Gardience
ClaimedManage Windows and Linux with supported Salt, Ansible, patching, and compliance
From $6,000/year, free trial Visit WebsiteTracked since 2026
The Bottom Line
- Best for
- Teams running Salt (or leaving Tanzu Salt or SUSE Multi-Linux Manager) that manage both Windows and Linux servers and want supported, flat-p
- Price
- From $6,000/year, free trial. Compare plans
Key facts
- Manages Windows and Linux from one console; runs existing Ansible playbooks on Windows without WinRM.
- Runs on open-source Salt with vendor support, priced per fleet. 90-day free trial for up to 25 machines, every feature.
- Patched 634 Windows and Linux servers in one approved run with 0 failures (AWS test).
Pros
- Windows and Linux managed from one console, at the same price per fleet
- Flat yearly price per fleet, not per machine, core or user
- Runs existing Ansible playbooks, including on Windows without WinRM
- Works with an existing Salt master, or installs its own with one command
- Every change goes through approvals and lands in a tamper-evident audit log
- Daily CVE check per machine using Debian, Ubuntu, Red Hat and Microsoft security data
- Signed evidence packs and STIG/CIS scoring for auditors
- Runs on-prem, in your cloud, or fully air-gapped
- Built-in AI assistant answers plain-English questions about your fleet (“which servers need a reboot?”) with exact counts from live data
- The AI drafts the fix (a patch run, a Salt state, a CVE fix), but a person approves it before anything runs
Cons
- Self-hosted only, SaaS in production: you run it on your own Linux server with Docker
- Patching, CVE checks and compliance cover Windows and Linux, servers and desktops. macOS can run the Salt agent for commands and states, but Gardience does not patch or score it yet. Laptops off the n
- A product, with fewer third-party integrations (ServiceNow, Slack approvals) than older suites
What is Gardience?
Gardience is supported, independent Salt for Windows and Linux: a flat-priced alternative to Broadcom’s Tanzu Salt, with the Windows coverage SUSE Multi-Linux Manager lacks. It installs with one command, runs your existing Ansible playbooks (on Windows without WinRM), and handles patching, hardening and compliance. A built-in AI answers questions about your fleet and drafts fixes for a person to approve. Includes vendor support, SSO and a security SLA.
Available on: Web, API, CLI
Data compiled by Toolradar Pricing checked · How we evaluate
Source gardience.com Preview
Key Features
- Patch Windows and Linux in one run, with approvals and change windows
- Daily CVE check per machine from Debian, Ubuntu, Red Hat and Microsoft security data
- Runs existing Ansible playbooks over Salt, no WinRM needed for Windows
- Team scopes: limit people to specific server groups
- STIG and CIS compliance scoring with signed evidence packs for assessors
- Use an AI assistant to query fleet data and draft changes
- Warm standby with automatic failover
Pricing Plans
90-day Free TrialPricing checked Oct 23, 2026. Source: gardience.com/pricing, read Oct 23, 2026
| Plan | Price | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $6,000/year |
+3 more Show less
|
| Team | $15,000/year |
+3 more Show less
|
| Government and enterprise | $40,000/year |
+4 more Show less
|
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Gardience FAQ
Is Gardience a Tanzu Salt alternative?
Yes. It runs on the same open-source Salt agents with vendor support, at a flat yearly price per fleet instead of per-node licensing.
Does it manage Windows?
Yes. Windows and Linux are patched, hardened and audited from the same console, at the same price.
Can I keep my Salt master?
Yes. Attach mode connects Gardience to an existing Salt master, and a one-command setup keeps your existing configuration.
Gardience vs Ansible Automation Platform?
Gardience runs your existing playbooks over Salt and is priced per fleet, not per node.
Source: gardience.com