Kestra vs Skyvern
Kestra and Skyvern are both workflow automation software. Kestra is open source under Apache-2.0, with 30k GitHub stars. Skyvern is open source under AGPL-3.0, with 23k GitHub stars.
Which to pick
- Pick Kestra when
- You need Airflow-class orchestration but want YAML flows, any language, and a UI non-Python people can use.
- Pick Skyvern when
- You need to automate tasks across many websites without APIs, such as portals, quotes or applications, and selector-based scripts keep breaking.
Side by side
An orchestration platform where workflows for data, infrastructure and business processes are declared in YAML and run on schedules or events, with a web UI.
Automates browser workflows with LLMs and computer vision, filling forms and navigating sites from instructions rather than brittle selectors.
Features such as SSO and multi-tenancy are in the paid enterprise edition.
AGPL license, LLM costs per run, and results are less predictable than scripted automation.
Production-ready
Usable
Self-hosted server and cloud service (both)
Java, Vue, TypeScript and PostgreSQL
Python, TypeScript, Playwright and PostgreSQL
Open source, Apache-2.0 (permissive)
Open source, AGPL-3.0 (network copyleft)
You can build it into a product you sell, as long as you keep its copyright notice.
Use inside your business is unrestricted. If you change it and let customers use it over the internet, you must publish your changes.
30k GitHub stars
23k GitHub stars
Established: started 7 years ago, latest release v2.0.7.
Established: started 2 years ago, latest release v1.0.56.
Other comparisons
More workflow automation tools
Both sides were judged on 2026-11-03 from each project's README and GitHub data. License, age and popularity lines are worked out directly.