Best Workflow Orchestration Software in 2026
Updated
In short: Kestra is ranked #1 of 37 as of 5 October 2026, ahead of Workflow Engine and Argo Workflows. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Workflow Engine. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Google Cloud Workflows at $0.01/mo.
Workflow orchestration software helps you coordinate tasks, events, and approvals across a process. Compared on event triggers, automatic retries, and execution observability, the entries offer ways to assess how workflows begin, recover from issues, and can be monitored. Human approvals and deployment model are also important fit checks, while a visual workflow builder may suit teams that want to shape processes graphically. Kestra, Bonita, and Camunda are among the options shown. Check free-plan availability and paid-from pricing as you compare the listed capabilities with the workflows you need to run and the way your team prefers to build and operate them.
37 workflow orchestration software ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
16 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 | KestraWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Three bars | — | 4 of 6 | Free | 6.7 | |
| 2 | Workflow EngineWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Three bars | — | 4 of 6 | $666.67/mo | 6.7 | |
| 3 | Argo WorkflowsWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Three bars | — | 4 of 6 | Free | 6.6 | |
| 4 | BonitaWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Three bars | — | 4 of 6 | Free | 6.6 | |
| 5 | CamundaWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Three bars | — | 4 of 6 | Free | 6.6 | |
| 6 | Apache AirflowWeb · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | Free | 6.5 | |
| 7 | Bizagi ModelerWeb · Windows | Two bars | — | 2 of 6 | Free | 6.5 | |
| 8 | WindmillWeb · Windows · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | $120/mo | 6.5 | |
| 9 | AWS Step FunctionsWeb · API | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | Free | 6.4 | |
| 10 | dagster-slurmMac · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 2 of 6 | Free | 6.4 | |
| 11 | Google Cloud WorkflowsWeb · API | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | $0.01/mo | 6.4 | |
| 12 | InngestWeb · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 2 of 6 | $99/mo | 6.4 | |
| 13 | PrefectWeb · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | $100/mo | 6.4 | |
| 14 | RestateWeb · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | $75/mo | 6.4 | |
| 15 | Trigger.devWeb · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | $10/mo | 6.4 | |
| 16 | KeboolaWeb · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | $0.14/mo | 6.3 | |
| 17 | FlowableWeb · Linux · Android · iPhone · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | — | 4 of 6 | — | 5.6 |
| 18 | TemporalWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | — | 4 of 6 | $50/mo | 5.6 |
| 19 | BMC Helix AIOpsWeb · Windows · Linux · API | Two bars | — | — | 3 of 6 | — | 5.5 |
| 20 | ActiveBatchWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux · Android · iPhone · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | — | 6 of 6 | — | 5.4 |
| 21 | AzkabanWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux | One bar | — | — | 4 of 6 | — | 5.4 |
| 22 | CadenceWeb · Linux | No signal | — | — | 2 of 6 | — | 5.3 |
| 23 | Finance Automation by RedwoodWeb | One bar | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.3 |
| 24 | YAWLWindows · Mac · Linux | One bar | — | — | 3 of 6 | — | 5.3 |
| 25 | Apache DolphinSchedulerWeb · Linux | No signal | — | — | 2 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
Compare all 25 in a table
| # | App | Score | Free plan | From | Free plan | Paid from | Visual workflow builder | Event triggers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kestra | 6.7 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | Yes | Yes |
| 2 | Workflow Engine | 6.7 | Free plan | $666.67/mo | Yes | — | Yes | Yes |
| 3 | Argo Workflows | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | — | — | — | Yes |
| 4 | Bonita | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | Yes | Yes |
| 5 | Camunda | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 6 | Apache Airflow | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | No | Yes |
| 7 | Bizagi Modeler | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 8 | Windmill | 6.5 | Free plan | $120/mo | Yes | 120 /mo | — | — |
| 9 | AWS Step Functions | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | Yes | Yes |
| 10 | dagster-slurm | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 11 | Google Cloud Workflows | 6.4 | Free plan | $0.01/mo | Yes | — | No | Yes |
| 12 | Inngest | 6.4 | Free plan | $99/mo | Yes | 99 /mo | — | — |
| 13 | Prefect | 6.4 | Free plan | $100/mo | Yes | 100 /mo | No | Yes |
| 14 | Restate | 6.4 | Free plan | $75/mo | Yes | — | — | Yes |
| 15 | Trigger.dev | 6.4 | Free plan | $10/mo | Yes | 10 /mo | — | — |
| 16 | Keboola | 6.3 | Free plan | $0.14/mo | Yes | — | — | — |
| 17 | Flowable | 5.6 | No | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| 18 | Temporal | 5.6 | No | $50/mo | Yes | — | No | Yes |
| 19 | BMC Helix AIOps | 5.5 | No | — | No | 2,400 /mo | — | — |
| 20 | ActiveBatch | 5.4 | No | — | — | — | Yes | Yes |
| 21 | Azkaban | 5.4 | No | — | — | — | No | Yes |
| 22 | Cadence | 5.3 | No | — | — | — | — | Yes |
| 23 | Finance Automation by Redwood | 5.3 | No | — | No | — | — | — |
| 24 | YAWL | 5.3 | No | — | Yes | — | Yes | — |
| 25 | Apache DolphinScheduler | 5.2 | No | — | — | — | 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 workflow orchestration software is ranked first on Freedom251?
Kestra is ranked #1 of 37 with a score of 6.7. Workflow Engine is second and Argo Workflows third.
How many of these have a free plan?
16 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, Google Cloud Workflows has the lowest first paid tier we found: $0.01/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.