head to head · open source
Inngest vs openworkflow
Inngest has 6,017 GitHub stars, 387 forks, 234 open issues and last shipped yesterday. openworkflow has 1,347 stars, 73 forks, 12 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Inngest leads on adoption by 347% (6,017 vs 1,347 stars). Inngest is written in Go under a custom or non-standard licence; openworkflow is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. Inngest has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, openworkflow 5%. 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Inngest | openworkflow | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 6.0K | ★ 1.3K |
| License | Custom / other | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 387 | ⑂ 73 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Inngest if
- You weight community size — 6.0K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick openworkflow if
- You want the openworkflow feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and openworkflow fits your workflow better
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 →
About openworkflow
OpenWorkflow OpenWorkflow is a TypeScript framework for building durable, resumable workflows that can pause for seconds or months, survive crashes and deploys, and resume exactly where they left off all without extra servers to manage. Quick Start The CLI will guide you through setup and generate everything you need to get started. Documentation Documentation Quick Start Guide Core Concepts Advanced Patterns Production Checklist OpenTelemetry Architecture Read ARCHITECTURE.md for a deep dive into how OpenWorkflow works under the hood. Examples Check out examples/ for working examples. Contributing We welcome…
read the full openworkflow overview →
More in Infrastructure & Operations
Related comparisons
More Orchestration & Scheduling projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Orchestration & Scheduling field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Inngest or openworkflow more popular?
Inngest has 6,017 GitHub stars and openworkflow has 1,347. Inngest has the larger community by that measure.
Are Inngest and openworkflow free?
Both are open source. Inngest has no licence declared in this registry, and openworkflow is licensed under Apache-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Inngest and openworkflow?
Inngest is written in Go and openworkflow in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Inngest or openworkflow?
Choose Inngest if you want the larger community (6,017 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose openworkflow if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.