Chef Infra vs PatchMon
Chef Infra
chef.io
PatchMon
patchmon.netSide by side
| Figure | Chef Infra | PatchMon |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $4.92/mo | $1/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 3 | 6 |
| Spec score · IT Automation Software | 8.5 (#16) | 8.9 (#8) |
| Headquarters | Burlington, Massachusetts, United States | London, United Kingdom |
| Purpose | Chef Infra configuration management software automates infrastructure configuration and aims to keep it consistent and compliant over its lifetime. | PatchMon provides a central dashboard for patch monitoring across Linux, FreeBSD, and Windows fleets. |
| Security controls | Chef says cookbooks can rotate keys, control SSH and WinRM port access, define authorized users and groups, and support alignment with CIS benchmarks and other standards. | PatchMon states that traffic uses TLS, agent credentials are hashed, least privilege is used and patch actions are fully audited. |
| Support | The pricing page lists standard support for Business and Enterprise and premium support for Enterprise Plus. | Cloud support channels vary by tier: Starter includes email and Discord, Plus adds Slack, and Max also includes phone support. |
Plans
Chef Infra
- Business$59 a year
- Enterprise$189 a year
- Enterprise PlusPriced on request
PatchMon
- Community EditionFree
- Community EditionFree
- Starter$1 a month
- Plus$2 a month
- Max$3 a month
- PROPriced on request
In their own words
Chef Infra
Chef Infra automates infrastructure configuration and helps keep systems aligned with a defined desired state. Teams express configurations and policies as code, test them, and deliver them through automated pipelines; Chef Infra can correct configuration drift when systems diverge. It supports Windows and Linux systems, cloud ARM systems, and Mac laptops across on-premises, cloud, and edge environments. Chef Infra Client includes more than 150 resources, while the community provides thousands of configuration templates. Chef Workstation bundles the client with Chef InSpec, Chef Habitat, Test Kitchen, Cookstyle, and Chef Upgrade Lab. The policy language is Ruby DSL, and listed capabilities include policy testing, reporting, and CI/CD integration. The free community version is non-commercial. Business costs $59 a year per node, and Enterprise costs $189 a year per node; Enterprise Plus requires a customized quote. Chef Infra Client 19.x is listed as the current LTS release, while 18.x is deprecated and earlier versions are end of life.
PatchMon
PatchMon provides a central dashboard for patch monitoring across Linux, FreeBSD, and Windows server fleets. Policies can schedule patches immediately, after a delay, or at a fixed time, with dry-run validation, approval workflows, and assignment by host or host group. Automated patch deployment is available on Linux and FreeBSD; Windows deployment is on the roadmap. Patch runs record who triggered and approved them, timestamps, policy details, affected packages, and command output. OpenSCAP CIS benchmark scans include per-rule results, severity, remediation guidance, and score tracking. Listed integrations span Proxmox LXC, Ansible, Docker, REST API, OpenSCAP, SSH, Windows RDP, and messaging and AI services. Monitoring agents connect outbound over WebSocket, use TLS in transit, and do not require root for monitoring operations. The free Community Edition is self-hosted under AGPLv3, with users responsible for the server, updates, backups, and uptime. Cloud plans start at $1 a month per endpoint. Cloud trials last 14 days, include Plus features, require a card at signup, and are not charged if cancelled before they end.