head to head · open source
conductor vs Inngest
conductor has 32,401 GitHub stars, 1,051 forks, 253 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Inngest has 6,013 stars, 386 forks, 234 open issues and last shipped yesterday. conductor leads on adoption by 439% (32,401 vs 6,013 stars). conductor is written in Java under Apache-2.0; Inngest is written in Go under a custom or non-standard licence. conductor has attracted 3% as many forks as stars, Inngest 6%. Inngest was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (workflow-engine), 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
| conductor | Inngest | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 32K | ★ 6.0K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | Java | Go |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.1K | ⑂ 386 |
| 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 Inngest if
- You want the Inngest feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and Inngest 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 Inngest
Inngest's durable functions replace queues, state management, and scheduling to enable any developer to write reliable step functions faster without touching infrastructure. 1. Write durable functions using any of our language SDKs 2. Run the Inngest Dev Server for a complete local development experience, with production parity. 3. Deploy your functions to your own infrastructure 4. Sync your application's functions with the Inngest Platform or a self hosted Inngest server. 5. Inngest invokes your functions securely via HTTPS whenever triggering events are received. An example durable function Inngest Functions…
read the full Inngest overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is conductor or Inngest more popular?
conductor has 32,401 GitHub stars and Inngest has 6,013. conductor has the larger community by that measure.
Are conductor and Inngest free?
Both are open source. conductor is licensed under Apache-2.0, and Inngest has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between conductor and Inngest?
conductor is written in Java and Inngest 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 Inngest?
Choose conductor if you want the larger community (32,401 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Inngest if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.