head to head · open source
Kestra vs Youtarr
Kestra has 28,146 GitHub stars, 2,997 forks, 713 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Youtarr has 1,570 stars, 67 forks, 71 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Kestra leads on adoption by 1,693% (28,146 vs 1,570 stars). Kestra is written in Java under Apache-2.0; Youtarr is written in TypeScript under ISC. Kestra has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, Youtarr 4%. Kestra was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (automation), 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 | Youtarr | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 28K | ★ 1.6K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | ISC |
| Written in | Java | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.0K | ⑂ 67 |
| 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 Youtarr if
- You want the Youtarr feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the ISC license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Youtarr 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 Youtarr
Youtarr is a self hosted web application that downloads, organizes, and schedules YouTube channel and playlist content and supplies it with metadata to Plex, Kodi, Emby, and Jellyfin, built for people who run their own media server and want their subscriptions archived, ad free, and offline.
read the full Youtarr overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Kestra or Youtarr more popular?
Kestra has 28,146 GitHub stars and Youtarr has 1,570. Kestra has the larger community by that measure.
Are Kestra and Youtarr free?
Both are open source. Kestra is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Youtarr under ISC. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Kestra and Youtarr?
Kestra is written in Java and Youtarr 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 Youtarr?
Choose Kestra if you want the larger community (28,146 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Youtarr if its feature set, stack or ISC licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.