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Cloud · head to head

Chef vs Spring Cloud Gateway

Chef logo

Chef

Cloud

Infrastructure automation and management

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Spring Cloud Gateway logo

Spring Cloud Gateway

APIs

API gateway built on Project Reactor for building microservices

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; Spring Cloud Gateway released under the Apache 2.0 license, free and open source with no commercial tier
  • They diverge on capability: Chef covers Recipes, Spring Cloud Gateway covers Routing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Chef and Spring Cloud Gateway actually diverge.

Attributes where Chef and Spring Cloud Gateway differ
AttributeChefSpring Cloud Gateway
PlatformsLinux, Windows, Mac, ApiJava, Spring Boot
CategoryCloudAPIs
Founded20091998

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (open-source), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Spring Cloud Gateway

  • Routing
  • Path Rewriting
  • Circuit Breaker
  • Spring Boot
  • Spring Security
  • Spring Cloud
  • Java support
  • Spring Boot 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 Spring Cloud Gateway
  • Enforcing compliance and audit policy on managed nodesnot Spring Cloud Gateway

Spring Cloud Gateway

  • API Developmentnot Chef
  • API Gatewaynot Chef
  • API Testingnot Chef
  • API Documentationnot Chef
  • Microservicesnot 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

Spring Cloud Gateway

  • Released under the Apache 2.0 license, free and open source with no commercial tier

Pricing, plan by plan

Chef

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

Spring Cloud Gateway

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Core Spring Cloud Gateway
    • Community 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 Spring Cloud Gateway if

  • You need routing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Java, Spring Boot.
  • You also want path rewriting.
Spring Cloud Gateway review

Questions people ask

Is Chef or Spring Cloud Gateway better?
Neither clearly leads. Chef starts at Free and Spring Cloud Gateway at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Chef or Spring Cloud Gateway?
Chef starts at Free and Spring Cloud Gateway at Free.
Does Chef or Spring Cloud Gateway run on more platforms?
Chef runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Api. Spring Cloud Gateway runs on Java, Spring Boot.
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 Spring Cloud Gateway is typically brought in for.
What can Chef do that Spring Cloud Gateway cannot?
Chef covers Recipes, Cookbooks, Roles, Data bags. Spring Cloud Gateway covers Routing, Path Rewriting, Circuit Breaker, Spring Boot.

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
Spring Cloud Gateway: Is Spring Cloud Gateway free?

Yes, Spring Cloud Gateway is free and open-source software. It is part of the Spring ecosystem and available through GitHub repositories with open-source dependencies like spring-cloud-starter-gateway-server-webflux and spring-cloud-starter-gateway-server-webmvc.

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
Spring Cloud Gateway: What enterprise support is available for Spring Cloud Gateway?

Tanzu Spring provides optional enterprise support including Day 0 access to security patches for organizations requiring guaranteed support, but specific pricing is not published on the Spring Cloud Gateway project page.

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
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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