CFEngine vs WhatsUp Gold
CFEngine
cfengine.com
WhatsUp Gold
progress.comSide by side
| Figure | CFEngine | WhatsUp Gold |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 3 | 1 |
| Spec score · Enterprise IT Management Software | 9.1 (#3) | 7.5 (#18) |
| API | The Enterprise Hub exposes a REST API that also supports SQL-based queries for custom reports over distributed database data. | WhatsUp Gold includes REST API performance monitors and supports REST API use. |
| Founded | 2008 | 1981 |
| Headquarters | Oslo, Norway | Burlington, Massachusetts, United States |
| Purpose | CFEngine automates infrastructure, security and compliance by continuously keeping infrastructure secure, compliant and up to date. | WhatsUp Gold monitors availability and performance across networks, systems, applications and cloud environments. |
| Security | CFEngine's secure bootstrap uses mutual authentication, key exchange and encrypted communication over TLS. | WhatsUp Gold 2026.0 introduces a Master Secret Key encryption mechanism, generated during installation or upgrade and unique to each server. |
| Support | Enterprise provides a dedicated support team that answers questions, recommends best practices and can prioritize development of requested features. | Technical support is available to customers with active maintenance and support services or subscriptions; the guide also describes business-hours phone support and optional 24x7x365 emergency support for business-critical issues. |
| System requirements | The Enterprise quick-install hub requires a 64-bit recent Linux machine, 2 GB memory and 100 MB disk per connected host. | WhatsUp Gold requires Microsoft SQL Server and a Windows Server platform; Log Management requires a separately installed Elasticsearch instance. |
Plans
CFEngine
- Community EditionFree
- Enterprise free trialFree
- Enterprise EditionPriced on request
In their own words
CFEngine
CFEngine automates infrastructure, security, and compliance by moving managed systems toward a state defined in policy. Users describe desired infrastructure states in CFEngine’s domain-specific language, and lightweight agents work to bring each device into compliance. By default, an agent contacts the CFEngine hub every five minutes. The system runs on embedded devices, servers, cloud systems, and mainframes, and is designed for tens or hundreds of thousands of nodes. Enterprise adds the Mission Portal web interface, reporting backed by an SQL database, REST APIs, compliance reports, policy analysis, alerts, inventory and change reporting, file-integrity monitoring, and performance monitoring. Dashboards provide compliance and performance views, alerts, and customizable sharing. Secure bootstrap uses mutual authentication, key exchange, and encrypted TLS communication. Community Edition is free under GNU GPL, supports Linux, and includes community support. Enterprise is free for up to 25 hosts; pricing beyond that is available on request. The supported operating systems listed include Linux distributions and Windows.
WhatsUp Gold
WhatsUp Gold has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.