head to head · open source
Docker vs chef
Docker has 72,113 GitHub stars, 19,233 forks, 3,902 open issues and last shipped yesterday. chef has 8,241 stars, 2,520 forks, 411 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Docker leads on adoption by 775% (72,113 vs 8,241 stars). Docker is written in Go under Apache-2.0; chef is written in Ruby under Apache-2.0. Docker has attracted 27% as many forks as stars, chef 31%. Docker was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Docker | chef | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 72K | ★ 8.2K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | Ruby |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 19K | ⑂ 2.5K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Docker if
- You weight community size — 72K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick chef if
- You want the chef feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Ruby
- You evaluated both and chef fits your workflow better
About Docker
Docker, published here as the Moby Project, is the open source collection of container toolkit components and the framework for assembling them into custom container based systems, built for engineers, integrators and enthusiasts who want to modify, hack and build on container code rather than buy a commercially supported product.
read the full Docker overview →
About chef
Chef Infra configuration management tool for automating infrastructure configuration, deployment, and management across any environment, at any scale, for DevOps engineers and infrastructure teams.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Docker or chef more popular?
Docker has 72,113 GitHub stars and chef has 8,241. Docker has the larger community by that measure.
Are Docker and chef free?
Both are open source. Docker is licensed under Apache-2.0 and chef under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Docker and chef?
Docker is written in Go and chef in Ruby. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Docker or chef?
Choose Docker if you want the larger community (72,113 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose chef if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.