Compare · iac config management

Chef VS Terraform_

As of 4 November 2026, Terraform is named by 11,012 companies and Chef by 1,069; Chef skews to companies under 200 people (42% vs 50%), Terraform to companies over 1,000 (23% vs 32%).

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: Chef's script and mail records show on hundreds of thousands of small sites, Terraform rarely leaves a trace outside its own apps. Compare on the job-posting numbers; use the footprint for reach.

Chef: 2–200 employees
42%
Terraform: 2–200 employees
50%
Chef: 1,000+ employees
32%
Terraform: 1,000+ employees
23%
Postings per company, 90 days
2.4 · 3.8
Website or DNS footprint
0 · 0
1,069companies name Chef
11,012companies name Terraform
838name both
2,513 · 41,901postings in 90 days, Chef · Terraform
02 — Side by side

Who chooses which

Share of each tool's companies in every segment. "Leans" marks a gap of more than two points.

By company size
SegmentChefshareTerraformshareLeans
Self-employed232%3443%even
2-10 employees555%1,13710%Terraform
11-50 employees16916%1,90017%even
51-200 employees22721%2,51923%even
201-500 employees13913%1,53714%even
501-1000 employees11611%1,0009%even
1001-5000 employees15815%1,35812%Chef
5001-10000 employees495%3803%even
10,001+ employees13312%8378%Chef
By industry
SegmentChefshareTerraformshareLeans
Technology & software62959%5,98554%Chef
Business & finance services20519%2,14019%even
Manufacturing & industry656%8278%even
Media & content363%3884%even
Consumer services & leisure283%2692%even
Public, community & associations242%2192%even
Commerce & trade232%2953%even
Utilities & infrastructure212%2502%even
Hospitality & travel101%––outside top 12
Property & construction91%1291%even
Automotive71%1001%even
Health care61%1571%even
Transport, logistics & rental––1631%outside top 12
By country
SegmentChefshareTerraformshareLeans
United States69565%6,23657%Chef
United Kingdom656%8838%even
India394%2863%even
Germany262%6326%Terraform
France232%3213%even
Canada202%2492%even
Singapore131%––outside top 12
Australia121%1641%even
Netherlands121%1922%even
Sweden81%1471%even
Brazil71%1451%even
Italy61%––outside top 12
Switzerland––1141%outside top 12
Spain––971%outside top 12
Postings by team (share of each tool's postings)
SegmentChefshareTerraformshareLeans
Software engineering2,12354%26,16648%Chef
IT operations & business systems1,05427%13,03524%Chef
Engineering (non-software)1293%8172%even
Data & AI842%7,04413%Terraform
Product, program & project management541%5011%even
Customer service & success471%2390%even
Sales421%5041%even
hospitality and food service140%60%even
General management & consulting90%1110%even
construction and civil60%520%even
Unclassified60%1310%even
Administration & office50%280%even
Education & training40%240%even
Human resources20%90%even
logistics warehouse and transport20%100%even
Marketing & communications20%420%even
skilled trades and field service20%130%even
arts media and entertainment10%100%even
Finance & accounting10%200%even
Legal, compliance & risk10%190%even
manufacturing and production10%40%even
Quality, safety & environment10%430%even
Retail & store operations10%––outside top 12
Design & UX––320%outside top 12
Business development & strategy––110%outside top 12
research and science––90%outside top 12
facilities cleaning and security––50%outside top 12
agriculture and environment––40%outside top 12
public safety and protective services––30%outside top 12
real estate and property––30%outside top 12
healthcare clinical––10%outside top 12
Cite this

Quote the sentence with the date and the link. The numbers change daily; the link always shows the current ones.

Terraform is named by 11,012 companies in job postings and Chef by 1,069; 838 name both. (Breaknorm, 4 November 2026, https://breaknorm.co/compare/chef-vs-terraform)
How we know

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.
FAQ

Chef vs Terraform: questions

Which is more used, Chef or Terraform?

By companies naming it in their own job postings, Terraform (11,012) over Chef (1,069). By website-and-DNS footprint, Terraform (0 vs 0), because its scripts and mail records sit on many small company sites.

Who chooses Chef?

42% of Chef companies have 2 to 200 employees, against 50% for Terraform. 32% of Chef companies have over 1,000 employees, against 23% for Terraform.

Do companies run both?

838 companies name both in their postings, usually Chef in marketing and Terraform 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.

Companies and people

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