Chef InSpec vs Puppet
Chef InSpec
docs.chef.io
Puppet
puppet.comSide by side
| Figure | Chef InSpec | Puppet |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $4.92/mo | $120/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 8 | 5 |
| Spec score · Security Configuration Management Software | 9.4 (#1) | 8.9 (#4) |
| Acquisition | Progress announced completion of its Chef Software acquisition on October 6, 2020, paying $220 million in cash. | Perforce completed its acquisition of Puppet on May 18, 2022; transaction terms were not disclosed. |
| Integrations | The kitchen-inspec verifier lets users run InSpec profiles through Test Kitchen. | Official integration listings include ServiceNow, VMware, Argo CD, Jenkins, Dynatrace, Datadog, New Relic, Splunk, Tenable Nessus and CIS Benchmarks. |
| Notable release | Chef InSpec 7.1.7 was released May 11, 2026 and moved the 7.1 line to Chef Habitat builds rather than traditional Omnibus builds. | Puppet Enterprise 2025.2.0 introduced vulnerability remediation for Enterprise Advanced, including scanner ingestion and CVSS-prioritized remediation workflows. |
| Purpose | Chef InSpec tests and audits applications and infrastructure by comparing their actual state with a desired state expressed in InSpec code. | Puppet Enterprise provides policy-driven configuration management and infrastructure automation for enterprise-scale environments. |
| Rating on G2 | 4.2 out of 5 from 105 reviews | 4.2 out of 5 from 43 reviews |
| Rating on TrustRadius | 6.5 out of 10 from 49 reviews and ratings | 8.5 out of 10 from 58 reviews and ratings |
| Self-hosting | InSpec runs locally or against remote targets and can be installed as a native package, Habitat package or Ruby-based source distribution. | Puppet Enterprise is downloadable for customer-managed installations, and Puppet also offers a self-hosted Unified Compliance appliance. |
| Support | The licensing page lists community Slack support for Free and Trial tiers and contract support for Commercial licenses. | Enterprise plans include standard or premium technical support, CVE service-level commitments and optional technical account management. |
| What it does | Chef InSpec is a framework and rule language that tests applications and infrastructure against desired security, compliance and policy states, reporting violations for users to remediate. | Puppet Enterprise automates configuration, desired-state enforcement, deployment workflows and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud infrastructure. |
Plans
Chef InSpec
- FreeFree
- FreeFree
- TrialFree
- TrialFree
- Business$59 a year
- Enterprise$189 a year
- CommercialPriced on request
- Enterprise PlusPriced on request
Puppet
- Puppet CoreFree
- Puppet Enterprise free trialFree
- Puppet Enterprise listing price$120 a month
- Puppet EnterprisePriced on request
- Puppet Enterprise AdvancedPriced on request
In their own words
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.
Puppet
Puppet Enterprise provides policy-driven configuration management and infrastructure automation for complex cloud and hybrid environments. It uses policy as code to continuously enforce desired state, helping organizations identify and remediate configuration drift. Both agent-based and agentless management are supported, with a web interface and role-based access control. Puppet Enterprise Advanced adds continuous enforcement of CIS Benchmarks and DISA STIGs, self-service automation, AI features, observability integrations, and advanced patching. It also integrates with third-party vulnerability scanners, including Nessus, for remediation. Listed integrations include GitHub, AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, HashiCorp Vault, and ServiceNow. Agents are listed for Linux, Windows, and macOS. Puppet describes the product as suited to medium and large organizations managing complex environments that require security, compliance, and centralized automation. Pricing is custom; a free trial runs on up to 10 nodes with no commitment or time limit. Network and edge device management is optional, and licensing for those devices requires contacting sales.