head to head · open source
conductor vs agent-orchestrator
conductor has 32,401 GitHub stars, 1,051 forks, 253 open issues and last shipped yesterday. agent-orchestrator has 14,021 stars, 1,911 forks, 711 open issues and last shipped yesterday. conductor leads on adoption by 131% (32,401 vs 14,021 stars). conductor is written in Java under Apache-2.0; agent-orchestrator is written in Go under Apache-2.0. conductor has attracted 3% as many forks as stars, agent-orchestrator 14%. agent-orchestrator was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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
| conductor | agent-orchestrator | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 32K | ★ 14K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | Go |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.1K | ⑂ 1.9K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick conductor if
- You weight community size — 32K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick agent-orchestrator if
- You want the agent-orchestrator feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and agent-orchestrator fits your workflow better
About conductor
Conductor Durable Execution for Workflows and Agents Build agents that adapt. Run graphs that endure. Conductor is an open source durable execution platform for microservices, AI agents, and adaptive workflow graphs. It turns runtime choices—loops, branching, fan out, tool calls, approvals, retries, and cancellation—into durable, inspectable execution. It originated at Netflix and is actively maintained by Orkes and the community. Get Running in 60 Seconds Prerequisites: Node.js v16+ and Java 21+ must be installed. Open — your server is running with the built in ui next UI. Upgrading from a previous version? The…
read the full conductor overview →
About agent-orchestrator
Agent Orchestrator Plan, run, and supervise coding agents from one place. Give every coding task its own agent, workspace, and feedback loop. Plan and delegate larger outcomes with a project aware orchestrator. Follow every worker, pull request, CI run, and review in a live Kanban. Download AO • Documentation • Releases • Contributing • Discord English · 简体中文 · 日本語 · 한국어 · Español · Français · Deutsch · Português (Brasil) A workspace for agent driven development One coding agent can handle a task. Running several across a project creates a different job: deciding what matters, splitting work…
read the full agent-orchestrator overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is conductor or agent-orchestrator more popular?
conductor has 32,401 GitHub stars and agent-orchestrator has 14,021. conductor has the larger community by that measure.
Are conductor and agent-orchestrator free?
Both are open source. conductor is licensed under Apache-2.0 and agent-orchestrator under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between conductor and agent-orchestrator?
conductor is written in Java and agent-orchestrator in Go. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, conductor or agent-orchestrator?
Choose conductor if you want the larger community (32,401 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose agent-orchestrator if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.