Modern applications need complex orchestration - data pipelines, background jobs, and multi-step processes. Workflow engines provide the reliability and visibility you need. We evaluated 15 workflow tools to find which best serve developer automation.
| Tool | Pricing | Approach | Primary Language | Self-Host | Our Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Temporal | OSS/Cloud | Durable execution | Multi | Yes | 9.5/10 |
| Apache Airflow | Open source | DAG scheduling | Python | Yes | 9.2/10 |
| Inngest | Free/$50 | Event-driven | TypeScript | No | 9.0/10 |
| Prefect | OSS/Cloud | Pythonic flows | Python | Yes | 9.1/10 |
| Dagster | OSS/Cloud | Asset-centric | Python | Yes | 9.0/10 |
| n8n | OSS/€20 | Visual builder | Low-code | Yes | 8.7/10 |
| Windmill | OSS/Cloud | Script-first | Multi | Yes | 8.6/10 |
| Trigger.dev | Free/$30 | Background jobs | TypeScript | No | 8.8/10 |
Temporal provides durable execution - your workflows survive process restarts and failures. Write workflows as regular code with automatic retries and state management. The leader in reliability.
Airflow is the industry standard for data pipeline orchestration. DAGs define workflows, extensive operator library, and huge community. The safe choice for data teams.
Inngest brings workflow orchestration to serverless. Event-driven, TypeScript-first, and no infrastructure to manage. Great developer experience for modern apps.
Prefect is the modern alternative to Airflow. Pythonic API, better observability, and fewer footguns. Cloud option handles infrastructure.
Dagster takes an asset-centric approach - define data assets and their dependencies. Great for analytics and data engineering with type-safe pipelines.
n8n provides visual workflow automation with 400+ integrations. Self-hostable, fair-code licensed, and great for connecting services without code.
Windmill turns scripts into workflows with auto-generated UIs. Fast execution, multi-language support, and good self-host option.
Trigger.dev simplifies background jobs for TypeScript applications. Event-driven, great integrations, and serverless-friendly. Modern approach to async work.
We evaluated workflow engines on developer experience and reliability.
Different tools. Airflow schedules DAGs for data pipelines. Temporal provides durable execution for application workflows. Use Airflow for ETL, Temporal for business logic.
When you need: retries and failure handling, visibility into long-running processes, coordination between services, or scheduled jobs. If simple cron works, stick with that.
Start with managed to learn. Self-host when you need data sovereignty, cost optimization at scale, or customization. Temporal, Airflow, and Prefect all have good managed options.
