Chef vs GitHub Actions comparison

Progress Software and GitHub are both solutions in the Build Automation category. Progress Software is ranked #20 with an average rating of 7.0, while GitHub is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.5. Progress Software holds a 0.6% mindshare in BA, compared to GitHub’s 11.5% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Progress Software users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of GitHub users who would recommend it.

Chef

Read 19 Chef reviews

276 Views
146 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

GitHub Actions

Read 21 GitHub Actions reviews

2,693 Views
2,078 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Chef

GitHub Actions

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 5, 2025

Chef and GitHub Actions are both essential in the DevOps space, competing primarily in continuous integration and infrastructure management. GitHub Actions stands out due to its superior features integrated within the GitHub ecosystem, offering a seamless experience for existing GitHub users.

Features: Chef provides a powerful scripting language for system automation, comprehensive configuration management, and the ability to handle vast numbers of servers effortlessly. In contrast, GitHub Actions offers native integration with GitHub, easy-to-define workflows, and strong automation capabilities that are favored for development teams using GitHub.

Room for Improvement: Chef could enhance its rollback functionalities and streamline deployment procedures. It's also seen as complex for smaller setups. GitHub Actions would benefit from improved pipeline starting speeds and enhanced AI project support. Additionally, deeper insights into integration with external tools could elevate its usability.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Chef has a complex deployment model that fits large-scale infrastructures, backed by comprehensive enterprise support. Meanwhile, GitHub Actions offers an intuitive, easier deployment directly within GitHub's interface with integrated support, making it straightforward for GitHub-centric teams.

Pricing and ROI: Chef requires significant initial investment but provides high ROI for detailed system management. GitHub Actions leverages flexible pricing within GitHub, scalable to project needs, attracting teams seeking cost-effective CI/CD integration without large upfront costs.

To learn more, read our detailed Chef vs. GitHub Actions Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Chef vs. GitHub Actions

June 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Chef

Ranking in Build Automation

20th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Release Automation (11th), Configuration Management (18th)

GitHub Actions

Ranking in Build Automation

4th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Build Automation category, the mindshare of Chef is 0.6%, down from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of GitHub Actions is 11.5%, up from 6.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Build Automation

Featured Reviews

Aaron P

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

Easy configuration management, optimization abilities, and complete infrastructure and application automation

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.

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MohamedMostafa1

Chief Software Engineer at Valeo

Handles scalability well, automatically managing execution infrastructure without requiring additional configurationsThe automation feature of GitHub Actions is

I find the automation feature of GitHub Actions most valuable for our building processes. It integrates seamlessly with GitHub, so there's no extra configuration needed, making the building process easy and efficient. GitHub Actions handles scalability well, automatically managing execution infrastructure without requiring additional configurations. We haven't yet explored GitHub Actions' support for AI projects, as we haven't used its AI capabilities.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"I wanted to monitor a hybrid cloud environment, one using AWS and Azure. If I have to provision/orchestrate between multiple cloud platforms, I can use Chef as a one-stop solution, to broker between those cloud platforms and orchestrate around them, rather than going directly into each of the cloud-vendors' consoles."

"The scalability of the product is quite nice."

"You set it and forget it. You don't have to worry about the reliability or the deviations from any of the other configurations."

"The most valuable feature is automation."

"The most important thing is it can handle a 100,000 servers at the same time easily with no time constraints."

"It streamlined our deployments and system configurations across the board rather than have us use multiple configurations or tools, basically a one stop shop."

"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."

More Chef pros

"It is user-friendly, with clear and organized processes, making it easy to navigate and work with."

"GitHub Actions helps automate the deployment process, eliminating manual copying and testing, which saves time and minimizes errors."

"I find the automation feature of GitHub Actions most valuable for our building processes. It integrates seamlessly with GitHub, so there's no extra configuration needed, making the building process easy and efficient. GitHub Actions handles scalability well, automatically managing execution infrastructure without requiring additional configurations. We haven't yet explored GitHub Actions' support for AI projects, as we haven't used its AI capabilities."

"The solution has saved us approximately 20% in terms of efficiency and productivity."

"The product's most beneficial feature is the ability to create workflows within the solution."

"The most valuable features of GitHub Actions include its seamless integration within GitHub, which simplifies the CI/CD pipeline setup. The scalability of using different types of runners—both public and private runners—enhances deployment flexibility."

"The most valuable feature of GitHub Actions is the ability to automate various tasks, such as backups and deployments, to ease the development workflow."

"It is easy to use, especially if you are accustomed to using GitHub."

More GitHub Actions pros

Cons

"There is a slight barrier to entry if you are used to using Ansible, since it is Ruby-based."

"In the future, Chef could develop a docker container or docker images."

"The solution could improve in managing role-based access. This would be helpful."

"I would rate this solution a nine because our use case and whatever we need is there. Ten out of ten is perfect. We have to go to IOD and stuff so they should consider things like this to make it a ten."

"They could provide more features, so the recipes could be developed in a simpler and faster way. There is still a lot of room for improvement, providing better functionalities when creating recipes."

"The agent on the server sometimes acts finicky."

"Vertical scalability is still good but the horizontal, adding more technologies, platforms, tools, integrations, Chef should take a look into that."

"If only Chef were easier to use and code, it would be used much more widely by the community."

More Chef cons

"GitHub sometimes makes it difficult to debug actions."

"The solution's integration capabilities and UI are areas of concern where improvement is required to make the product more user-friendly."

"The UI could be better."

"The primary area for improvement I see is in artifact management, especially for saving screenshots or videos from failed tests or data-driven actions. Currently, the configuration for saving these artifacts is complex."

"Sometimes incremental steps should be taken during deployment instead of trying to execute all tasks simultaneously, particularly when dealing with AWS EKS clusters and Helm charts."

"The minor drawback of GitHub Actions is the management of the dashboard and pipeline runs, which needs improvement. The dashboard for running pipelines could be better."

"We still use Jenkins for some tasks, which suggests there may be areas for improvement in GitHub Actions."

"There is a part that detects outdated libraries. If that feature could be more intuitive and informative, that would be nice."

More GitHub Actions cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price per node is a little weird. It doesn't scale along with your organization. If you're truly utilizing Chef to its fullest, then the number of nodes which are being utilized in any particular day might scale or change based on your Auto Scaling groups. How do you keep track of that or audit it? Then, how do you appropriately license it? It's difficult."

"We are able to save in development time, deployment time, and it makes it easier to manage the environments."

"The price is always a problem. It is high. There is room for improvement. I do like purchasing on the AWS Marketplace, but I would like the ability to negotiate and have some flexibility in the pricing on it."

"When we're rolling out a new server, we're not using the AWS Marketplace AMI, we're using our own AMI, but we are paying them a licensing fee."

"Pricing for Chef is high."

"Chef is priced based on the number of nodes."

"We are using the free, open source version of the software, which we are happy with at this time."

"Purchasing the solution from AWS Marketplace was a good experience. AWS's pricing is pretty in line with the product's regular pricing. Though instance-wise, AWS is not the cheapest in the market."

More Chef pricing and cost advice

"It's low-priced. Not high, but definitely low."

"The cost for GitHub Actions may be around $45 dollars per user."

"Price-wise, GitHub Actions is okay. If I want to use the product's advanced features, then I need to pay the licensing charges for the solution."

"It is free and open platform, so I would rate it 1 out of 10."

"Regarding cost, as an enterprise, we negotiate our license and expenses, so I can't provide a specific rating for that."

"For our basic usage, we didn't have to pay."

"The tool's price is okay and reasonable."

"The product is slightly more expensive than some alternatives."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

21%

Computer Software Company

15%

University

Retailer

Financial Services Firm

17%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Chef?

Chef is a great tool for an automation person who wants to do configuration management with infrastructure as a code.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Chef?

Chef is priced based on the number of nodes.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Chef?

Chef does not support the containerized things of Chef products. In the future, Chef could develop a docker container or docker images.

See all answers

What do you like most about GitHub Actions?

I have optimized job execution time by running test scripts in parallel and creating multiple pipelines; we've significantly reduced execution times. What could take 50 minutes can be cut down to j...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for GitHub Actions?

I would rate pricing a seven, which leans toward the expensive side. However, there is still value for money, and that's why we continue using it.

See all answers

What needs improvement with GitHub Actions?

I would need to check with my team about specific shortcomings. We still use Jenkins ( /products/jenkins-reviews ) for some tasks, which suggests there may be areas for improvement in GitHub Actions.

See all answers

Comparisons

BigFix vs Chef

Compared 45% of the time

AWS Systems Manager vs Chef

Compared 13% of the time

VMware Aria Automation vs Chef

Compared 10% of the time

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform vs Chef

Compared 9% of the time

Microsoft Configuration Manager vs Chef

Compared 8% of the time

More Chef Competitors

Tekton vs GitHub Actions

Compared 34% of the time

Harness vs GitHub Actions

Compared 15% of the time

Bamboo vs GitHub Actions

Compared 14% of the time

TeamCity vs GitHub Actions

Compared 9% of the time

AWS CodePipeline vs GitHub Actions

Compared 4% of the time

More GitHub Actions Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Chef

June 2025

Download Chef product report

Buyer's Guide

GitHub Actions

June 2025

Download GitHub Actions product report

Overview

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.

Progress Software

GitHub Actions streamlines CI/CD processes with an intuitive YAML workflow and robust automation, enhancing efficiency and integration with third-party tools and cloud providers.

GitHub Actions automates development pipelines, supports scalable public and private runners, and manages secure secrets. This tool integrates seamlessly with platforms like AWS, Kubernetes, Google Cloud, and Databricks. It enhances DevOps workflows with reliable task automation. Users note areas for UI and deployment tool improvements, artifact management simplification, and additional programming language support. Debugging complexity and hosting agent transitions pose challenges, along with integration enhancements for tools like OneDrive.

What are GitHub Actions' key features?

YAML Workflow Creation: Simplifies configuration with intuitive YAML.
CI/CD Integration: Provides seamless integration within DevOps pipelines.
Automation Capabilities: Automates tasks with minimal manual intervention.
Third-Party Tool Compatibility: Works well with diverse tools and platforms.
Secure Secrets Management: Protects sensitive information effectively.

What benefits do users find in GitHub Actions?

Enhanced Performance: Boosts task execution speed and reliability.
Scalability: Supports growth with flexible runner options.
Improved Release Cycles: Ensures consistent updates and deployments.
Workflow Efficiency: Reduces manual tasks, increasing operational efficiency.

Companies in tech and software development frequently utilize GitHub Actions for integrating, deploying, and versioning projects. It is often employed for deploying applications to cloud environments like AWS and Kubernetes, managing extensive CI/CD workflows, and automating test and security operations, thereby streamlining production cycles across industries.

GitHub

Sample Customers

Facebook, Standard Bank, GE Capital, Nordstrom, Optum, Barclays, IGN, General Motors, Scholastic, Riot Games, NCR, Gap

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Chef vs. GitHub Actions

June 2025

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