head to head · open source
apscheduler vs Saturn
apscheduler has 7,630 GitHub stars, 784 forks, 53 open issues and last shipped 8 days ago. Saturn has 2,305 stars, 686 forks, 279 open issues and last shipped 10 months ago. apscheduler leads on adoption by 231% (7,630 vs 2,305 stars). apscheduler is written in Python under MIT; Saturn is written in Java under Apache-2.0. apscheduler has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, Saturn 30%. apscheduler was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (scheduling), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| apscheduler | Saturn | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 7.6K | ★ 2.3K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-10 | 2025-11-12 |
| Forks | ⑂ 784 | ⑂ 686 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick apscheduler if
- You weight community size — 7.6K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Saturn if
- You want the Saturn feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and Saturn fits your workflow better
About apscheduler
APScheduler is an MIT licensed Python library that provides task scheduling and job queuing, scaling from a single process script to multi node deployments that share a persistent data store.
read the full apscheduler overview →
About Saturn
Saturn is distributed job scheduling platform. Created by VIP.com. Java based. Apache 2.0 licensed. GitHub shows 2305 stars, 686 forks, last push 2025 11 12. It is listed under business software scheduling and event management. Repository age is 10 years. Lives in open source Java scheduling ecosystem. Provides fault tolerant and high available job scheduling service. Targets time based jobs across many machines.
read the full Saturn overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is apscheduler or Saturn more popular?
apscheduler has 7,630 GitHub stars and Saturn has 2,305. apscheduler has the larger community by that measure.
Are apscheduler and Saturn free?
Both are open source. apscheduler is licensed under MIT and Saturn under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between apscheduler and Saturn?
apscheduler is written in Python and Saturn in Java. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, apscheduler or Saturn?
Choose apscheduler if you want the larger community (7,630 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Saturn if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.