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Head-to-head · Configuration Management Tools

Google Cloud VM Manager vs OpenVox

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 5 checks side by side
Higher score Google Cloud VM Manager #3 in Configuration Management Tools 9.0/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 4 features Visit Google Cloud
OpenVox #18 in Configuration Management Tools 7.4/10 Open source ✓ 4 of 4 features Visit OpenVox

Google Cloud VM Manager leads on 0 checks, OpenVox on 0, and 5 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 5 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreGoogle Cloud VM Manager · 9.0/10
  • Free planonly Google Cloud VM Manager

Google Cloud VM Manager scores higher on our rubric for configuration management tools: 9.0 against 7.4 out of 10; our editors rank them #3 and #18.

On deployment model, Google Cloud VM Manager gives you Cloud where OpenVox offers Self_hosted. On agent model, OpenVox gives you Both where Google Cloud VM Manager offers Agent_based.

Google Cloud VM Manager is the better fit for google Cloud VM patch and policy operations. OpenVox is the better fit for open-source Puppet-compatible hybrid management.

  • Google Cloud VM Manager fits best

    Google Cloud VM patch and policy operations

  • OpenVox fits best

    Open-source Puppet-compatible hybrid management

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Side by side

Feature Google Cloud VM Manager 9.0/10 Visit ↗ OpenVox 7.4/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.0 7.4
Ranking #3 in Configuration Management Tools #18 in Configuration Management Tools
Best for Google Cloud VM patch and policy operations Open-source Puppet-compatible hybrid management
Pricing model Free plan + paid Free
Starting price $0.003/device usage-based Open source
Free plan ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Free trial — —
Deployment Cloud Self-hosted
Platforms Web Windows, macOS, Linux
Support Community, Docs Docs
Built for Mid-market, Enterprise Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Google Cloud VM Manager 4/4 · OpenVox 4/4
Drift detection ✓ ✓
Patch management ✓ ✓
Policy as code ✓ ✓
Compliance reporting ✓ ✓
Specs
Deployment model Cloud Self_hosted
Agent model Agent_based Both
Supported platforms Windows Server, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Rocky Linux, CentOS, Debian, Ubuntu, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server Enterprise Linux, Amazon Linux, Fedora, SLES, Debian, Ubuntu, macOS, Windows
Our review
Pros
  • Patch deployment, compliance dashboards, and vulnerability reporting
  • Declarative OS policies with validation and enforcement modes
  • Terraform, API, CLI, and console management options
  • Declarative desired-state enforcement with idempotent resource application
  • Agent and agentless operation across broad operating-system coverage
  • Facts, Hiera data lookup, reports, metrics, and transaction events
Cons
  • Requires the OS Config agent on managed VMs
  • Designed for Compute Engine virtual-machine fleets
  • Supports English-locale operating systems
  • OpenVox Server is Linux-only
  • The declarative catalog model requires configuration-management expertise
  • Agent/server deployments add centralized catalog infrastructure
Our verdict

Google Cloud VM Manager is a cloud-based configuration management suite for Windows and Linux virtual machines running on Compute Engine. It is aimed at teams managing operating-system updates, software packages, configuration policies,…

Read the review →

OpenVox is a community-driven, open-source configuration management platform and continuation of Puppet’s open-source implementation. It is designed for teams that need declarative desired-state enforcement across Linux, Unix, Windows, and…

Read the review →
  1. Google Cloud VM ManagerConfiguration Management Tools 9.0Free plan
  2. OpenVoxConfiguration Management Tools 7.4Open source

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Google Cloud VM Manager — where it wins

    • Patch deployment, compliance dashboards, and vulnerability reporting
    • Declarative OS policies with validation and enforcement modes
    • Terraform, API, CLI, and console management options

    Where it doesn't

    • Requires the OS Config agent on managed VMs
    • Designed for Compute Engine virtual-machine fleets
    • Supports English-locale operating systems

  • OpenVox — where it wins

    • Declarative desired-state enforcement with idempotent resource application
    • Agent and agentless operation across broad operating-system coverage
    • Facts, Hiera data lookup, reports, metrics, and transaction events

    Where it doesn't

    • OpenVox Server is Linux-only
    • The declarative catalog model requires configuration-management expertise
    • Agent/server deployments add centralized catalog infrastructure

More comparisons

All configuration management tools comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update