head to head · open source
Kestra vs obelisk
Kestra has 28,148 GitHub stars, 2,999 forks, 713 open issues and last shipped yesterday. obelisk has 754 stars, 19 forks, 2 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Kestra leads on adoption by 3,633% (28,148 vs 754 stars). Kestra is written in Java under Apache-2.0; obelisk is written in Rust under AGPL-3.0. Kestra has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, obelisk 3%. 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 | obelisk | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 28K | ★ 754 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Java | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.0K | ⑂ 19 |
| 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 obelisk if
- You want the obelisk feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and obelisk 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 obelisk
Obelisk A deterministic workflow engine built on the WASM Component Model. [!WARNING] Pre release : Expect changes in CLI, gRPC, WIT, and database schema. Obelisk in Action The Stargazers app features: A webhook listening to GitHub star events. Activities for interacting with Turso DB, OpenAI, and GitHub. A workflow orchestrating the activities. Obelisk fly.io deployment tool features: A complete workflow for deploying Obelisk apps on fly.io Cleanup / compensating actions on failure What's Included Obelisk Runtime : A single binary executing deterministic workflows, activities, and webhook endpoints, persisting s…
read the full obelisk overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Kestra or obelisk more popular?
Kestra has 28,148 GitHub stars and obelisk has 754. Kestra has the larger community by that measure.
Are Kestra and obelisk free?
Both are open source. Kestra is licensed under Apache-2.0 and obelisk under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Kestra and obelisk?
Kestra is written in Java and obelisk in Rust. 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 obelisk?
Choose Kestra if you want the larger community (28,148 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose obelisk if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.