head to head · open source
Skyvern vs Windmill
Skyvern has 23,020 GitHub stars, 2,165 forks, 234 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Windmill has 17,957 stars, 1,096 forks, 852 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Skyvern leads on adoption by 28% (23,020 vs 17,957 stars). Skyvern is written in Python under AGPL-3.0; Windmill is written in Rust under a custom or non-standard licence. Skyvern has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, Windmill 6%. Skyvern 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
| Skyvern | Windmill | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 23K | ★ 18K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | Python | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.2K | ⑂ 1.1K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Skyvern if
- You weight community size — 23K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- 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 Skyvern
Skyvern is an open source Python project for automating browser based workflows with LLMs and computer vision. It lives in the browser automation and AI agent ecosystem, and it provides a Playwright compatible SDK that adds AI functionality on top of Playwright. The project also includes a no code workflow builder, so technical users can work through code while non technical users can define tasks through the interface.
read the full Skyvern 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 Skyvern or Windmill more popular?
Skyvern has 23,020 GitHub stars and Windmill has 17,957. Skyvern has the larger community by that measure.
Are Skyvern and Windmill free?
Both are open source. Skyvern is licensed under AGPL-3.0, and Windmill has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Skyvern and Windmill?
Skyvern is written in Python 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, Skyvern or Windmill?
Choose Skyvern if you want the larger community (23,020 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Windmill if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.