Chef Reviews

Name: Chef
Brand: Progress Software
Rating: 4.0 (19 reviews)

4.0 out of 5

19 reviews
95% willing to recommend

What is Chef?

Chef, is the leader in DevOps, driving collaboration through code to automate infrastructure, security, compliance and applications. Chef provides a single path to production making it faster and safer to add value to applications and meet the demands of the customer. Deployed broadly in production by the Global 5000 and used by more than half of the Fortune 500, Chef develops 100 percent of its software as open source under the Apache 2.0 license with no restrictions on its use. Chef Enterprise Automation Stack™, a commercial distribution, is developed solely from that open source code and unifies security, compliance, infrastructure and application automation with observability. Chef provides an unequaled developer experience for the Coded Enterprise by enabling users to express infrastructure, security policies and the application lifecycle as code, modernizing development, packaging and delivery of any application to any platform. For more information, visit http://chef.io and follow @chef.

Get the Chef Buyer's Guide and find out what your peers are saying about Chef, Microsoft Azure DevOps, Microsoft Configuration Manager and more!

Chef is the #11 ranked solution in top Release Automation solutions, #18 ranked solution in top Configuration Management solutions, and #20 ranked solution in top Build Automation solutions. PeerSpot users give Chef an average rating of 8.0 out of 10. Chef is most commonly compared to Microsoft Azure DevOps: Chef vs Microsoft Azure DevOps. Chef is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 61% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a financial services firm, accounting for 18% of all views.

Helped 865,140 peers since 2012

Featured Chef reviews

Aaron P

DevOps Engineer at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees

In terms of improvement, Chef could get better by being more widely available, adapting to different needs, and providing better documentation. There is also an issue with shared resources like cookbooks lacking context, which could lead to problems when multiple companies use them. Chef should aim for wider availability, better flexibility, clearer documentation, and improved management of shared resources to prevent conflicts. Many companies are now moving to Ansible, so I would recommend better documentation, easier customer use, and simpler integration. I have concerns about the complexity of migrating to different servers and would prefer a simpler process.

Read full review

Arun S .

Senior Consultant at a tech services company with 201-500 employees

Chef can be scaled as needed. The Chef server itself can scale but it depends on the available resources. You can upgrade specific resources to meet the demand. Similarly, with clients, you can add as many clients as you need. Again, this depends on the server resources. If the server has enough resources, it can handle the number of servers required to manage the infrastructure. Chef can be scaled to meet the needs of the infrastructure being managed. The solution is good to manage multiple large infrastructures. We can have 10 to 10,000 users using this solution and it manages them well.

Read full review

Neha Bisen

Devops Intern at Brillect Tech Solutions Pvt. Ltd

I used the solution to transform my infrastructure into code The solution is easy to use and learn, and it easily automates all the code and infrastructure. The solution quickly automates development in a cloud environment and provides flexibility for selecting multiple clouds in infrastructure.…

Read full review

Chef mindshare

Product category:

As of August 2025, the mindshare of Chef in the Configuration Management category stands at 2.1%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year, according to calculations based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Configuration Management

PeerResearch reports based on Chef reviews

Type	Title	Date
Category	Configuration Management	Aug 17, 2025	Download
Product	Reviews, tips, and advice from real users	Aug 17, 2025	Download
Comparison	Chef vs Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform	Aug 17, 2025	Download
Comparison	Chef vs Microsoft Intune	Aug 17, 2025	Download
Comparison	Chef vs Microsoft Configuration Manager	Aug 17, 2025	Download

Title	Rating	Mindshare	Recommending
Microsoft Azure DevOps	4.1	N/A	95%	135 interviews Add to research
Microsoft Configuration Manager	4.1	11.8%	91%	83 interviews Add to research

Valuable Features

Chef stands out for its compliance feature, configuration management, optimization abilities, and automation of infrastructure and applications. Users appreciate its smooth integration with CI processes, user-friendly interface, and error reduction in system management. It facilitates easy learning and use, quick automation in cloud environments, and offers flexibility for multiple cloud selections. Ideal for those focusing on configuration management with infrastructure as code.

"The solution is easy to use and learn, and it easily automates all the code and infrastructure."
"Chef is a great tool for an automation person who wants to do configuration management with infrastructure as a code."
"The product is useful for automating processes."

Room for Improvement

Chef needs improvement in support and pricing. It lacks effective role-based access management and better documentation. There are issues with shared resources like cookbooks lacking context, leading to problems for multiple companies. It is an old technology that complicates automation by requiring a client on each service. Chef does not support containerized aspects of its own products and needs a simpler server migration process. Many companies are migrating to Ansible.

"In the future, Chef could develop a docker container or docker images."
"It is an old technology."
"Chef could get better by being more widely available, adapting to different needs, and providing better documentation."

ROI

Users reported significant reductions in infrastructure management time and increased deployment speed using Chef. Companies experienced faster configurations and efficient resource utilization, which translated into cost savings and improved system reliability. Many noted that Chef's automation capabilities led to fewer errors during deployments, further enhancing operational efficiency. Chef's scalability supported growing business needs effectively, providing an excellent return on investment through improved productivity and reduced manual intervention.

Pricing

Chef offers flexible pricing based on infrastructure size and specific requirements. Users report costs typically start from $137 per node annually. Custom enterprise contracts may offer volume discounts. Additional fees apply for premium support and training. This makes Chef suitable for scalable and complex environments, providing robust automation capabilities.

"Chef is priced based on the number of nodes."
"Pricing for Chef is high."
"I wasn't involved in the purchasing, but I am pretty sure that we are happy with the current pricing and licensing since it never comes up."

Popular Use Cases

Organizations primarily use Chef for provisioning and managing configurations of operating systems and servers. It automates deployment steps, ensures consistency across numerous servers, and handles infrastructure as code. Chef uses a server-client mechanism to verify and maintain required configurations, preventing inconsistencies. Chef also helps manage Kubernetes and transform infrastructure into code, making it a versatile tool in large-scale server management and configuration.

Service and Support

Chef offers responsive and knowledgeable customer service. Users highlight the team's promptness and efficiency in addressing issues. Support staff are frequently described as professional and patient. Multiple users note that assistance is helpful and readily available, enhancing the overall experience. Chef's customer service consistently exceeds expectations, contributing to high levels of user satisfaction. Users feel confident navigating Chef due to the reliable support system in place.

Deployment

Chef's initial setup was described as easy and simple. Installation could take a few hours or be completed in 15 to 20 minutes. Completing the setup often depends on what is included in the environment and the need to integrate with other products. It typically can be done in one day. The setup was mostly deployed on the cloud. Chef's documentation was very good, aiding the process.

Scalability

Chef is known for its scalability. It can be expanded as needed, depending on server resources. Organizations can add numerous clients and upgrade resources as required to manage infrastructure. Chef effectively handles multiple large infrastructures and supports thousands of users. With sufficient resources, it manages extensive numbers of servers efficiently. Many customers are satisfied with its scalability, often rating it highly.

Stability

Users are satisfied with the stability of Chef. They note that while its performance is good, it is similar to some of its competitors, such as Ansible from Red Hat. Users often choose tools based on specific use cases and customer needs. Chef is rated an eight or nine out of ten for stability. Feedback indicates that they encountered no issues related to stability during usage.

These insights are based on the in-depth reviews provided by peers to help you make a better buying decision.

Download our Chef Buyer's Guide for additional reliable information.