head to head · open source
Kestra vs ftpgrab
Kestra has 28,148 GitHub stars, 2,999 forks, 713 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ftpgrab has 562 stars, 77 forks, 28 open issues and last shipped 25 days ago. Kestra leads on adoption by 4,909% (28,148 vs 562 stars). Kestra is written in Java under Apache-2.0; ftpgrab is written in Go under MIT. Kestra has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, ftpgrab 14%. Kestra 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
| Kestra | ftpgrab | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 28K | ★ 562 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Java | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-08-24 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.0K | ⑂ 77 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Kestra if
- You weight community size — 28K 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 ftpgrab if
- You want the ftpgrab feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and ftpgrab fits your workflow better
About Kestra
Kestra is an open source, event driven orchestration platform for data, AI, and infrastructure workflows. It operates in the Java based ecosystem and is licensed under Apache 2.0. The project provides a unified interface for both scheduled and real time automation, supporting declarative workflow definitions in YAML while also offering visual and AI assisted authoring.
read the full Kestra overview →
About ftpgrab
About FTPGrab is a command line tool for pulling files from remote FTP and SFTP servers to your NAS, server, or computer. It is built for unattended transfers: you can point it at one or more remote sources, run it on a schedule, filter what should be downloaded, and avoid re downloading files that were already grabbed. It can also send notifications after runs, so you can keep track of successful downloads, failures, and other activity without babysitting the job. It works well for seedboxes, home servers, and any setup where files need to move reliably from a remote server to local storage. FTPGrab is available…
read the full ftpgrab overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Kestra or ftpgrab more popular?
Kestra has 28,148 GitHub stars and ftpgrab has 562. Kestra has the larger community by that measure.
Are Kestra and ftpgrab free?
Both are open source. Kestra is licensed under Apache-2.0 and ftpgrab under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Kestra and ftpgrab?
Kestra is written in Java and ftpgrab 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, Kestra or ftpgrab?
Choose Kestra if you want the larger community (28,148 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose ftpgrab if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.