head to head · open source
Kestra vs Slickflow
Kestra has 28,148 GitHub stars, 2,999 forks, 713 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Slickflow has 920 stars, 264 forks, 11 open issues and last shipped 3 months ago. Kestra leads on adoption by 2,960% (28,148 vs 920 stars). Kestra is written in Java under Apache-2.0; Slickflow is written in C# under MIT. Kestra has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, Slickflow 29%. 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 | Slickflow | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 28K | ★ 920 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Java | C# |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-06-24 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.0K | ⑂ 264 |
| 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 Slickflow if
- You want the Slickflow feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- You evaluated both and Slickflow 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 Slickflow
Slickflow Current Version: NET8 1. 🤖 AI Powered Workflow Automation SlickFlow: Intelligent Workflow Automation with Large Language Models Slickflow integrates cutting edge Large Language Model (LLM) nodes directly into BPMN workflows, enabling advanced conversational reasoning, RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation), image understanding and other AI capabilities as first class workflow steps . This transforms traditional workflow systems into dynamic, AI driven orchestration platforms. 1.1 Native LLM Node Integration Add LLM / RAG / Agent nodes into your process diagrams as easily as traditional service tasks. Orc…
read the full Slickflow overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Kestra or Slickflow more popular?
Kestra has 28,148 GitHub stars and Slickflow has 920. Kestra has the larger community by that measure.
Are Kestra and Slickflow free?
Both are open source. Kestra is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Slickflow under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Kestra and Slickflow?
Kestra is written in Java and Slickflow in C#. 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 Slickflow?
Choose Kestra if you want the larger community (28,148 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Slickflow if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.