head to head · open source
Prefect vs Hatchet
Prefect has 24,109 GitHub stars, 2,624 forks, 858 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Hatchet has 8,214 stars, 528 forks, 135 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Prefect leads on adoption by 194% (24,109 vs 8,214 stars). Prefect is written in Python under Apache-2.0; Hatchet is written in Go under MIT. Prefect has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, Hatchet 6%. Hatchet was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (python), 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
| Prefect | Hatchet | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 24K | ★ 8.2K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Go |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.6K | ⑂ 528 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Prefect if
- You weight community size — 24K 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 Hatchet if
- You want the Hatchet feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and Hatchet fits your workflow better
About Prefect
Installation · Quickstart · Build workflows · Deploy workflows · Prefect Cloud Prefect Prefect is a workflow orchestration framework for building data pipelines in Python. It's the simplest way to elevate a script into a production workflow. With Prefect, you can build resilient, dynamic data pipelines that react to the world around them and recover from unexpected changes. With just a few lines of code, data teams can confidently automate any data process with features such as scheduling, caching, retries, and event based automations. Workflow activity is tracked and can be monitored with a self hosted Prefect…
read the full Prefect overview →
About Hatchet
An orchestration engine for background tasks, AI agents, and durable workflows Hatchet Cloud · Documentation · Website · Issues What is Hatchet? Hatchet is a platform for orchestrating background tasks, AI agents, and durable workflows at scale. It supports applications written in Python, TypeScript, Go and Ruby, and can be used as a service through Hatchet Cloud or self hosting. Hatchet provides a full platform for queuing, automatic retries, durability, real time monitoring, alerting, and logging. Get started quickly The fastest way to get started with Hatchet is signing up for Hatchet Cloud to try it out! We…
read the full Hatchet overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Prefect or Hatchet more popular?
Prefect has 24,109 GitHub stars and Hatchet has 8,214. Prefect has the larger community by that measure.
Are Prefect and Hatchet free?
Both are open source. Prefect is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Hatchet under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Prefect and Hatchet?
Prefect is written in Python and Hatchet 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, Prefect or Hatchet?
Choose Prefect if you want the larger community (24,109 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Hatchet if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.