Best Puppet Alternatives in 2026
The top Puppet alternatives are AWS Systems Manager State Manager, Google Cloud VM Manager and OpenText Server Automation: 15 configuration management tools our editors would look at instead of Puppet, in our ranking order.
Puppet: A mature hybrid automation platform with strong drift, patching, and compliance controls. Where it falls short: commercial plans use custom pricing and may require sales contact.
Switching from Puppet? For most configuration management tools buyers the best Puppet alternative is AWS Systems Manager State Manager, built for aWS-heavy teams wanting free managed-state control.
Why People Look for a Puppet Alternative
- Commercial plans use custom pricing and may require sales contact
- The free Puppet Core Developer plan is limited to fewer than 25 nodes
- Its broad enterprise feature set may exceed narrow configuration needs
Quick Picks by What You Need
- Best overallAWS Systems Manager State Manager9.1
AWS-heavy teams wanting free managed-state control
Visit AWS Systems Manager State Manager - Best free optionAWS Systems Manager State Manager9.1
Has a free plan
Visit AWS Systems Manager State Manager
All 15 Puppet Alternatives, Ranked
Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.
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Best forAWS-heavy teams wanting free managed-state control
A free AWS service for scheduled configuration, drift management, patching, and compliance reporting.
- Compliance reporting
- Patch management
- Policy as code
9.1/10★★★★★Visit AWS -
Best forGoogle Cloud VM patch and policy operations
A focused Google Cloud tool for patching, policy enforcement, and VM compliance.
- Compliance reporting
- Patch management
- Policy as code
9.0/10★★★★☆Visit Google Cloud -
Best forLarge operations needing provisioning and remediation
A broad platform for provisioning, patching, compliance, and remediation across heterogeneous servers.
- Compliance reporting
- Patch management
- Policy as code
8.8/10★★★★☆Visit OpenText -
Best forTeams wanting visual policy and compliance management
A visual, open-source platform for enforcing configuration and reporting compliance.
- Compliance reporting
- Patch management
- Policy as code
8.7/10★★★★☆Visit Rudder -
Best forFree, flexible infrastructure automation at scale
A flexible self-hosted choice for declarative infrastructure automation at scale.
- Compliance reporting
- Patch management
- Policy as code
8.6/10★★★★☆Visit Salt -
Best forSUSE-centric teams needing provisioning and compliance
A broad Salt-based platform for provisioning, patching, compliance, and configuration control.
- Compliance reporting
- Patch management
- Policy as code
8.5/10★★★★☆Visit Uyuni -
Best forMature teams prioritizing autonomous compliance
A mature, agent-based choice for teams that need autonomous drift correction.
- Compliance reporting
- Patch management
- Policy as code
8.4/10★★★★☆Visit CFEngine -
Best forEnterprises wanting paid Chef workflows and compliance
A broad, policy-driven platform for paid infrastructure management and compliance.
- Compliance reporting
- Policy as code
- Drift detection
8.3/10★★★★☆Visit Chef Infra -
Best forDevelopers needing portable declarative configuration
A portable, open-source DSC CLI for defining and comparing machine state.
- Compliance reporting
- Patch management
- Policy as code
8.2/10★★★★☆Visit Microsoft DSC -
Best forAzure and Arc environments needing policy enforcement
A focused configuration-as-code service for Azure Policy and Arc-based compliance.
- Compliance reporting
- Policy as code
- Drift detection
8.1/10★★★★☆Visit Microsoft -
Best forUbuntu teams managing updates and compliance
Ubuntu-focused management for updates, monitoring, and compliance across Linux systems.
- Drift detection
8.0/10★★★★☆Visit Canonical -
Best forSecurity configuration and change monitoring
A security-focused platform for configuration baselines, change monitoring, compliance, and remediation.
- Drift detection
7.8/10★★★★☆Visit Fortra -
Best forPython teams preferring agentless deployment workflows
A flexible open-source choice for Python teams managing infrastructure without agents.
- Patch management
- Policy as code
- Drift detection
7.7/10★★★★☆Visit pyinfra -
Best forEnterprises managing versioned software changes and audits
A mature source and artifact manager, but a weak match for infrastructure configuration enforcement.
7.6/10★★★★☆Visit OpenText -
Best forWindows software update management
A deep Windows update management platform with broad endpoint administration capabilities.
7.6/10★★★★☆Visit Microsoft
Puppet Alternatives: Common Questions
What is the best alternative to Puppet?
AWS Systems Manager State Manager: #2 in our Configuration Management Tools ranking, with an editor score of 9.1 out of 10. A free AWS service for scheduled configuration, drift management, patching, and compliance reporting.
Is there a free alternative to Puppet?
Yes. AWS Systems Manager State Manager, Google Cloud VM Manager, Rudder, Salt and Uyuni have a free plan or a free tier (10 of the 15 alternatives on this page).
Why do people look for Puppet alternatives?
Commercial plans use custom pricing and may require sales contact; The free Puppet Core Developer plan is limited to fewer than 25 nodes; Its broad enterprise feature set may exceed narrow configuration needs.
How do I switch from Puppet?
Export your data from Puppet (most tools have an export in their settings). Sign up for the alternative; start on its free plan or trial if it has one. Import your export and set up the integrations your team relies on. Run both side by side for a short while, then cancel Puppet.
How to Switch from Puppet
- Export your data from Puppet (most tools have an export in their settings).
- Sign up for the alternative; start on its free plan or trial if it has one.
- Import your export and set up the integrations your team relies on.
- Run both side by side for a short while, then cancel Puppet.
Puppet vs Each Alternative
| # | Tool | Free plan | Paid from | Deployment model | Agent model | Drift detection | Patch management | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Puppet | Yes | Self_hosted | Both | Yes | Yes | 9.3 | |
| 1 | AWS Systems Manager State Manager | Yes | Free | Cloud | Agent_based | Yes | Yes | 9.1 |
| 2 | Google Cloud VM Manager | Yes | $0.003/device usage-based | Cloud | Agent_based | Yes | Yes | 9.0 |
| 3 | OpenText Server Automation | Self_hosted | Both | Yes | Yes | 8.8 | ||
| 4 | Rudder | Yes | Self_hosted | Agent_based | Yes | Yes | 8.7 | |
| 5 | Salt | Yes | Free | Self_hosted | Both | Yes | Yes | 8.6 |
| 6 | Uyuni | Free | Both | Both | Yes | Yes | 8.5 | |
| 7 | CFEngine | Yes | Self_hosted | Agent_based | Yes | Yes | 8.4 | |
| 8 | Chef Infra | $59/unit/yr | Both | Both | Yes | 8.3 | ||
| 9 | Microsoft Desired State Configuration | Free | Self_hosted | Yes | Yes | 8.2 | ||
| 10 | Azure Machine Configuration | Yes | Cloud | Agent_based | Yes | No | 8.1 | |
| 11 | Canonical Landscape | Yes | Yes | 8.0 | ||||
| 12 | Tripwire Enterprise | No | Yes | 7.8 | ||||
| 13 | pyinfra | Free | Both | Agentless | Yes | Yes | 7.7 | |
| 14 | OpenText Dimensions CM | 7.6 | ||||||
| 15 | Microsoft Configuration Manager | No | $1,455 usage-based | 7.6 |
Head-to-Head
- Puppet vs AWS Systems Manager State Manager
- Puppet vs Google Cloud VM Manager
- Puppet vs OpenText Server Automation
- Puppet vs Rudder
- Puppet vs Salt
- Puppet vs Uyuni
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Last updated · How we research and update