Softwr

Software · head to head

Chef vs Fastly

Chef logo

Chef

Software

Infrastructure automation and management

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Fastly logo

Fastly

Software

High performance edge computing platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Chef priced per node per year, at $59 on Business and $189 on Enterprise, so cost scales with fleet size rather than with team size; Fastly bandwidth is priced per region, and delivery to India, Africa and South Korea is $0.28 per GB against $0.12 in North America and Europe
  • They diverge on capability: Chef covers Recipes, Fastly covers Edge Compute.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Chef and Fastly actually diverge.

Attributes where Chef and Fastly differ
AttributeChefFastly
Pricing modelopen-sourceusage-based
PlatformsLinux, Windows, Mac, ApiWeb, Api
Founded20092011

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Chef

  • Recipes
  • Cookbooks
  • Roles
  • Data bags
  • Attributes
  • Chef Server
  • Chef Infra
  • Chef Compliance

Only in Fastly

  • Edge Compute
  • CDN
  • DDoS Protection
  • Real-time Analytics
  • Image Optimization
  • Video Streaming
  • API
  • Instant Purge

Both cover

  • Cloud deployment
  • Api support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Chef

  • Configuration management and infrastructure automation across server fleetsnot Fastly
  • Enforcing compliance and audit policy on managed nodesnot Fastly

Fastly

  • Serving static and dynamic content through a global CDNnot Chef
  • Running edge logic and caching in front of an origin applicationnot Chef

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Chef

  • Priced per node per year, at $59 on Business and $189 on Enterprise, so cost scales with fleet size rather than with team size
  • Tripling the price between the two published tiers puts compliance and audit features well above basic automation
  • Enterprise Plus and every self managed deployment are custom quoted with no published price

Fastly

  • Bandwidth is priced per region, and delivery to India, Africa and South Korea is $0.28 per GB against $0.12 in North America and Europe
  • The same traffic therefore costs more than twice as much depending on where the audience is, which is invisible until the bill arrives
  • The free allowance is 100 GB of bandwidth and 1M requests a month
  • Requests are billed separately from bandwidth, at $0.01 per 10,000 above the first million
  • High volume rates past 50 TB are not published and require contacting sales

Pricing, plan by plan

Chef

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Chef Infra
    • Community support
    • Full functionality
  • Chef Automate$4000/year
    • Chef Infra
    • Compliance automation
    • Insights

Fastly

Free
  • Free TrialFree
    • CDN
    • DDoS protection
    • Real-time analytics
  • Pay-As-You-GoFree
    • Usage-based pricing
    • Advanced features
    • Priority support

Which should you pick?

Choose Chef if

  • You need recipes.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Api.
  • You also want cookbooks.
Chef review

Choose Fastly if

  • You need edge compute.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want cdn.
Fastly review

Questions people ask

Is Chef or Fastly better?
Neither clearly leads. Chef starts at Free and Fastly at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Chef or Fastly?
Chef starts at Free and Fastly at Free.
Does Chef or Fastly run on more platforms?
Chef runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Api. Fastly runs on Web, Api.
Can I use Chef for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Chef best used for?
Chef is most often used for configuration management and infrastructure automation across server fleets, enforcing compliance and audit policy on managed nodes. Of those, configuration management and infrastructure automation across server fleets and enforcing compliance and audit policy on managed nodes are not what Fastly is typically brought in for.
What can Chef do that Fastly cannot?
Chef covers Recipes, Cookbooks, Roles, Data bags. Fastly covers Edge Compute, CDN, DDoS Protection, Real-time Analytics. Both handle Cloud deployment, Api support.
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on Chef

More on Fastly

Keep looking

Other head to heads