Best IT Configuration Management Software in 2026
Updated
In short: Puppet is ranked #1 of 19 as of 1 October 2026, ahead of CFEngine and Rudder. The best-ranked option with a free plan is CFEngine. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Pulumi at $40/mo.
19 it configuration management software ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
| # | Platform | Score | Why | From | Free plan | Paid from | Deployment model | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Puppet | 8.9 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | self_hosted | View |
| 2 | CFEngine | 8.7 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | self_hosted | View |
| 3 | Rudder | 8.7 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | self_hosted | View |
| 4 | Salt | 8.7 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | self_hosted | View |
| 5 | Foreman | 8.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | self_hosted | View |
| 6 | Canonical Landscape | 8.1 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $571.75/mo | Yes | — | hybrid | View |
| 7 | Pulumi | 7.9 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $40/mo | Yes | 40 /mo | — | View |
| 8 | AWS CloudFormation | 7.6 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | — | View |
| 9 | Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Container Registry | 7.0 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | — | View |
| 10 | OpenTofu | 6.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | — | View |
| 11 | AWS Systems Manager State Manager | 6.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | cloud | View |
| 12 | Google Cloud VM Manager | 6.2 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | cloud | View |
| 13 | Chef Infra | 6.1 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | No | — | — | View |
| 14 | Nix | 5.6 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | — | View |
| 15 | Crossplane | 5.2 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | — | View |
| 16 | Uyuni | 5.0 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | — | View |
| 17 |  Juju | 5.0 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | self_hosted | View |
| 18 |  OpenStack Heat | 4.6 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | — | View |
| 19 | Google Cloud Infrastructure Manager | 4.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | No | — | — | View |
Is your platform on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored. They are labelled, and the editorial order and scores never change for payment.
Questions about this list
Which it configuration management software is ranked first on Inferse?
Puppet is ranked #1 of 19 with a score of 8.9. CFEngine is second and Rudder third.
How many of these have a free plan?
9 of the 19 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, Pulumi has the lowest first paid tier we found: $40/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes, open and connectable first: a public API, open-source code, the depth of its documentation and a free tier to try it on. Model lists are sorted by the figure in their title, exactly as each provider publishes it. Paid placements never change a rank.