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Pulumi vs Puppet

Pulumi logo

Pulumi

Software

Modern infrastructure as code using programming languages

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Puppet logo

Puppet

Software

Infrastructure automation for enterprises

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Pulumi the free Individual plan allows one user and one concurrent stack update; Puppet the pricing page publishes no rate and no minimum, and asks you to fill in a form to be sent pricing and plan information
  • They diverge on capability: Pulumi covers Multi-language support, Puppet covers Manifests.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Pulumi and Puppet actually diverge.

Attributes where Pulumi and Puppet differ
AttributePulumiPuppet
Pricing modelfreemiumopen-source
Founded20172005

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (Linux, Windows, Mac, Api), 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 Pulumi

  • Multi-language support
  • Multi-cloud
  • State management
  • Secrets management
  • RBAC
  • Stacks
  • Automation API
  • Policy as Code

Only in Puppet

  • Manifests
  • Modules
  • Classes
  • Variables
  • Facts
  • Puppet Master
  • Hiera
  • Facter

Both cover

  • AWS
  • Azure
  • GCP
  • Kubernetes
  • On-premise deployment
  • Cloud deployment
  • Linux support
  • Windows support

What people use each for

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

Pulumi

  • Defining cloud infrastructure as code in TypeScript, Python, Go, C# or Java rather than a DSLnot Puppet
  • Managing Pulumi state and secrets in a hosted backend instead of self-managed storagenot Puppet
  • Policy, drift detection and deployment workflows for platform engineering teamsnot Puppet

Puppet

  • Declarative configuration management of servers at scalenot Pulumi
  • Enforcing infrastructure compliance policy continuouslynot Pulumi

Where each one falls short

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

Pulumi

  • The free Individual plan allows one user and one concurrent stack update
  • The Team plan is $40 per month base including 40 credits, and caps the organisation at 10 users
  • SAML/SSO, RBAC, audit logs and drift detection require the Enterprise plan at $400 per month base
  • The per-resource rate rises from $0.1825 per resource per month on Team to $0.365 on Enterprise, so upgrading raises the unit price as well as the base fee
  • Managed secrets are billed separately at $0.50 per secret per month on Team and $0.75 on Enterprise
  • Self-hosting, SCIM user sync, audit log export and 24x7 support are only in Business Critical, which is custom priced with no published rate
  • Team includes up to 500 resources and Enterprise up to 2,000, with everything beyond billed on demand as credits

Puppet

  • The pricing page publishes no rate and no minimum, and asks you to fill in a form to be sent pricing and plan information
  • Pricing is banded by number of managed nodes, with separate tiers for under 25 nodes and 25 or more nodes
  • The product is split into Puppet Enterprise and a higher Puppet Enterprise Advanced edition, so compliance oriented features sit behind the upper tier

Pricing, plan by plan

Pulumi

Free
  • Pulumi CommunityFree
    • Open source
    • Community support
    • Self-hosted
  • Pulumi Cloud$10/month
    • Hosted backend
    • Team collaboration
    • RBAC

Puppet

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Puppet Agent
    • Community support
    • Full DSL
  • Puppet Enterprise$100/month
    • Puppet Server
    • Console
    • RBAC

Which should you pick?

Choose Pulumi if

  • You need multi-language support.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Api.
  • You also want multi-cloud.
Pulumi review

Choose Puppet if

  • You need manifests.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Api.
  • You also want modules.
Puppet review

Questions people ask

Is Pulumi or Puppet better?
Neither clearly leads. Pulumi starts at Free and Puppet at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Pulumi or Puppet?
Pulumi starts at Free and Puppet at Free.
Does Pulumi or Puppet run on more platforms?
Both run on Linux, Windows, Mac, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Pulumi for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Pulumi best used for?
Pulumi is most often used for defining cloud infrastructure as code in typescript, python, go, c# or java rather than a dsl, managing pulumi state and secrets in a hosted backend instead of self-managed storage, policy, drift detection and deployment workflows for platform engineering teams. Of those, defining cloud infrastructure as code in typescript, python, go, c# or java rather than a dsl and managing pulumi state and secrets in a hosted backend instead of self-managed storage are not what Puppet is typically brought in for.
What can Pulumi do that Puppet cannot?
Pulumi covers Multi-language support, Multi-cloud, State management, Secrets management. Puppet covers Manifests, Modules, Classes, Variables. Both handle AWS, Azure, GCP, Kubernetes.
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