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Vagrant vs Chef

Vagrant logo

Vagrant

Software

Development environments made easy

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Chef logo

Chef

Software

Infrastructure automation and management

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Vagrant vagrant 2.4.3 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1 with IBM Corporation as licensor, not an OSI open source licence; 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: Vagrant covers Box management, Chef covers Recipes.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Vagrant and Chef actually diverge.

Attributes where Vagrant and Chef differ
AttributeVagrantChef
PlatformsLinux, Windows, MacLinux, Windows, Mac, Api
Founded20102009

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (open-source), free tier (Yes), 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 Vagrant

  • Box management
  • Provider support
  • Multi-machine setups
  • Provisioners
  • Networking
  • Synced folders
  • Snapshots
  • Plugins

Only in Chef

  • Recipes
  • Cookbooks
  • Roles
  • Data bags
  • Attributes
  • Chef Server
  • Chef Infra
  • Chef Compliance

Both cover

  • Docker
  • AWS
  • 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.

Vagrant

  • Reproducible local development environments defined in a Vagrantfilenot Chef
  • Provisioning identical VMs across VirtualBox, VMware and Hyper-V for a teamnot Chef
  • Sandboxing multi-machine setups on a developer laptopnot Chef

Chef

  • Configuration management and infrastructure automation across server fleetsnot Vagrant
  • Enforcing compliance and audit policy on managed nodesnot Vagrant

Where each one falls short

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

Vagrant

  • Vagrant 2.4.3 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1 with IBM Corporation as licensor, not an OSI open source licence
  • The Additional Use Grant forbids offering Vagrant to third parties on a hosted or embedded basis in a paid product that competes with IBM's paid versions of Vagrant
  • Each version converts to the MPL 2.0 Change License only four years after that version is first published
  • Uses that fall outside the Additional Use Grant require a separately negotiated licence from the licensor

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

Vagrant

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Development environment provisioning
    • Multiple providers
    • Provisioner support

Chef

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Vagrant if

  • You need box management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac.
  • You also want provider support.
Vagrant review

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

Questions people ask

Is Vagrant or Chef better?
Neither clearly leads. Vagrant starts at Free and Chef at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Vagrant or Chef?
Vagrant starts at Free and Chef at Free.
Does Vagrant or Chef run on more platforms?
Vagrant runs on Linux, Windows, Mac. Chef runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Api.
Can I use Vagrant for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Vagrant best used for?
Vagrant is most often used for reproducible local development environments defined in a vagrantfile, provisioning identical vms across virtualbox, vmware and hyper-v for a team, sandboxing multi-machine setups on a developer laptop. Of those, reproducible local development environments defined in a vagrantfile and provisioning identical vms across virtualbox, vmware and hyper-v for a team are not what Chef is typically brought in for.
What can Vagrant do that Chef cannot?
Vagrant covers Box management, Provider support, Multi-machine setups, Provisioners. Chef covers Recipes, Cookbooks, Roles, Data bags. Both handle Docker, AWS, On-premise deployment, Cloud deployment.
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