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Best Microsoft Desired State Configuration Alternatives in 2026

Updated

20 platforms from configuration management tools ranked against Microsoft Desired State Configuration on the same published basis.

  1. 1
    Salt Free plan apiLinuxMacself-hostedWin Free7.4
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs Salt
  2. 2
    CFEngine Free plan apiLinuxMacself-hostedWeb Free7.3
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs CFEngine
  3. 3
    config.XO Free plan apiLinuxWebWin €449/mo7.3
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs config.XO
  4. 4
    Google Cloud VM Manager Free plan apiLinuxWebWin Free7.3
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs Google Cloud VM Manager
  5. 5
    pyinfra Free plan apiLinuxMacself-hostedWin Free7.3
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs pyinfra
  6. 6
    Rudder Free plan apiLinuxself-hostedWebWin Free7.3
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs Rudder
  7. 7
    Uyuni Free plan apiLinuxself-hostedWeb Free7.3
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs Uyuni
  8. 8
    OpenVox Free plan apiLinuxMacself-hostedWin Free7.2
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs OpenVox
  9. 9
    OpenDSC apiLinuxMacself-hostedWeb 7.0
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs OpenDSC
  10. 10
    Chef Infra Free trial apiLinuxMacself-hostedWin $4.92/mo6.9
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs Chef Infra
  11. 11
    Puppet Free trial apiLinuxMacself-hostedWeb 6.9
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs Puppet
  12. 12
    OpenText Dimensions CM apiLinuxMacself-hostedWin 6.8
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs OpenText Dimensions CM
  13. 13
    Quattor Free plan Linuxself-hosted Free6.0
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs Quattor
  14. 14
    AWS Systems Manager State Manager Free plan LinuxMacWebWin Free5.8
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs AWS Systems Manager State Manager
  15. 15
    LCFG Free plan Linuxself-hosted Free5.4
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs LCFG
  16. 16
    Azure Machine Configuration Web $6/mo5.3
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs Azure Machine Configuration
  17. 17
    Fabric LinuxMacWin 5.3
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs Fabric
  18. 18
    OpenText Server Automation LinuxWin 5.2
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs OpenText Server Automation
  19. 19
    Radmind LinuxMacWin 5.2
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs Radmind
  20. 20
    cdist LinuxMac 5.1
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs cdist

Microsoft Desired State Configuration alternatives compared

#PlatformScoreFree planFromRuns on
1Salt7.4Free planFreeAPI, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
2CFEngine7.3Free planFreeAPI, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows
3config.XO7.3Free plan€449/moAPI, Linux, Web, Windows
4Google Cloud VM Manager7.3Free planFreeAPI, Linux, Web, Windows
5pyinfra7.3Free planFreeAPI, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
6Rudder7.3Free planFreeAPI, Linux, self-hosted, Web, Windows
7Uyuni7.3Free planFreeAPI, Linux, self-hosted, Web
8OpenVox7.2Free planFreeAPI, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
9OpenDSC7.0No—API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows
10Chef Infra6.9No$4.92/moAPI, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
11Puppet6.9No—API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows
12OpenText Dimensions CM6.8No—API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
13Quattor6.0Free planFreeLinux, self-hosted
14AWS Systems Manager State Manager5.8Free planFreeLinux, Mac, Web, Windows
15LCFG5.4Free planFreeLinux, self-hosted
16Azure Machine Configuration5.3No$6/moWeb
17Fabric5.3No—Linux, Mac, Windows
18OpenText Server Automation5.2No—Linux, Windows
19Radmind5.2No—Linux, Mac, Windows
20cdist5.1No—Linux, Mac
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Questions about Microsoft Desired State Configuration alternatives

What is the best alternative to Microsoft Desired State Configuration?

Salt, number 1 in configuration management tools with a score of 7.4 out of 10. The others here: CFEngine, config.XO, Google Cloud VM Manager and 16 more.

What is the best free alternative to Microsoft Desired State Configuration?

Salt is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 11 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.

How are these alternatives 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.