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Automation Integration · head to head

Camunda vs Hatchet

Camunda logo

Camunda

Automation Integration

BPMN process orchestration engine, now source-available rather than open source

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Hatchet logo

Hatchet

Automation Integration

Postgres-backed distributed task queue and workflow engine for Python, TypeScript and Go

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Hatchet has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Camunda camunda 7 Community Edition stopped receiving security patches after the 7.24 release in October 2025, so free production deployments are now running unpatched software.; Hatchet postgres as the queue backend simplifies operations but sets a throughput ceiling, and very high task rates require database tuning or partitioning work that a purpose-built queue would not demand.
  • They diverge on capability: Camunda covers BPMN 2.0 execution, Hatchet covers Postgres-backed queue.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Camunda and Hatchet actually diverge.

Attributes where Camunda and Hatchet differ
AttributeCamundaHatchet
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotePer month by task run count
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Linux, Docker, KubernetesLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Automation Integration).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Camunda

  • BPMN 2.0 execution
  • DMN decision tables
  • Zeebe engine
  • Operate console
  • Job workers
  • Optimize

Only in Hatchet

  • Postgres-backed queue
  • Durable execution
  • DAG workflows
  • Concurrency and fairness
  • Rate limiting
  • Cron and scheduling
  • Multi-language SDKs
  • Self-hosting

What people use each for

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

Camunda

  • Long-running business processes crossing several services where the state must be visible to non-developersnot Hatchet
  • Insurance claims or loan origination where the process model is itself a compliance artefactnot Hatchet
  • Replacing orchestration logic scattered across microservices with one engine that owns the state machinenot Hatchet
  • A regulated organisation that needs an auditable record of how each process instance actually executednot Hatchet

Hatchet

  • An AI product running long agent pipelines that must survive worker restarts and resume mid-workflownot Camunda
  • A team that outgrew Celery and wants concurrency keys, fairness and rate limiting without building themnot Camunda
  • An engineering group that wants durable execution self-hosted with no datastore beyond the Postgres they already runnot Camunda
  • A multi-tenant SaaS that needs one noisy customer's jobs not to starve everyone else'snot Camunda

Where each one falls short

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

Camunda

  • Camunda 7 Community Edition stopped receiving security patches after the 7.24 release in October 2025, so free production deployments are now running unpatched software.
  • Camunda 8 Self-Managed is source-available under the Camunda License 1.0, not open source: production use requires a paid licence, and organisations that adopted Camunda for its Apache licence have to renegotiate that decision.
  • Migrating from Camunda 7 to 8 is a rewrite rather than an upgrade because the engine, the API and the persistence model all changed, and there is no in-place migration for running instances.
  • Camunda 8 Self-Managed has substantial infrastructure requirements including Zeebe brokers, Elasticsearch and Identity, which is a considerable operations burden compared with the single database that Camunda 7 needed.
  • Pricing is not published at all, so evaluating total cost requires a sales process, and there is no way to size a budget before committing engineering time to a proof of concept.

Hatchet

  • Postgres as the queue backend simplifies operations but sets a throughput ceiling, and very high task rates require database tuning or partitioning work that a purpose-built queue would not demand.
  • Data retention on the managed tiers is three days on Team and seven on Scale, which is short for debugging intermittent failures and forces you to export run history elsewhere.
  • The step from the free tier to Team is 500 US dollars a month plus usage, which is a large increment for a small team that simply needs a production SLA.
  • Hatchet is a young company in a category with Temporal, Inngest and cloud-native alternatives already established, so ecosystem, hiring pool and third-party material are all thin.
  • Self-hosting the MIT engine is realistic but you then run the engine, its Postgres and its workers yourself, and the managed features such as audit logs and support are not part of that.

Pricing, plan by plan

Camunda

On request
  • Camunda 8$undefined/year
    • Self-Managed under Camunda License 1.0, production licence required
    • SaaS with a thirty day full trial
    • Free unlimited BPMN and DMN modelling after the trial

Hatchet

Free
  • DeveloperFree
    • First 100,000 task runs included
    • $10 per million task runs after
    • No card required
  • Team$500/month
    • Usage billed on top of the base fee
    • 10 users and 5 tenants
    • 3 day data retention
  • Scale$1000/month
    • Unlimited users and tenants
    • 7 day data retention
    • Audit logs
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • 300 million plus runs a month
    • Latency guarantees and custom SLAs
    • SSO and audit logging

Which should you pick?

Choose Camunda if

  • You need bpmn 2.0 execution.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Docker, Kubernetes.
  • You also want dmn decision tables.
Camunda review

Choose Hatchet if

  • You need postgres-backed queue.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud.
  • You also want durable execution.
Hatchet review

Questions people ask

Is Camunda or Hatchet better?
Neither clearly leads. Camunda starts at On request and Hatchet at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Camunda or Hatchet?
Hatchet has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Camunda and Free for Hatchet.
Does Camunda or Hatchet run on more platforms?
Camunda runs on Web, Linux, Docker, Kubernetes. Hatchet runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud.
Can I use Hatchet for free?
Yes. Hatchet has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Camunda starts at On request.
What is Camunda best used for?
Camunda is most often used for long-running business processes crossing several services where the state must be visible to non-developers, insurance claims or loan origination where the process model is itself a compliance artefact, replacing orchestration logic scattered across microservices with one engine that owns the state machine, a regulated organisation that needs an auditable record of how each process instance actually executed. Of those, long-running business processes crossing several services where the state must be visible to non-developers and insurance claims or loan origination where the process model is itself a compliance artefact are not what Hatchet is typically brought in for.
What can Camunda do that Hatchet cannot?
Camunda covers BPMN 2.0 execution, DMN decision tables, Zeebe engine, Operate console. Hatchet covers Postgres-backed queue, Durable execution, DAG workflows, Concurrency and fairness.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Camunda: Is Camunda still open source?

No. Camunda 8 Self-Managed ships under the Camunda License 1.0, which is source-available and requires a paid production licence.

Hatchet: Is Hatchet open source?

Yes, the engine is MIT licensed and can be self-hosted, with a managed cloud offered alongside.

Camunda: What happened to Camunda 7?

Its final feature release, 7.24, was in October 2025 and the Community Edition receives no further patches. Enterprise support runs to April 2030.

Hatchet: What does it cost?

Free for the first 100,000 task runs, then 10 US dollars per million. Team is 500 US dollars a month plus usage; Scale is 1,000.

Camunda: Can I upgrade from 7 to 8?

Not in place. The engine, API and persistence changed, so it is a rewrite of the integration layer.

Hatchet: Why Postgres as the queue?

So durable task state lives in a database your team already backs up, replicates and can inspect with SQL, instead of a second system.

Camunda: What does it cost?

Camunda does not publish prices. Both self-managed production and SaaS require a quote.

Hatchet: How does it compare with Temporal?

Lighter to adopt and operate, with a much smaller ecosystem and a lower throughput ceiling from the Postgres backend.

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