Free Trigger.dev alternatives: 5 apps ranked by verified data

Facts checked Nov 8, 2026AppBreakup editorialHow we rank

5 of the 5 Trigger.dev alternatives we track can be used for free (free, open source, or with a free plan). Inngest, Temporal and Prefect rank highest, with facts last verified Nov 8, 2026.

Quick comparison

#	App	Pricing	Verified price	Open source	Platforms	Verified facts	Score
1	Inngest	Open source	$99/month (Pro)	No	Web, Self-hosted	4 of 4	68.8
2	Temporal	Open source	$50 per million actions	No	Web, Self-hosted	5 of 5	64.8
3	Prefect	Open source	$100/month	Yes	Web, Linux, macOS +2	5 of 5	61.8
4	Apache Airflow	Open source	—	Yes	Linux, Self-hosted, Web	5 of 5	59.4
5	Windmill	Open source	—	Yes	Web, Self-hosted	4 of 4	50.0

1. InngestTop pick
Best for: Web and serverless teams that want reliable multi-step background functions without managing queues
Open sourceWeb, Self-hosted
68.8
score / 100
Why switch from Trigger.dev
Similar durable step functions for TypeScript and Python, triggered by events and run on your own endpoints.
Pros
Runs functions on your existing serverless or server deployment
Built-in concurrency, throttling and rate-limit controls per function
Free tier with a sizeable monthly execution allowance
Can be self-hosted
Cons
Paid plans jump to a three-figure monthly base price
Execution-based pricing can climb quickly for step-heavy workflows
Fewer SDK languages than Temporal
Visit Inngest Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.3100
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Inngest a good Trigger.dev alternative?
Verified facts
4 of 4 verified
Free plan
50,000 executions/month
Checked Nov 8, 2026inngest.com(opens source in a new tab)
Starting price
$99/month (Pro)
Checked Nov 8, 2026inngest.com(opens source in a new tab)
Self-hosting
Yes
Checked Nov 8, 2026inngest.com(opens source in a new tab)
Maximum run length
30 days (Free) to 366 days (Business)
Checked Nov 8, 2026inngest.com(opens source in a new tab)
2. Temporal
Best for: Engineering teams building business-critical, long-running processes in several languages
Open sourceWeb, Self-hosted
64.8
score / 100
Why switch from Trigger.dev
Mature durable execution engine with SDKs in many languages, for teams that outgrow TypeScript-only tooling.
Pros
MIT-licensed server you can run anywhere
Official SDKs for eight languages
Handles retries, timers and long waits without custom state machines
Detailed per-workflow event history for debugging
Cons
Steep learning curve, including rules about deterministic workflow code
You still run and scale your own worker processes
Self-hosting the cluster and its database is a significant ops job
Visit Temporal Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.387
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Temporal a good Trigger.dev alternative?
Verified facts
5 of 5 verified
License
MIT
Checked Nov 8, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab)
Free credits
$150 for 90 days
Checked Nov 8, 2026temporal.io(opens source in a new tab)
Starting price
$50 per million actions
Checked Nov 8, 2026temporal.io(opens source in a new tab)
Self-hosting
Yes
Checked Nov 8, 2026temporal.io(opens source in a new tab)
SDK languages
Go, Java, Python, TypeScript, .NET, PHP, Ruby, Rust
Checked Nov 8, 2026temporal.io(opens source in a new tab)
3. Prefect
Best for: Python teams who want orchestration without rewriting code into a separate DAG framework
Open sourceSelf-hostableWeb, Linux, macOS, Windows, Self-hosted
61.8
score / 100
Why switch from Trigger.dev
Python-first orchestration with a hosted control plane, better suited to data pipelines than app jobs.
Pros
Plain Python with a decorator, little new to learn
Free hosted Hobby tier and a self-hostable open source server
Runs on your own compute, Kubernetes or serverless
Cons
Free cloud tier is limited to 2 users and 5 deployments
Smaller integration ecosystem than Airflow
Paid plans jump quickly from a flat fee to per-user pricing
Visit Prefect Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.377
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Prefect a good Trigger.dev alternative?
Verified facts
5 of 5 verified
License
Apache-2.0
Checked Nov 2, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab)
Free plan
Hobby, free forever
Checked Nov 8, 2026prefect.io(opens source in a new tab)
Free plan limits
2 users, 5 deployments
Checked Nov 8, 2026prefect.io(opens source in a new tab)
Starter plan
$100/month
Checked Nov 8, 2026prefect.io(opens source in a new tab)
Team plan
$100 per user/month
Checked Nov 8, 2026prefect.io(opens source in a new tab)
4. Apache Airflow
Best for: Data engineering teams that want a proven, free orchestrator with a huge integration ecosystem
Open sourceSelf-hostableLinux, Self-hosted, Web
59.4
score / 100
Why switch from Trigger.dev
The standard open-source scheduler for batch data pipelines if your jobs are mostly ETL.
Pros
Free and open source with a very large community
Pipelines are plain Python, so they can be generated dynamically
Hundreds of ready-made operators for clouds and data tools
Managed versions available from several cloud providers
Cons
Running scheduler, workers and metadata database yourself takes real ops effort
Local development and testing are clunkier than in newer tools like Prefect or Dagster
No official hosted service from the Apache project itself
Visit Apache Airflow Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.369
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Apache Airflow a good Trigger.dev alternative?
Verified facts
5 of 5 verified
License
Apache-2.0
Checked Nov 1, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab)
Pipeline language
Python
Checked Nov 8, 2026airflow.apache.org(opens source in a new tab)
Web UI
Yes
Checked Nov 8, 2026airflow.apache.org(opens source in a new tab)
Cloud integrations
GCP, AWS, Azure and more
Checked Nov 8, 2026airflow.apache.org(opens source in a new tab)
Maintainer
Apache Software Foundation
Checked Nov 8, 2026airflow.apache.org(opens source in a new tab)
5. Windmill
Best for: Engineering teams that want scripts, workflows and internal UIs in one self-hosted platform
Open sourceSelf-hostableWeb, Self-hosted
50.0
score / 100
Why switch from Trigger.dev
Open-source and self-hostable runner for TypeScript and Python scripts, scheduled jobs and multi-step workflows with a built-in UI.
Pros
Scripts, workflows and apps in one place
Supports many languages including Python and TypeScript
Free self-hosted edition with unlimited executions
Cons
Built for developers, not business users
App builder is less polished than Retool's
Enterprise features need a paid licence
Visit Windmill Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.338
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Windmill a good Trigger.dev alternative?
Verified facts
4 of 4 verified
Community edition
Free, unlimited executions
Checked Nov 8, 2026windmill.dev(opens source in a new tab)
Script languages
Python, TypeScript, Go, PHP, Bash, SQL
Checked Nov 8, 2026windmill.dev(opens source in a new tab)
Free guests
100 per 30 days
Checked Nov 8, 2026windmill.dev(opens source in a new tab)
Self-hosting
Yes
Checked Nov 8, 2026windmill.dev(opens source in a new tab)

Quick comparison

1. InngestTop pick

Pros

Cons

Verified facts

2. Temporal

Pros

Cons

Verified facts

3. Prefect

Pros

Cons

Verified facts

4. Apache Airflow

Pros

Cons

Verified facts

5. Windmill

Pros

Cons

Verified facts