head to head · open source
luigi vs Saturn
luigi has 18,775 GitHub stars, 2,463 forks, 175 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. Saturn has 2,305 stars, 686 forks, 279 open issues and last shipped 10 months ago. luigi leads on adoption by 715% (18,775 vs 2,305 stars). luigi is written in Python under Apache-2.0; Saturn is written in Java under Apache-2.0. luigi has attracted 13% as many forks as stars, Saturn 30%. luigi was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (scheduling), 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
| luigi | Saturn | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 19K | ★ 2.3K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Java |
| Last push | 2026-07-18 | 2025-11-12 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.5K | ⑂ 686 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick luigi if
- You weight community size — 19K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Saturn if
- You want the Saturn feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and Saturn fits your workflow better
About luigi
Luigi is a Python module for building complex pipelines of batch jobs, handling dependency resolution, workflow management, visualization, and failure handling, aimed at data engineers and teams who need to stitch together long running tasks such as Hadoop, Hive, Pig, Spark, or local Python jobs into repeatable workflows.
read the full luigi overview →
About Saturn
Saturn is distributed job scheduling platform. Created by VIP.com. Java based. Apache 2.0 licensed. GitHub shows 2305 stars, 686 forks, last push 2025 11 12. It is listed under business software scheduling and event management. Repository age is 10 years. Lives in open source Java scheduling ecosystem. Provides fault tolerant and high available job scheduling service. Targets time based jobs across many machines.
read the full Saturn overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is luigi or Saturn more popular?
luigi has 18,775 GitHub stars and Saturn has 2,305. luigi has the larger community by that measure.
Are luigi and Saturn free?
Both are open source. luigi is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Saturn under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between luigi and Saturn?
luigi is written in Python and Saturn in Java. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, luigi or Saturn?
Choose luigi if you want the larger community (18,775 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Saturn if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.