Software · head to head
OVHcloud vs Chef
The short version
- Only Chef has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: OVHcloud public Cloud pricing table lists a scheduled price change with a column labeled Price on April 1, 2026, showing current rates are promotional and set to change on that date; 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
- They diverge on capability: OVHcloud covers Public Cloud, Chef covers Recipes.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which OVHcloud and Chef actually diverge.
Identical on both: 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 OVHcloud
- Public Cloud
- Private Cloud
- Bare Metal Servers
- Managed Kubernetes
- Object Storage
- Block Storage
- Load Balancers
- Databases
Only in Chef
- Recipes
- Cookbooks
- Roles
- Data bags
- Attributes
- Chef Server
- Chef Infra
- Chef Compliance
Both cover
- Docker
- Cloud deployment
- Linux support
- Windows support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
OVHcloud
- Businesses running public cloud compute and storage workloads on European infrastructurenot Chef
Chef
- Configuration management and infrastructure automation across server fleetsnot OVHcloud
- Enforcing compliance and audit policy on managed nodesnot OVHcloud
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
OVHcloud
- Public Cloud pricing table lists a scheduled price change with a column labeled Price on April 1, 2026, showing current rates are promotional and set to change on that date
- Free network traffic and free Object Storage API calls exclude the Asia-Pacific region
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
Pricing, plan by plan
OVHcloud
€3.5/month- Public Cloud Starter$3.5/month
- 1 vCPU
- 1 GB RAM
- 10 GB storage
- Bare Metal$49/month
- Dedicated hardware
- High performance
- Full control
Chef
Free- Open SourceFree
- Chef Infra
- Community support
- Full functionality
- Chef Automate$4000/year
- Chef Infra
- Compliance automation
- Insights
Which should you pick?
Choose OVHcloud if
- You need public cloud.
- You work on Linux, Windows, Api, Cli.
- You also want private cloud.
Choose Chef if
- You need recipes.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Api.
- You also want cookbooks.
Questions people ask
- Is OVHcloud or Chef better?
- Neither clearly leads. OVHcloud starts at €3.5/month and Chef at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, OVHcloud or Chef?
- Chef has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at €3.5/month for OVHcloud and Free for Chef.
- Does OVHcloud or Chef run on more platforms?
- OVHcloud runs on Linux, Windows, Api, Cli. Chef runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Api.
- Can I use Chef for free?
- Yes. Chef has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. OVHcloud starts at €3.5/month.
- What is OVHcloud best used for?
- OVHcloud is most often used for businesses running public cloud compute and storage workloads on european infrastructure. Of those, businesses running public cloud compute and storage workloads on european infrastructure is not what Chef is typically brought in for.
- What can OVHcloud do that Chef cannot?
- OVHcloud covers Public Cloud, Private Cloud, Bare Metal Servers, Managed Kubernetes. Chef covers Recipes, Cookbooks, Roles, Data bags. Both handle Docker, Cloud deployment, Linux support, Windows support.