Which is cheaper, QStash or Windmill?

Windmill is 1.5x cheaper than QStash. QStash starts at $0/mo, Windmill starts at $0/mo.

Does QStash have a free tier?

Yes, QStash offers a free tier with messagesPerDay: 1000, maxMessageSizeMB: 1, activeSchedules: 10.

QStash has moderate switching cost. Windmill has moderate switching cost. Both have similar switching complexity.

Queues

QStash

Serverless HTTP-based messaging and scheduling service from Upstash with at-least-once delivery

Switching Cost: moderate

Windmill

← More affordable

Open-source workflow engine and developer platform for scripts, flows, and internal apps

Switching Cost: moderate

The pricing gap between Windmill and QStash runs about 1.5x — significant consideration for scaling.

Cost modeling varies: flat-rate drives QStash pricing, while Windmill uses per-seat.

Both tools have compelling strengths — choose QStash if you value serverless, otherwise Windmill offers advantages in open-source.

Both tools have compelling strengths — choose QStash if you value serverless, otherwise Windmill offers advantages in open-source.

Price Difference

1.5x

Windmill is cheaper by $60/mo

Pricing Model

Different

Tools charge using different pricing philosophies