Foreman vs OPSI
Foreman
theforeman.org
OPSI
opsi.orgSide by side
| Figure | Foreman | OPSI |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | €0.42/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 5 |
| Spec score · IT Automation Software | 8.8 (#10) | 9.0 (#7) |
| Spec score · OS Deployment Software | 8.6 (#5) | 8.9 (#2) |
| Spec score · OS Imaging & Deployment Software | 8.6 (#5) | 8.9 (#2) |
| CLI | The Hammer CLI provides access to Foreman API calls for administration and automation. | opsi-cli is a customizable command-line client for backend RPC operations and supports JSON, MessagePack, table and CSV output modes. |
| Configuration management | Foreman includes configuration management support for Puppet and Salt and collects Ansible reports and facts. | Administrators can centrally configure operating systems, drivers and applications and run administrative tasks. |
| Support | Community support is available through the Discourse support board and a public Matrix room; the project says its support room is not an official support channel. | uib offers phone and email support through support contracts, as well as training, workshops, and webinars. |
Plans
OPSI
- BasicFree
- CommunityFree
- Professional€4.99 a year
- Enterprise€8.99 a year
- Enterprise Cloud€11.99 a year
In their own words
Foreman
Foreman is a free, open-source lifecycle management tool for physical and virtual servers. System administrators can use it to automate repetitive tasks, deploy applications, and manage on-premise or cloud systems. It provisions bare-metal machines and resources from providers including Amazon EC2, Google Compute Engine, OpenStack, Libvirt, oVirt, and VMware. Configuration integrations include Puppet, Ansible, Chef, and Salt; Foreman also collects Ansible reports and facts. Administrators can work through a web frontend, REST API, or Linux CLI, including Hammer CLI access to API calls. Role-based access control and integrations such as LDAP, FreeIPA, and Microsoft Active Directory support access management. Host groups, bulk management, health reports, and audits help organize systems and review changes. A typical deployment has a Foreman server, Smart Proxy servers, and managed hosts. The quickstart lists Enterprise Linux 9, Debian 12 and 13, and Ubuntu 22.04 and 24.04, and requires 4 GB of memory. Installation configures multiple system components, and setup requires Linux system administration knowledge.
OPSI
OPSI is an open-source client management system for software distribution, operating-system installation, inventory, patch management, and configuration. It can deploy Windows updates, MSI packages, setup programs, and system packages without interactive installation steps. It also automates installations of Windows client and server systems and common Linux distributions, including unattended and image-based setups.
Regular inventory collects hardware and software details, including hardware information from devices without an operating system. Administration can be centralized across multiple sites, each with its own depot servers, configurations, and software packages. Directory integrations support Active Directory, Samba 4, and OpenLDAP; single sign-on extensions support Microsoft Entra ID and Keycloak through SAML 2.0. OPSI-WebGUI runs in a modern browser without client-side installation. Community is free with unlimited devices and one worker process. Basic is free for up to 30 devices and one setup per user. Professional costs €499 a year and requires a minimum purchase of 100 devices; Enterprise costs €899 a year with the same minimum. Enterprise Cloud costs €1,199 a year, starting at 100 devices.