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Salt vs Chef: catalog facts
Salt	Chef
Free Free and open source.	Paid Commercial enterprise platform with a free trial; demos available on request.
Linux, Self-hosted, Command line	Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted
Remote execution and configuration management in one tool Event-driven automation	Policy-as-code for repeatable server configuration Built-in compliance auditing on a schedule
Concepts such as states, grains and pillars take time to learn Needs its own control infrastructure to run	Aimed at enterprises, with sales-led pricing Considerable setup and learning before it pays off
Downloadable app, Self-hosted	Downloadable app, Self-hosted
Open source	Closed source
License not stated	License not stated
No account needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 23, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 24, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.