Salt vs Microsoft Desired State Configuration

Salt8.6Visit Microsoft Desired State Configuration8.2Visit

Higher score Salt #6 in Configuration Management Tools 8.6/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 4 features Visit Salt

vs

Microsoft Desired State Configuration #10 in Configuration Management Tools 8.2/10 Open source ✓ 4 of 4 features Visit Microsoft DSC

• Salt fits best

  Free, flexible infrastructure automation at scale

• Microsoft Desired State Configuration fits best

  Developers needing portable declarative configuration

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Side by side

Feature	Salt 8.6/10 Visit ↗	Microsoft Desired State Configuration 8.2/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.6	8.2
Ranking	#6 in Configuration Management Tools	#10 in Configuration Management Tools
Best for	Free, flexible infrastructure automation at scale	Developers needing portable declarative configuration
Pricing model	Free	Free
Starting price	Free plan	Open source
Free plan	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Self-hosted	Self-hosted
Platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux	Windows, macOS, Linux
Support	Community, Docs	Docs
Built for	Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Salt 4/4 · Microsoft Desired State Configuration 4/4
Drift detection	✓	✓
Patch management	✓	✓
Policy as code	✓	✓
Compliance reporting	✓	✓
Specs
Deployment model	Self_hosted	Self_hosted
Agent model	Both	Not checked yet
Supported platforms	Linux, Windows, macOS, AIX, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD, Solaris, Gentoo, SUSE	Linux, macOS, Windows
Our review
Pros	Combines agent-based and agentless management through Salt SSH Supports configuration, orchestration, patching, packages, and remote commands Runs across Linux, Windows, and macOS with an open-source model	Runs agentless across Linux, macOS, and Windows Supports JSON and YAML configuration documents Compares configuration drift against desired state
Cons	Self-hosted deployment puts infrastructure and administration responsibility on teams Master-and-minion architecture may not suit teams seeking a simpler operating model Compliance reporting and web management are tied to SaltStack Config	Does not cover patch management Does not provide compliance reporting Self-hosted deployment requires operational ownership
Our verdict	Salt is an open-source, Python-based framework for remote execution, declarative configuration management, provisioning, and infrastructure orchestration. It is suited to teams managing Linux, Windows, and macOS systems that want control… Read the review →	Microsoft Desired State Configuration (DSC) is an open-source, self-hosted configuration management platform for developers and administrators who need portable declarative configuration. Its current DSC 3.x implementation is a standalone… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Salt — where it wins

  • Combines agent-based and agentless management through Salt SSH
  • Supports configuration, orchestration, patching, packages, and remote commands
  • Runs across Linux, Windows, and macOS with an open-source model

  Where it doesn't

  • Self-hosted deployment puts infrastructure and administration responsibility on teams
  • Master-and-minion architecture may not suit teams seeking a simpler operating model
  • Compliance reporting and web management are tied to SaltStack Config

• Microsoft Desired State Configuration — where it wins

  • Runs agentless across Linux, macOS, and Windows
  • Supports JSON and YAML configuration documents
  • Compares configuration drift against desired state

  Where it doesn't

  • Does not cover patch management
  • Does not provide compliance reporting
  • Self-hosted deployment requires operational ownership

• Salt8.6/10 · Free plan

  A flexible self-hosted choice for declarative infrastructure automation at scale.

  Visit SaltFull verdict →
• Microsoft Desired State Configuration8.2/10 · Open source

  A portable, open-source DSC CLI for defining and comparing machine state.

  Visit Microsoft DSCFull verdict →