head to head · open source
conductor vs dapr
conductor has 32,374 GitHub stars, 1,037 forks, 253 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. dapr has 26,154 stars, 2,170 forks, 452 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. conductor leads on adoption by 24% (32,374 vs 26,154 stars). conductor is written in Java under Apache-2.0; dapr is written in Go under Apache-2.0. conductor has attracted 3% as many forks as stars, dapr 8%. conductor was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (distributed-systems, durable-execution), 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 | dapr | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 32K | ★ 26K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | Go |
| Last push | 2026-10-23 | 2026-10-22 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.0K | ⑂ 2.2K |
| 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 dapr if
- You want the dapr 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 dapr 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 dapr
The runtime for durable execution, AI agents, and secure distributed applications [![Go Report][go report badge]][go report url] [![OpenSSF][openssf badge]][openssf url] [![Docker Pulls][docker badge]][docker url] [![Build Status][actions badge]][actions url] [![Test Status][e2e badge]][e2e url] [![Code Coverage][codecov badge]][codecov url] [![License: Apache 2.0][apache badge]][apache url] [![FOSSA Status][fossa badge]][fossa url] [![TODOs][todo badge]][todo url] [![Good First Issues][gfi badge]][gfi url] [![discord][discord badge]][discord url] [![YouTube][youtube badge]][youtube link] [![Bluesky][bluesky…
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Frequently asked questions
Is conductor or dapr more popular?
conductor has 32,374 GitHub stars and dapr has 26,154. conductor has the larger community by that measure.
Are conductor and dapr free?
Both are open source. conductor is licensed under Apache-2.0 and dapr under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between conductor and dapr?
conductor is written in Java and dapr 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 dapr?
Choose conductor if you want the larger community (32,374 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose dapr if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.