head to head · open source
Prefect vs Inngest
Prefect has 24,109 GitHub stars, 2,624 forks, 858 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Inngest has 6,013 stars, 386 forks, 234 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Prefect leads on adoption by 301% (24,109 vs 6,013 stars). Prefect is written in Python under Apache-2.0; Inngest is written in Go under a custom or non-standard licence. Prefect has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, Inngest 6%. Inngest 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
| Prefect | Inngest | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 24K | ★ 6.0K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | Python | Go |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.6K | ⑂ 386 |
| 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 Inngest if
- You want the Inngest feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and Inngest 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 Inngest
Inngest's durable functions replace queues, state management, and scheduling to enable any developer to write reliable step functions faster without touching infrastructure. 1. Write durable functions using any of our language SDKs 2. Run the Inngest Dev Server for a complete local development experience, with production parity. 3. Deploy your functions to your own infrastructure 4. Sync your application's functions with the Inngest Platform or a self hosted Inngest server. 5. Inngest invokes your functions securely via HTTPS whenever triggering events are received. An example durable function Inngest Functions…
read the full Inngest overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Prefect or Inngest more popular?
Prefect has 24,109 GitHub stars and Inngest has 6,013. Prefect has the larger community by that measure.
Are Prefect and Inngest free?
Both are open source. Prefect is licensed under Apache-2.0, and Inngest has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Prefect and Inngest?
Prefect is written in Python and Inngest 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 Inngest?
Choose Prefect if you want the larger community (24,109 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Inngest if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.