head to head · open source
Kestra vs rowboat
Kestra has 28,146 GitHub stars, 2,997 forks, 713 open issues and last shipped yesterday. rowboat has 17,871 stars, 1,776 forks, 167 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Kestra leads on adoption by 57% (28,146 vs 17,871 stars). Kestra is written in Java under Apache-2.0; rowboat is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. Kestra has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, rowboat 10%. Kestra was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (ai-agents), 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
| Kestra | rowboat | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 28K | ★ 18K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.0K | ⑂ 1.8K |
| 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 rowboat if
- You want the rowboat 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 rowboat 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 rowboat
Rowboat is an open source desktop AI coworker, licensed Apache 2.0 and written in TypeScript, that maintains a memory of your work as a local Markdown knowledge graph and provides built in surfaces — email, notes, browser, code mode, meeting notes — for acting on that memory.
read the full rowboat overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Kestra or rowboat more popular?
Kestra has 28,146 GitHub stars and rowboat has 17,871. Kestra has the larger community by that measure.
Are Kestra and rowboat free?
Both are open source. Kestra is licensed under Apache-2.0 and rowboat under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Kestra and rowboat?
Kestra is written in Java and rowboat 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, Kestra or rowboat?
Choose Kestra if you want the larger community (28,146 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose rowboat if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.