head to head · open source
Kestra vs sdk-go
Kestra has 28,148 GitHub stars, 2,999 forks, 713 open issues and last shipped yesterday. sdk-go has 968 stars, 351 forks, 229 open issues and last shipped today. Kestra leads on adoption by 2,808% (28,148 vs 968 stars). Kestra is written in Java under Apache-2.0; sdk-go is written in Go under MIT. Kestra has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, sdk-go 36%. sdk-go 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 | sdk-go | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 28K | ★ 968 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Java | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.0K | ⑂ 351 |
| 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 sdk-go if
- You want the sdk-go feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and sdk-go 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 sdk-go
Temporal Go SDK Temporal is a distributed, scalable, durable, and highly available orchestration engine used to execute asynchronous long running business logic in a scalable and resilient way. "Temporal Go SDK" is Temporal's framework for authoring workflows and activities using the Go language. Add the SDK to your project The core Temporal Go SDK packages, including client , worker , and workflow , are released together as the go.temporal.io/sdk module. From your application's Go module, run: Then import the packages you need, such as: The integrations and tools under contrib are released as separate Go modules…
read the full sdk-go overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Kestra or sdk-go more popular?
Kestra has 28,148 GitHub stars and sdk-go has 968. Kestra has the larger community by that measure.
Are Kestra and sdk-go free?
Both are open source. Kestra is licensed under Apache-2.0 and sdk-go under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Kestra and sdk-go?
Kestra is written in Java and sdk-go 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 sdk-go?
Choose Kestra if you want the larger community (28,148 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose sdk-go if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.