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Chef vs Zerto

Chef logo

Chef

Software

Infrastructure automation and management

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zerto logo

Zerto

Software

Continuous data protection with near-zero RPO

From
$5/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; Zerto zerto with Azure is listed on UK G-Cloud as a reseller-managed disaster recovery service, not Zerto's own licence pricing, with OS management from £75 per host per month for the public sector
  • They diverge on capability: Chef covers Recipes, Zerto covers Continuous data protection.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Chef and Zerto actually diverge.

Attributes where Chef and Zerto differ
AttributeChefZerto
Starting priceFree$5/month
Pricing modelopen-sourcesubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, Windows, Mac, ApiWindows, Linux, Web

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown), founded (2009).

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 Zerto

  • Continuous data protection
  • Journal-based recovery
  • Automated failover
  • Non-disruptive testing
  • Multi-cloud mobility
  • Long-term retention
  • VMware
  • Hyper-V

Both cover

  • AWS
  • Azure
  • Linux support
  • Windows 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 Zerto
  • Enforcing compliance and audit policy on managed nodesnot Zerto

Zerto

  • Data protectionnot Chef
  • Disaster recoverynot Chef
  • Business continuitynot Chef
  • Ransomware protectionnot Chef
  • Compliancenot 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

Zerto

  • Zerto with Azure is listed on UK G-Cloud as a reseller-managed disaster recovery service, not Zerto's own licence pricing, with OS management from £75 per host per month for the public sector

Pricing, plan by plan

Chef

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

Zerto

$5/month
  • Zerto Enterprise Cloud$5/month
    • Continuous protection
    • Journal-based recovery
    • Multi-cloud mobility

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 Zerto if

  • You need continuous data protection.
  • You work on Windows, Linux, Web.
  • You also want journal-based recovery.
Zerto review

Questions people ask

Is Chef or Zerto better?
Neither clearly leads. Chef starts at Free and Zerto at $5/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Chef or Zerto?
Chef has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Chef and $5/month for Zerto.
Does Chef or Zerto run on more platforms?
Chef runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Api. Zerto runs on Windows, Linux, Web.
Can I use Chef for free?
Yes. Chef has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Zerto starts at $5/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 Zerto is typically brought in for.
What can Chef do that Zerto cannot?
Chef covers Recipes, Cookbooks, Roles, Data bags. Zerto covers Continuous data protection, Journal-based recovery, Automated failover, Non-disruptive testing. Both handle AWS, Azure, Linux support, Windows support.
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