FlowForge Lite vs Trigger.dev

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?
FeatureFlowForge LiteTrigger.dev
CategoryAutomation & WorkflowsAutomation & Workflows
LicenseApache-2.0Apache-2.0
LanguageJavaScriptTypeScript
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM256 MB1,024 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, binarydocker
GitHub stars★ 395★ 15,937
First released20212022
ReplacesZapier, IFTTTZapier

Why pick each one

Choose FlowForge Lite if…

  • Approachable visual model
  • Large node ecosystem
FlowForge Lite details

Choose Trigger.dev if…

  • Code-first and developer friendly
  • Reliable long-running tasks
  • Good observability
Trigger.dev details

Frequently asked questions

Is FlowForge Lite or Trigger.dev better?

Neither is universally better. Trigger.dev has the larger community, while FlowForge Lite is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are FlowForge Lite and Trigger.dev free and open-source?

Yes. FlowForge Lite is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Trigger.dev under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run FlowForge Lite and Trigger.dev with Docker?

FlowForge Lite: yes. Trigger.dev: yes.

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