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Automation Integration · head to head

CrewAI vs Trigger.dev

CrewAI logo

CrewAI

Automation Integration

The Enterprise Agent Build and Runtime for the work your business runs on

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Trigger.dev logo

Trigger.dev

Automation Integration

Build and deploy fully managed AI agents and workflows

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: CrewAI free tier limited to only 50 workflow executions per month; Trigger.dev unclear scaling costs beyond included limits; pricing becomes complex beyond base plan features
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 29 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CrewAI and Trigger.dev actually diverge.

Attributes where CrewAI and Trigger.dev differ
AttributeCrewAITrigger.dev

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Automation Integration).

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

CrewAI

  • Enriching sales leads with company revenue and insights automaticallynot Trigger.dev
  • Accelerating first contact with leads from multiple systemsnot Trigger.dev
  • Automating quality assurance testing for voice agentsnot Trigger.dev
  • Generating curriculum content and instructor materials instantlynot Trigger.dev

Trigger.dev

  • Job automation and workflow orchestrationnot CrewAI
  • API-driven task schedulingnot CrewAI
  • Background job processing for applicationsnot CrewAI

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

CrewAI

  • Free tier limited to only 50 workflow executions per month
  • Enterprise pricing is not published; requires contact for quote
  • No public information about paid tier pricing between free and enterprise

Trigger.dev

  • Unclear scaling costs beyond included limits; pricing becomes complex beyond base plan features
  • No published Enterprise pricing; requires contacting sales
  • HIPAA BAA compliance requires separate add-on request
  • Pro plan uses conditional language that obscures exact overage costs
  • Compute billing granularity is unclear; waits under 5 seconds still consume compute resources

Pricing, plan by plan

CrewAI

Free
  • BasicFree
    • 50 workflow executions/month
    • Visual editor and AI copilot
    • GitHub integration
  • Enterprise$null/month
    • Custom pricing upon request
    • Everything in Basic plus advanced features
    • Enterprise connectors

Trigger.dev

Free
  • FreeFree
    • $5 monthly credits
    • 20 concurrent runs
    • 1 day log retention
  • Hobby$10/month
    • $10 monthly credits
    • 50 concurrent runs
    • 7 day log retention
  • Pro$50/month
    • $50 monthly credits
    • 200+ concurrent runs
    • 30 day log retention
  • Enterprise$null/month
    • Custom discounts
    • RBAC and SSO
    • SOC 2 reports

Which should you pick?

Choose CrewAI if

  • You want to start without paying.
CrewAI review

Choose Trigger.dev if

  • You want to start without paying.
Trigger.dev review

Questions people ask

Is CrewAI or Trigger.dev better?
Neither clearly leads. CrewAI starts at Free and Trigger.dev at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CrewAI or Trigger.dev?
CrewAI starts at Free and Trigger.dev at Free.
Does CrewAI or Trigger.dev run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use CrewAI for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is CrewAI best used for?
CrewAI is most often used for enriching sales leads with company revenue and insights automatically, accelerating first contact with leads from multiple systems, automating quality assurance testing for voice agents, generating curriculum content and instructor materials instantly. Of those, enriching sales leads with company revenue and insights automatically and accelerating first contact with leads from multiple systems are not what Trigger.dev is typically brought in for.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CrewAI: Is CrewAI free?

CrewAI offers a free Basic tier that includes 50 workflow executions per month, access to the visual editor, AI copilot, and GitHub integration. Enterprise plans with custom pricing are available for larger deployments.

Source
Trigger.dev: Is there a free plan for Trigger.dev?

Yes, the Free plan offers $5 in monthly credits, 20 concurrent runs, 1 day log retention, and community support at no cost.

Source
CrewAI: How much does CrewAI Enterprise cost?

CrewAI Enterprise pricing is custom and available upon request. Enterprise includes dedicated VPC deployment, FedRamp High compliance, SSO and RBAC, PII redaction, and dedicated support with 45-day onboarding.

Source
Trigger.dev: What's the starting price for a paid plan?

The Hobby plan costs $10 per month USD and includes $10 monthly credits, 50 concurrent runs, and 7 day log retention.

Source
CrewAI: Can I self-host CrewAI?

Enterprise tier customers can deploy CrewAI on their own VPC or own infrastructure in addition to CrewAI cloud deployment, but specific pricing for self-hosted options is not published.

Source
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