Best Task Queue Software in 2026
Updated
In short: IronWorker is ranked #1 of 37 as of 5 October 2026, ahead of Faktory and Hangfire. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Faktory. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Upstash QStash at $1/mo.
Task queue software lets applications hand off work for processing outside the immediate request, including jobs that need retries or scheduled execution. Compare deployment model, official SDK languages and maximum payload size alongside custom retry policy and dead-letter queue support. Scheduled jobs may be important for work that should run later; free-plan availability and paid-from pricing add cost considerations. IronWorker, Faktory and Inngest are among the entries. Think about how your application should handle failed work, which languages fit your stack, and what payloads your jobs need to carry. The listed criteria help you compare queue behavior and deployment fit.
37 task queue software ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
15 of the 25 here have a free tier you can use, 0 have open-source code on record, and 0 have full bars: free, open, on most of your devices and documented.
| # | App | Signal | Free tier | Open code | Devices | From | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IronWorkerWeb · Windows · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | $169/mo | 6.6 | |
| 2 | FaktoryWeb · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | $99/mo | 6.5 | |
| 3 | HangfireWeb · Windows · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | $41.67/mo | 6.5 | |
| 4 | InngestWeb · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 2 of 6 | $99/mo | 6.5 | |
| 5 | pg-bossWeb · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 2 of 6 | Free | 6.5 | |
| 6 | CeleryMac · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 2 of 6 | Free | 6.4 | |
| 7 | RiverWeb · Self-hosted | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | $125/mo | 6.4 | |
| 8 | Trigger.devWeb · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | $10/mo | 6.4 | |
| 9 | Upstash QStashWeb · API | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | $1/mo | 6.4 | |
| 10 | AsynqSelf-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 0 of 6 | Free | 6.3 | |
| 11 | Delayed JobSelf-hosted | Two bars | — | 0 of 6 | Free | 6.3 | |
| 12 | GoodJobWeb · Self-hosted | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | Free | 6.3 | |
| 13 | HueySelf-hosted | Two bars | — | 0 of 6 | Free | 6.3 | |
| 14 | ResqueSelf-hosted | Two bars | — | 0 of 6 | Free | 6.3 | |
| 15 | SidekiqSelf-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 0 of 6 | $82.92/mo | 6.3 | |
| 16 | TaskiqWindows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted | Two bars | — | — | 3 of 6 | — | 5.6 |
| 17 | DramatiqWindows · Linux · Self-hosted | One bar | — | — | 2 of 6 | — | 5.5 |
| 18 | Google TasksWeb · Android · iPhone | Two bars | — | — | 3 of 6 | — | 5.4 |
| 19 | TaskclusterWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux | One bar | — | — | 4 of 6 | — | 5.4 |
| 20 | TaskTigerWindows · Mac · Linux | One bar | — | — | 3 of 6 | — | 5.4 |
| 21 | BullMQSelf-hosted | One bar | — | — | 0 of 6 | $116.25/mo | 5.3 |
| 22 | Django Q2Web · Mac · Linux | One bar | — | — | 3 of 6 | — | 5.3 |
| 23 | Graphile WorkerWindows · Mac · Linux | One bar | — | — | 3 of 6 | — | 5.3 |
| 24 | ProcrastinateWindows · Mac · Linux | One bar | — | — | 3 of 6 | — | 5.3 |
| 25 | Solid QueueSelf-hosted | One bar | — | — | 0 of 6 | — | 5.3 |
Compare all 25 in a table
| # | App | Score | Free plan | From | Free plan | Paid from | Deployment model | Custom retry policy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IronWorker | 6.6 | Free plan | $169/mo | Yes | 169 /mo | hybrid | Yes |
| 2 | Faktory | 6.5 | Free plan | $99/mo | Yes | 299 /mo | self_hosted | Yes |
| 3 | Hangfire | 6.5 | Free plan | $41.67/mo | Yes | — | self_hosted | Yes |
| 4 | Inngest | 6.5 | Free plan | $99/mo | Yes | 99 /mo | — | — |
| 5 | pg-boss | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | self_hosted | Yes |
| 6 | Celery | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | — | — | self_hosted | Yes |
| 7 | River | 6.4 | Free plan | $125/mo | Yes | 125 /mo | self_hosted | Yes |
| 8 | Trigger.dev | 6.4 | Free plan | $10/mo | Yes | 10 /mo | — | — |
| 9 | Upstash QStash | 6.4 | Free plan | $1/mo | Yes | — | cloud | — |
| 10 | Asynq | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | — | — | self_hosted | Yes |
| 11 | Delayed Job | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | — | — | self_hosted | Yes |
| 12 | GoodJob | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | — | — | self_hosted | Yes |
| 13 | Huey | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | — | — | self_hosted | Yes |
| 14 | Resque | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | — | — | self_hosted | — |
| 15 | Sidekiq | 6.3 | Free plan | $82.92/mo | Yes | 99 /mo | self_hosted | Yes |
| 16 | Taskiq | 5.6 | No | — | Yes | — | self_hosted | Yes |
| 17 | Dramatiq | 5.5 | No | — | — | — | self_hosted | Yes |
| 18 | Google Tasks | 5.4 | No | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| 19 | Taskcluster | 5.4 | No | — | — | — | self_hosted | Yes |
| 20 | TaskTiger | 5.4 | No | — | — | — | self_hosted | Yes |
| 21 | BullMQ | 5.3 | No | $116.25/mo | Yes | 139 /mo | self_hosted | Yes |
| 22 | Django Q2 | 5.3 | No | — | — | — | self_hosted | Yes |
| 23 | Graphile Worker | 5.3 | No | — | — | — | self_hosted | Yes |
| 24 | Procrastinate | 5.3 | No | — | — | — | self_hosted | Yes |
| 25 | Solid Queue | 5.3 | No | — | — | — | self_hosted | Yes |
Is your app on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored, and a sponsored row is labelled as paid.
Questions about this list
Which task queue software is ranked first on Freedom251?
IronWorker is ranked #1 of 37 with a score of 6.6. Faktory is second and Hangfire third.
How many of these have a free plan?
15 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, Upstash QStash has the lowest first paid tier we found: $1/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked free-and-open first: a usable free tier and open-source code, then the platforms it runs on and its documentation.