# Chef: how AI models rank it, November 2026

Gane Index, November 2026 Edition. Named in 17 judge labels across 2 categories by 11 of 14 models. Page: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/chef

## Standing by category

| Category | Share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Infrastructure as code](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/cloud/infrastructure-as-code/index.md) | 0% | 41 | 56% | 16 |
| [Data center networking](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/network/data-center-networking/index.md) | 0% | 80 | 0% | 1 |

## What the models said for it

- "Best For: Complex system configurations, Ruby teams" (GLM 4.7 FlashX, IaC)

## And against it

- "Why avoid for IaC: Weak state-tracking engines compared to purpose-built IaC tools." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, IaC)
- "Chef and Puppet — ⚠️ In decline ... Avoid for new work" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, IaC)
- "If you are building a new environment, avoid Chef." (Qwen 3.7 Flash, IaC)
- "Chef | ❌ Avoid | End-of-life November 2026" (Kimi K2, IaC)

## By model

| Model | First choice | Alternative | Mention | Warning | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| GPT-5.4 mini | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Perplexity Sonar | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Grok 4.20 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Mistral Small | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Llama 4 Maverick | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Kimi K2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| MiniMax M2.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| GPT-6 Luna | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Muse Glimmer 30B | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |

## Sources returned with these answers

The sites and pages cited by the answers that named Chef, from 33 of the 39 answers that named it (only the models that return a source list).

### Domains cited

- pulumi.com: 19
- spacelift.io: 13
- docs.aws.amazon.com: 12
- techtarget.com: 12
- devopsschool.com: 11
- claranet.com: 8
- daily.dev: 7
- dev.to: 7
- bestdevops.com: 6
- computingforgeeks.com: 6

### Pages cited

- https://spacelift.io/blog/infrastructure-as-code-tools: 11
- https://devopsschool.com/blog/infrastructure-as-code-iac-tools-in-2024: 10
- https://pulumi.com/blog/infrastructure-as-code-tools: 10
- https://docs.aws.amazon.com/pdfs/prescriptive-guidance/latest/choose-iac-tool/choose-iac-tool.pdf: 9
- https://pulumi.com/blog/best-terraform-alternatives: 9
- https://techtarget.com/news/8-popular-infrastructure-as-code-IaC-tools-to-consider/858033: 9
- https://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/choose-iac-tool/choose-tool.html: 7
- https://bestdevops.com/top-10-infrastructure-as-code-iac-tools-features-pros-cons-comparison: 6

## In its own words

What Chef's own pages state, read 2026-09-28. Stated by the vendor, not checked by the index.

- Positioning: DevOps Automation & Infrastructure Management Software (https://chef.io/)
- For: enterprises (https://chef.io/)
- Price stated: null (https://www.chef.io/pricing/subscription-model-faq)
- Starting price: null (https://www.chef.io/pricing/subscription-model-faq)
- Free plan or trial: Free Trial (https://chef.io/)
- Customers named: IBM, Meta, iManage, Azure, Bank Hapoalim, Capital One, Carfax, Cerner

## What it publishes

Every page chef.io exposes, read 2026-09-29: 7739 addresses. By kind, pages and the last 90 days:

- blog: 1956 pages, 10 in the last 90 days, latest 2026-09-02
- case study: 36 pages, 0 in the last 90 days, latest 2021-02-23
- webinar or virtual event: 212 pages, 5 in the last 90 days, latest 2026-10-01
- conference or event: 85 pages, 0 in the last 90 days, latest 2024-04-17
- report or ebook: 72 pages, 0 in the last 90 days, latest undated
- comparison: 5 pages, 0 in the last 90 days, latest 2026-01-28
- template or tool: 180 pages, 0 in the last 90 days, latest undated
- glossary or explainer: 31 pages, 0 in the last 90 days, latest 2022-06-21
- podcast or video: 27 pages, 0 in the last 90 days, latest 2013-10-21
- news or press: 2 pages, 0 in the last 90 days, latest 2022-04-26
- Recent: 2026-10-01 webinar or virtual event: How to migrate to chef 360 benefits best practices and next steps na https://www.chef.io/webinars/how-to-migrate-to-chef-360-benefits-best-practices-and-next-steps-na
- Recent: 2026-10-01 webinar or virtual event: How to migrate to chef 360 benefits best practices and next steps emea https://www.chef.io/webinars/how-to-migrate-to-chef-360-benefits-best-practices-and-next-steps-emea
- Recent: 2026-09-02 blog: Topics https://www.chef.io/blog/topics
- Recent: 2026-09-02 blog: From petaflops to policy as code what it takes to run compliant self healing nvidia dgx spark fleets https://www.chef.io/blog/from-petaflops-to-policy-as-code-what-it-takes-to-run-compliant-self-healing-nvidia-dgx-spark-fleets
- Recent: 2026-08-28 blog: Why standardizing execution matters more than standardizing tools https://www.chef.io/blog/why-standardizing-execution-matters-more-than-standardizing-tools
- Recent: 2026-08-20 blog: Upcoming deprecation and end of life updates for progress chef products https://www.chef.io/blog/upcoming-deprecation-and-end-of-life-updates-for-progress-chef-products

## Record

- Method: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/methodology
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as Gane Index, November 2026 Edition, www.gane.ai/index/it.