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Cloud · head to head

Chef vs Koyeb

Chef logo

Chef

Cloud

Infrastructure automation and management

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Koyeb logo

Koyeb

Cloud

High-performance serverless infrastructure for APIs, inference, and databases

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Chef has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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; Koyeb pricing starts at $29/month with additional compute costs
  • They diverge on capability: Chef covers Recipes, Koyeb covers Serverless containers.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Chef and Koyeb actually diverge.

Attributes where Chef and Koyeb differ
AttributeChefKoyeb
Starting priceFree$29/month
Pricing modelopen-sourceUnknown
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, Windows, Mac, ApiWeb, CLI, API
Founded2009Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cloud).

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 Koyeb

  • Serverless containers
  • GPU support
  • Global distribution
  • Multi-protocol support
  • Serverless Postgres
  • Zero-downtime deployments

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 Koyeb
  • Enforcing compliance and audit policy on managed nodesnot Koyeb

Koyeb

  • Deploying AI inference models globally with GPU accelerationnot Chef
  • Building SaaS platforms with automatic scalingnot Chef
  • Running distributed AI agents and background workersnot 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

Koyeb

  • Pricing starts at $29/month with additional compute costs
  • GPU compute is expensive at $0.75-$2.50 per hour
  • Limited customization for infrastructure configuration

Pricing, plan by plan

Chef

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

Koyeb

$29/month
  • Pro$29/month
    • $10 included compute
    • 10 users
    • 100 services
  • Scale$299/month
    • $100 included compute
    • 50 users
    • 1,000 services
  • Enterprise$1000/month
    • Unlimited users
    • Custom resources
    • SSO/RBAC

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 Koyeb if

  • You need serverless containers.
  • You work on Web, CLI, API.
  • You also want gpu support.
Koyeb review

Questions people ask

Is Chef or Koyeb better?
Neither clearly leads. Chef starts at Free and Koyeb at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Chef or Koyeb?
Chef has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Chef and $29/month for Koyeb.
Does Chef or Koyeb run on more platforms?
Chef runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Api. Koyeb runs on Web, CLI, API.
Can I use Chef for free?
Yes. Chef has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Koyeb starts at $29/month.
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 Koyeb is typically brought in for.
What can Chef do that Koyeb cannot?
Chef covers Recipes, Cookbooks, Roles, Data bags. Koyeb covers Serverless containers, GPU support, Global distribution, Multi-protocol support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Chef: How much does Chef cost?

Chef does not publish pricing on its website. The company offers a free trial and directs interested customers to request a demo or contact their sales team for pricing details.

Source
Koyeb: What are Koyeb's subscription plans?

Pro plan is $29/month with $10 included compute, Scale plan is $299/month with $100 included compute and 99.9% SLA, and Enterprise starts at $1,000/month with unlimited users and 99.99% SLA.

Source
Chef: Is there a free trial available?

Yes, Chef offers a free trial to interested users, allowing them to evaluate the platform before purchasing.

Source
Koyeb: How much does GPU compute cost?

GPU pricing is per-second: RTX-A6000 costs $0.75/hour, A100 costs $1.60/hour, H100 costs $2.50/hour, and 8x H100 costs $20.00/hour.

Source
Chef: What deployment options are available?

Chef is available as SaaS (cloud-hosted), on-premises, and through cloud marketplaces like AWS and Azure, but specific pricing for each deployment model is not published.

Source
Koyeb: What database options are available?

Koyeb offers serverless Postgres starting at free (0.25 vCPU, 1GB RAM) up to 3XL at $1.28/hour with 8 vCPU and 32GB RAM. Storage costs $0.50/month per GB.

Source
Chef: How do I get pricing information?

Sign up for the free trial or request a demo through Chef's website to speak with their sales team about pricing.

Source
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