cfn-lint vs Chef InSpec
cfn-lint
github.comChef InSpec
docs.chef.ioSide by side
| Figure | cfn-lint | Chef InSpec |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $4.92/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 8 |
| Spec score · Infrastructure Testing Tools | 8.1 (#8) | 9.4 (#1) |
| Installation | The project documents installation with pip, Homebrew for macOS, or Docker. | Chef documents native installers for Windows and Linux distributions and Habitat packages for macOS, Windows, and Linux distributions. |
| Integrations | The project lists editor integrations for Atom, Emacs, NeoVim/Vim, Sublime, Visual Studio Code, and IntelliJ IDEA, plus a GitHub Action and pre-commit hook. | The kitchen-inspec verifier lets users run InSpec profiles through Test Kitchen. |
| Purpose | cfn-lint validates AWS CloudFormation YAML and JSON templates against resource provider schemas and additional checks, including valid property values and best practices. | Chef InSpec tests and audits applications and infrastructure by comparing their actual state with a desired state expressed in InSpec code. |
| Support | The project invites users to join its Discord community to discuss cfn-lint and get help. | The licensing page lists community Slack support for Free and Trial tiers and contract support for Commercial licenses. |
Plans
Chef InSpec
- FreeFree
- FreeFree
- TrialFree
- TrialFree
- Business$59 a year
- Enterprise$189 a year
- CommercialPriced on request
- Enterprise PlusPriced on request
In their own words
cfn-lint
cfn-lint is a free, open-source validator for AWS CloudFormation YAML and JSON templates. It checks templates against resource provider schemas and applies additional rules, including validation of property values and best practices. AWS Serverless Application Model templates are processed after transformation with AWS SAM. Users can configure built-in checks through command-line options, configuration files, or CloudFormation template metadata, and can add custom rules. Results can be emitted as quiet, parseable, JSON, JUnit, pretty, or SARIF output. Installation options documented by the project include pip, Homebrew for macOS, and Docker; supported Python versions are 3.10 through 3.14. Listed integrations include Atom, Emacs, NeoVim/Vim, Sublime, Visual Studio Code, IntelliJ IDEA, GitHub Actions, and pre-commit. The project treats complex template-value validation as best effort and does not fail merely because it cannot interpret or translate a value. The repository identifies its license as MIT No Attribution, and the plan costs nothing.
Chef InSpec
Chef InSpec tests and audits applications and infrastructure against a desired state described in InSpec code. Its runtime framework and rule language express compliance, security and policy requirements. Reusable profiles group controls and can include versioning, platform requirements and dependencies. Resources support testing AWS, Azure, AliCloud and GCP infrastructure, and users can create custom resources. Tests can run locally or against cloud services and infrastructure such as Linux in Docker containers. Results can be exported as JSON, HTML or plain text, or sent to Chef Automate. The kitchen-inspec verifier also runs profiles through Test Kitchen. Chef offers premium CIS- and STIG-based profiles for compliance scanning. The free tier is for non-production workloads and personal, non-commercial use; the 30-day trial is for product evaluation under non-production conditions. Commercial licensing covers production and non-production workloads, with entitlements based on purchase order. Chef InSpec 7 requires EULA acceptance, and license-key requirements depend on the distribution source. Telemetry is enabled for free and trial tiers, but not commercial users.