Freedom251 › Task Queue Software
Oban
What Oban is
Oban is a self-hosted, database-backed background job framework for Elixir and Python. Its open-source foundation provides automatic retries, error handling, transaction safety, and at-least-once execution. The free Open Source plan includes community support but not durable workflows, global and rate limiting, or queue partitioning. Pro workflows checkpoint each step in Postgres so work can resume after a crash, restart, or deploy. Pro also adds cluster-wide concurrency limits, rate limiting, queue partitioning, and burst mode. Oban Web displays jobs, queues, schedules, and workflows across a cluster in a real-time dashboard, with controls to pause queues, retry or cancel jobs, and trigger crons. The makers say workflows coordinate through Postgres without a separate orchestration service. Pro costs $135 a year when billed yearly or $150 a month when billed monthly. Each standard Pro license covers one application, defined as a system sharing one production database, with unlimited staging or production nodes. Pro includes email support. Enterprise pricing is custom; support can include a private Slack or Teams channel, prioritized help, configuration review, and video issue-triage calls during US and UK business hours.
Who it suits
Oban suits teams building database-backed background job systems in Elixir or Python that can be self-hosted. Pro is for teams needing durable workflows or cluster-wide controls.
What it does well
- Open-source plan is free and includes community support.
- Pro workflows resume from the last completed step.
- Dashboard covers jobs, queues, schedules, and workflows.
- Pro licenses allow unlimited nodes for one application.
What to know first
- Open Source excludes durable workflows and queue partitioning.
- No free trial is offered.
- Standard Pro covers one application.
- Enterprise pricing is custom.
Limits
The free Open Source plan has community support but no durable workflows, global and rate limiting, or queue partitioning. A standard Pro license covers one application sharing one production database, although it permits unlimited staging or production nodes.
Plans
| Plan | Billed and limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Open Source | Free · Community support · No durable workflows · No global and rate limiting · No queue partitioning | Free |
| Pro (monthly) | Billed monthly · 1 application · Unlimited nodes · Email support · Elixir or Python | $150 a month |
| Pro (yearly) | Billed yearly as $1,620 · 1 application · Unlimited nodes · Email support · Elixir or Python | $1,620 a year |
| Enterprise | Custom · Application bundles · Elixir and Python included · Multi-year licenses · Invoice/PO payment · Enterprise support available | On request |
As oban.pro lists them, read 7 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.
Getting started
- Choose the Open Source, Pro, or Enterprise offering
- Deploy Oban in your self-hosted environment
- Use the documented Elixir or Python package
- Back the framework with a database, including Postgres for Pro workflows
- Add Oban Web for real-time job and queue management
- Select monthly or yearly Pro billing if needed
Verdict
Oban offers a free foundation and paid features for workflow recovery and cluster-wide job controls. Choose a plan with its application limit and the Open Source feature exclusions in mind.
Questions
Is Oban free?
Yes. The Open Source plan costs $0.00 USD and includes community support. Pro starts at $135/mo when billed annually or $150 a month when billed monthly.
What languages does Oban support?
The maker documents packages for Elixir and Python, and Pro can be used with either language.
Does Oban offer a free trial?
No. Its pricing FAQ says there is no free trial.
How is Oban deployed?
Oban is designed for self-hosted deployment and uses a database-backed architecture.
What does Pro add?
Pro adds Postgres-checkpointed workflows, cluster-wide concurrency limits, rate limiting, queue partitioning, burst mode, and email support.
What does Enterprise Support include?
Enterprise Support offers a private Slack or Teams channel, prioritized support, configuration review, and video issue-triage calls during US and UK business hours.
Facts from Oban's own pages
- Company
- The makers describe themselves as Parker and Shannon Selbert, a small software shop developing, designing, and supporting Oban. · oban.pro, 7 Oct 2026
- Concurrency
- Pro adds cluster-wide concurrency limits, rate limiting, queue partitioning, and burst mode. · oban.pro, 7 Oct 2026
- Dashboard
- Oban Web shows jobs, queues, schedules, and workflows across a cluster in a real-time dashboard, with controls to pause queues, retry or cancel jobs, and trigger crons. · oban.pro, 7 Oct 2026
- Data protection
- Oban Pro supports encrypted job arguments at rest; its documentation says metadata, error messages, and stacktraces remain plaintext. · oban.pro, 7 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- The maker documents Elixir and Python packages, and says workflows coordinate directly through Postgres without a separate orchestration service. · oban.pro, 7 Oct 2026
- License limit
- A standard Pro license covers one application, defined as a system sharing one production database, and permits unlimited staging or production nodes for that application. · oban.pro, 7 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Oban is a background job framework for Elixir and Python, backed by a database. · oban.pro, 7 Oct 2026
- Reliability
- The open-source foundation provides durable background jobs, automatic retries, error handling, transaction safety, and at-least-once execution. · oban.pro, 7 Oct 2026
- Security review
- The enterprise page says Oban will answer security questionnaires and share the executive summary from its latest security audit. · oban.pro, 7 Oct 2026
- Support
- Pro includes email support, while Enterprise Support offers a private Slack or Teams channel, prioritized support, configuration review, and video issue-triage calls during US and UK business hours. · oban.pro, 7 Oct 2026
- Trial
- The pricing FAQ says Oban does not offer a free trial. · oban.pro, 7 Oct 2026
- Workflows
- Oban Pro workflows checkpoint each step in Postgres and resume from the last completed step after a crash, restart, or deploy. · oban.pro, 7 Oct 2026
Where Oban stands on Freedom251
- Task Queue Software#25 of 37