Inngest vs Kestra
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted automation & workflows options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Inngest
Event-driven workflow and background job platform
VS
Kestra
Declarative orchestration and scheduling platform
| Feature | Inngest | Kestra |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Automation & Workflows | Automation & Workflows |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, kubernetes |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,701 | ★ 27,575 |
| First released | 2021 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Zapier, AWS Step Functions | Zapier, Make |
Why pick each one
Choose Kestra if…
- Strong for data orchestration
- Scalable architecture
- Open-source license
Frequently asked questions
Is Inngest or Kestra better?
Neither is universally better. Kestra has the larger community, while Inngest is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Inngest and Kestra free and open-source?
Yes. Inngest is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Kestra under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Inngest and Kestra with Docker?
Inngest: yes. Kestra: yes.