head to head · open source
Prefect vs Temporal
Prefect has 23,857 GitHub stars, 2,528 forks, 858 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Temporal has 23,133 stars, 1,905 forks, 956 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Prefect leads on adoption by 3% (23,857 vs 23,133 stars). Prefect is written in Python under Apache-2.0; Temporal is written in Go under MIT. Prefect has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, Temporal 8%. Temporal 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.
← all 8884 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Prefect | Temporal | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 24K | ★ 23K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.5K | ⑂ 1.9K |
| 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 Temporal if
- You want the Temporal feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and Temporal fits your workflow better
About Prefect
Prefect is an open source, Python native workflow orchestration framework that lets data and machine learning teams turn ordinary Python scripts into scheduled, resilient, observable production pipelines.
read the full Prefect overview →
About Temporal
Temporal is a durable execution platform for building resilient applications with workflows. It lives in the infrastructure and operations ecosystem, specifically within orchestration and scheduling. The server executes units of application logic called Workflows and automatically handles intermittent failures by retrying failed operations. Temporal originated as a fork of Uber's Cadence and is developed by Temporal Technologies, a startup formed by the creators of Cadence.
read the full Temporal overview →
More in Infrastructure & Operations
Related comparisons
More Orchestration & Scheduling projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Orchestration & Scheduling field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Prefect or Temporal more popular?
Prefect has 23,857 GitHub stars and Temporal has 23,133. Prefect has the larger community by that measure.
Are Prefect and Temporal free?
Both are open source. Prefect is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Temporal under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Prefect and Temporal?
Prefect is written in Python and Temporal 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 Temporal?
Choose Prefect if you want the larger community (23,857 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Temporal if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.