For vendors
AdvertiseTop spots, featured rows, home sponsor Get listedAdd a product we don't cover yet Claim a listingFree: verify the domain, then correct your page Vendor dashboardNumbers, orders and placements
Mobile US PressList your app
Vendor dashboard

Best Microsoft Desired State Configuration Alternatives in 2026

Updated

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

  1. 1
    Quattor Free plan Linuxself-hosted Free6.4
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs Quattor
  2. 2
    Salt Free plan apiLinuxMacself-hostedWin Free6.4
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs Salt
  3. 3
    CFEngine Free plan apiLinuxMacself-hostedWeb Free6.3
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs CFEngine
  4. 4
    config.XO Free plan apiLinuxWebWin €449/mo6.3
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs config.XO
  5. 5
    Google Cloud VM Manager Free plan apiLinuxWebWin Free6.3
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs Google Cloud VM Manager
  6. 6
    pyinfra Free plan apiLinuxMacself-hostedWin Free6.3
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs pyinfra
  7. 7
    Rudder Free plan apiLinuxself-hostedWebWin Free6.3
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs Rudder
  8. 8
    Uyuni Free plan apiLinuxself-hostedWeb Free6.3
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs Uyuni
  9. 9
    AWS Systems Manager State Manager Free plan LinuxMacWebWin Free6.2
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs AWS Systems Manager State Manager
  10. 10
    OpenVox Free plan apiLinuxMacself-hostedWin Free6.2
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs OpenVox
  11. 11
    Chef Infra Free trial apiLinuxMacself-hostedWin $4.92/mo5.8
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs Chef Infra
  12. 12
    OpenDSC apiLinuxMacself-hostedWeb 5.8
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs OpenDSC
  13. 13
    Puppet Free trial apiLinuxMacself-hostedWeb 5.7
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs Puppet
  14. 14
    LCFG Free plan Linuxself-hosted Free5.6
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs LCFG
  15. 15
    OpenText Dimensions CM apiLinuxMacself-hostedWin 5.6
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs OpenText Dimensions CM
  16. 16
    Azure Machine Configuration Web $6/mo5.5
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs Azure Machine Configuration
  17. 17
    Fabric LinuxMacWin 5.5
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs Fabric
  18. 18
    OpenText Server Automation LinuxWin 5.4
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs OpenText Server Automation
  19. 19
    Radmind LinuxMacWin 5.4
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs Radmind
  20. 20
    cdist LinuxMac 5.3
    Microsoft Desired State Configuration vs cdist

Microsoft Desired State Configuration alternatives compared

#AppScoreFree planFromRuns on
1Quattor6.4Free planFreeLinux, self-hosted
2Salt6.4Free planFreeAPI, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
3CFEngine6.3Free planFreeAPI, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows
4config.XO6.3Free plan€449/moAPI, Linux, Web, Windows
5Google Cloud VM Manager6.3Free planFreeAPI, Linux, Web, Windows
6pyinfra6.3Free planFreeAPI, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
7Rudder6.3Free planFreeAPI, Linux, self-hosted, Web, Windows
8Uyuni6.3Free planFreeAPI, Linux, self-hosted, Web
9AWS Systems Manager State Manager6.2Free planFreeLinux, Mac, Web, Windows
10OpenVox6.2Free planFreeAPI, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
11Chef Infra5.8No$4.92/moAPI, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
12OpenDSC5.8No—API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows
13Puppet5.7No—API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows
14LCFG5.6Free planFreeLinux, self-hosted
15OpenText Dimensions CM5.6No—API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
16Azure Machine Configuration5.5No$6/moWeb
17Fabric5.5No—Linux, Mac, Windows
18OpenText Server Automation5.4No—Linux, Windows
19Radmind5.4No—Linux, Mac, Windows
20cdist5.3No—Linux, Mac
Make your app an alternative to Microsoft Desired State Configuration

The sponsored alternative slot on this page is labelled Sponsored.

See the price

Questions about Microsoft Desired State Configuration alternatives

What is the best alternative to Microsoft Desired State Configuration?

Quattor, number 1 in configuration management tools with a score of 6.4 out of 10. The others here: Salt, CFEngine, config.XO and 16 more.

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

Quattor 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 mobile-first: a phone app alongside the web or desktop product, a free tier and the depth of its documentation.