AWS CloudFormation VS Chef
As of 4 November 2026, Chef is named by 1,069 companies and AWS CloudFormation by 2,970; AWS CloudFormation skews to companies under 200 people (45% vs 42%), Chef to companies over 1,000 (32% vs 30%).
As of 4 November 2026 · refreshed daily · counts move as websites, DNS and career sites are re-read.
The website-and-DNS footprint is not comparable between a marketing suite and a CRM: AWS CloudFormation's script and mail records show on hundreds of thousands of small sites, Chef rarely leaves a trace outside its own apps. Compare on the job-posting numbers; use the footprint for reach.
- AWS CloudFormation: 2–200 employees
- 45%
- Chef: 2–200 employees
- 42%
- AWS CloudFormation: 1,000+ employees
- 30%
- Chef: 1,000+ employees
- 32%
- Postings per company, 90 days
- 2.7 · 2.4
- Website or DNS footprint
- 0 · 0
Who chooses which
Share of each tool's companies in every segment. "Leans" marks a gap of more than two points.
| Segment | AWS CloudFormation | share | Chef | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-employed | 76 | 3% | 23 | 2% | even |
| 2-10 employees | 246 | 8% | 55 | 5% | AWS CloudFormation |
| 11-50 employees | 446 | 15% | 169 | 16% | even |
| 51-200 employees | 639 | 22% | 227 | 21% | even |
| 201-500 employees | 391 | 13% | 139 | 13% | even |
| 501-1000 employees | 283 | 10% | 116 | 11% | even |
| 1001-5000 employees | 409 | 14% | 158 | 15% | even |
| 5001-10000 employees | 140 | 5% | 49 | 5% | even |
| 10,001+ employees | 340 | 11% | 133 | 12% | even |
| Segment | AWS CloudFormation | share | Chef | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technology & software | 1,610 | 54% | 629 | 59% | Chef |
| Business & finance services | 635 | 21% | 205 | 19% | AWS CloudFormation |
| Manufacturing & industry | 216 | 7% | 65 | 6% | even |
| Media & content | 104 | 4% | 36 | 3% | even |
| Consumer services & leisure | 89 | 3% | 28 | 3% | even |
| Utilities & infrastructure | 66 | 2% | 21 | 2% | even |
| Commerce & trade | 59 | 2% | 23 | 2% | even |
| Public, community & associations | 58 | 2% | 24 | 2% | even |
| Health care | 32 | 1% | 6 | 1% | even |
| Transport, logistics & rental | 31 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Automotive | 28 | 1% | 7 | 1% | even |
| Hospitality & travel | 19 | 1% | 10 | 1% | even |
| Property & construction | – | – | 9 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Segment | AWS CloudFormation | share | Chef | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 1,948 | 66% | 695 | 65% | even |
| United Kingdom | 214 | 7% | 65 | 6% | even |
| India | 103 | 3% | 39 | 4% | even |
| Canada | 78 | 3% | 20 | 2% | even |
| Germany | 71 | 2% | 26 | 2% | even |
| Australia | 47 | 2% | 12 | 1% | even |
| France | 42 | 1% | 23 | 2% | even |
| Brazil | 30 | 1% | 7 | 1% | even |
| Singapore | 30 | 1% | 13 | 1% | even |
| Sweden | 25 | 1% | 8 | 1% | even |
| Japan | 21 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Spain | 19 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Netherlands | – | – | 12 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Italy | – | – | 6 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Segment | AWS CloudFormation | share | Chef | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software engineering | 5,229 | 49% | 2,123 | 54% | Chef |
| IT operations & business systems | 2,779 | 26% | 1,054 | 27% | even |
| Data & AI | 1,165 | 11% | 84 | 2% | AWS CloudFormation |
| Product, program & project management | 165 | 2% | 54 | 1% | even |
| Engineering (non-software) | 132 | 1% | 129 | 3% | Chef |
| Sales | 103 | 1% | 42 | 1% | even |
| Unclassified | 47 | 0% | 6 | 0% | even |
| Customer service & success | 42 | 0% | 47 | 1% | even |
| Design & UX | 19 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| General management & consulting | 14 | 0% | 9 | 0% | even |
| Education & training | 13 | 0% | 4 | 0% | even |
| Construction and civil | 12 | 0% | 6 | 0% | even |
| Administration & office | 9 | 0% | 5 | 0% | even |
| Arts media and entertainment | 7 | 0% | 1 | 0% | even |
| Finance & accounting | 7 | 0% | 1 | 0% | even |
| Quality, safety & environment | 6 | 0% | 1 | 0% | even |
| Marketing & communications | 5 | 0% | 2 | 0% | even |
| Manufacturing and production | 3 | 0% | 1 | 0% | even |
| Skilled trades and field service | 3 | 0% | 2 | 0% | even |
| Facilities cleaning and security | 2 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Human resources | 2 | 0% | 2 | 0% | even |
| Public safety and protective services | 2 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Agriculture and environment | 1 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Healthcare clinical | 1 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Hospitality and food service | 1 | 0% | 14 | 0% | even |
| Research and science | 1 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Logistics warehouse and transport | – | – | 2 | 0% | outside top 12 |
| Legal, compliance & risk | – | – | 1 | 0% | outside top 12 |
| Retail & store operations | – | – | 1 | 0% | outside top 12 |
The companies behind each column
Companies using AWS CloudFormation →
Companies using Chef →
iac config management ranked →
Quote the sentence with the date and the link. The numbers change daily; the link always shows the current ones.
Chef is named by 1,069 companies in job postings and AWS CloudFormation by 2,970; 357 name both. (Breaknorm, 4 November 2026, https://breaknorm.co/compare/aws-cloudformation-vs-chef)
Read from the source, not self-reported
Every number on this page can be traced to a page we crawled or a posting we read. Full methodology →
- Job postingsRead hourly from career sites. A tool counts when the employer's own text names it as the team's system; both tools can count for one company.
- Website and DNSScripts and embeds on the company's pages, plus SPF, DKIM, MX and CNAME records of its domain that point at the vendor.
- SegmentsCountry, size and industry from the company profile built from its website.
- Not a reviewNo ratings, prices or feature claims. For those, read the vendors.
AWS CloudFormation vs Chef: questions
Which is more used, AWS CloudFormation or Chef?
By companies naming it in their own job postings, AWS CloudFormation (2,970) over Chef (1,069). By website-and-DNS footprint, Chef (0 vs 0), because its scripts and mail records sit on many small company sites.
Who chooses AWS CloudFormation?
45% of AWS CloudFormation companies have 2 to 200 employees, against 42% for Chef. 30% of AWS CloudFormation companies have over 1,000 employees, against 32% for Chef.
Do companies run both?
357 companies name both in their postings, usually AWS CloudFormation in marketing and Chef in sales, or during a migration.
Where do these numbers come from?
From the employer's own text in job postings read hourly from career sites, and from scripts found on company websites in our crawl. No vendor data, no surveys.
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