head to head · open source
ActivePieces vs Windmill
ActivePieces has 24,522 GitHub stars, 4,201 forks, 573 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Windmill has 17,957 stars, 1,096 forks, 852 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ActivePieces leads on adoption by 37% (24,522 vs 17,957 stars). ActivePieces is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Windmill is written in Rust under a custom or non-standard licence. ActivePieces has attracted 17% as many forks as stars, Windmill 6%. Windmill 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
| ActivePieces | Windmill | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 25K | ★ 18K |
| License | Custom / other | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.2K | ⑂ 1.1K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick ActivePieces if
- You weight community size — 25K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Windmill if
- You want the Windmill feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and Windmill fits your workflow better
About ActivePieces
ActivePieces is an open source, TypeScript based no code automation platform for building AI workflows and exposing integrations as MCP servers, aimed at both technical and non technical users who want Zapier style automation while keeping control of their own data.
read the full ActivePieces overview →
About Windmill
Windmill is an open source developer platform for internal code, including APIs, background jobs, workflows, and UIs. It lives in the self hostable low code automation ecosystem and supports Python, TypeScript, Go, Bash, SQL, GraphQL, PowerShell, Rust, and more. The project is positioned as an open source alternative to Zapier and, in the README, to Retool, Pipedream, Superblocks, and a simplified Temporal.
read the full Windmill overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is ActivePieces or Windmill more popular?
ActivePieces has 24,522 GitHub stars and Windmill has 17,957. ActivePieces has the larger community by that measure.
Are ActivePieces and Windmill free?
Neither ActivePieces nor Windmill declares a licence in this registry, so check each project's own repository before relying on either for a commercial use. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between ActivePieces and Windmill?
ActivePieces is written in TypeScript and Windmill in Rust. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, ActivePieces or Windmill?
Choose ActivePieces if you want the larger community (24,522 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Windmill if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.