorynot statedAPI accessYes 1/8spec lines stated 6.7
21 Cobbler Free planYesPaid fromnot statedBare-metal discoverynot statedOS image deploymentnot statedPXE bootstrappingnot statedLifecycle managementnot statedHardware inventorynot statedAPI accessYes 2/8spec lines stated 6.6
22 DRBL Free planYesPaid fromnot statedBare-metal discoverynot statedOS image deploymentnot statedPXE bootstrappingnot statedLifecycle managementnot statedHardware inventorynot statedAPI accessnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 6.6
23 Tengan Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedBare-metal discoveryYesOS image deploymentYesPXE bootstrappingYesLifecycle managementYesHardware inventoryYesAPI accessYes 6/8spec lines stated 6.6
24 Warewulf Free planYesPaid fromnot statedBare-metal discoverynot statedOS image deploymentnot statedPXE bootstrappingnot statedLifecycle managementnot statedHardware inventorynot statedAPI accessYes 2/8spec lines stated 6.6
25 NVIDIA Infra Controller Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedBare-metal discoveryYesOS image deploymentYesPXE bootstrappingYesLifecycle managementYesHardware inventoryYesAPI accessYes 6/8spec lines stated 6.5
Compare all 25 in a table
| # | Tool | Score | Free plan | From | Free plan | Paid from | Bare-metal discovery | OS image deployment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Acronis Cyber Disaster Recovery Cloud | 7.4 | No | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2 | AuroraBoot | 7.3 | Free plan | Free | — | — | — | Yes |
| 3 | FOG Project | 7.3 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 4 | iVentoy | 7.3 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 5 | Supermicro SuperDoctor 5 | 7.3 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 6 | Clonezilla | 7.2 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 7 | Foreman | 7.2 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 8 | Canonical MAAS | 7.1 | Free plan | $2.50/mo | Yes | — | — | — |
| 9 | NVIDIA ShadowPlay | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | No | — | — | Yes |
| 10 | openQRM Enterprise | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | No | — | — | Yes |
| 11 | Grendel | 6.8 | No | — | — | — | Yes | Yes |
| 12 | HCL BigFix | 6.8 | No | — | No | — | — | — |
| 13 | NOC-PS | 6.8 | No | €83.33/mo | Yes | — | Yes | Yes |
| 14 | NVIDIA Base Command Manager | 6.8 | No | — | No | — | — | Yes |
| 15 | Serva | 6.8 | Free plan | $7.67/mo | Yes | — | — | — |
| 16 | Confluent | 6.7 | No | — | Yes | — | Yes | Yes |
| 17 | Digital Rebar Provision | 6.7 | No | — | No | — | — | — |
| 18 | FAI (Fully Automatic Installation) | 6.7 | Free plan | Free | — | — | — | — |
| 19 | MetalSoft Bare Metal Orchestrator | 6.7 | No | — | — | — | Yes | Yes |
| 20 | OpenStack Ironic | 6.7 | Free plan | Free | — | — | — | — |
| 21 | Cobbler | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 22 | DRBL | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 23 | Tengan | 6.6 | No | — | — | — | Yes | Yes |
| 24 | Warewulf | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 25 | NVIDIA Infra Controller | 6.5 | No | — | — | — | Yes | Yes |
Is your tool on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored, and a sponsored row is labelled as paid.
Questions about this list
Which bare metal provisioning software is ranked first on Specifiction?
Acronis Cyber Disaster Recovery Cloud is ranked #1 of 29 with a score of 7.4. AuroraBoot is second and FOG Project third.
How many of these have a free plan?
15 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, Canonical MAAS has the lowest first paid tier we found: $2.50/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes, the fullest spec sheet first: how deeply the product is documented, the platforms it runs on, a free tier or trial to test it, and its standing.
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