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Automation Integration · head to head

Orkes vs Temporal

Orkes logo

Orkes

Automation Integration

Commercial Conductor, now the maintainer of the workflow engine Netflix archived

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Temporal logo

Temporal

Automation Integration

Durable execution platform for fault-tolerant workflows.

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Orkes netflix archived the Conductor repository in December 2023 and Orkes took over maintenance, so the large-company backing that justified many original adoptions no longer exists.; Temporal cloud pricing scales with action volume, with per-million overage fees ($50 per million initially)
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Orkes and Temporal actually diverge.

Attributes where Orkes and Temporal differ
AttributeOrkesTemporal
Pricing modelquotefreemium
PlatformsLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, CloudWeb, API, Self-hosted

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Orkes

  • JSON workflow definitions
  • Polyglot workers
  • Visual workflow builder
  • AI and LLM tasks
  • Human tasks
  • Event handlers
  • RBAC and secrets
  • Hosted or self-hosted

Only in Temporal

Nothing recorded that Orkes does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Orkes

  • A microservices estate that needs orchestration across services written in different languages without a shared SDKnot Temporal
  • A team already running Conductor OSS that wants a supported distribution now that Netflix has stopped maintaining itnot Temporal
  • An AI platform composing agent steps, model calls and vector lookups as versioned workflow definitionsnot Temporal
  • A business process needing human approval steps interleaved with automated service callsnot Temporal

Temporal

  • AI pipeline orchestration and long-running AI workflowsnot Orkes
  • Distributed system workflows requiring state durabilitynot Orkes
  • Complex backend processes with retry requirementsnot Orkes
  • High-volume asynchronous task executionnot Orkes
  • Microservices coordination with guaranteed state consistencynot Orkes

Where each one falls short

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

Orkes

  • Netflix archived the Conductor repository in December 2023 and Orkes took over maintenance, so the large-company backing that justified many original adoptions no longer exists.
  • Enterprise pricing is entirely unpublished, and the only free option is explicitly a prototyping sandbox whose limits can change at any time, so there is no supported low-cost entry point.
  • Self-hosting Conductor OSS in production means operating the engine plus its persistence and indexing dependencies, typically Postgres or Cassandra with Elasticsearch, which is a substantial platform commitment.
  • JSON workflow definitions are language agnostic but verbose and awkward to test, and teams accustomed to defining workflows in code find them a step backwards in developer experience.
  • Orkes is a small company whose commercial future is tied to a single open source project it also maintains, which concentrates both vendor and project risk in the same place.

Temporal

  • Cloud pricing scales with action volume, with per-million overage fees ($50 per million initially)
  • Enterprise customers incur additional storage costs beyond base allocations
  • Self-hosted deployments require operational expertise to deploy and maintain the Temporal Service
  • No native workflow UI builder; workflows must be defined in code
  • Free tier limited to self-hosted option only; no free cloud tier

Pricing, plan by plan

Orkes

Free
  • Developer EditionFree
    • All Conductor OSS features plus enterprise capabilities
    • Sandbox for prototyping only
    • Rate limits and resources may change without notice
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Availability SLA up to 99.99%
    • Orkes-hosted or customer-hosted deployment
    • Dedicated technical account manager

Temporal

Free
  • Open-sourceFree
    • Self-hosted deployment
    • Full platform functionality
    • Community support
  • Essentials$100/month
    • 1 million actions monthly
    • 1 GB active storage
    • 40 GB retained storage
  • Business$500/month
    • 2.5 million actions monthly
    • 2.5 GB active storage
    • 100 GB retained storage
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • 10 million actions monthly
    • 10 GB active storage
    • 400 GB retained storage

Which should you pick?

Choose Orkes if

  • You need json workflow definitions.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud.
  • You also want polyglot workers.
Orkes review

Choose Temporal if

  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, API, Self-hosted.
Temporal review

Questions people ask

Is Orkes or Temporal better?
Neither clearly leads. Orkes starts at Free and Temporal at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Orkes or Temporal?
Orkes starts at Free and Temporal at Free.
Does Orkes or Temporal run on more platforms?
Orkes runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud. Temporal runs on Web, API, Self-hosted.
Can I use Orkes for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Orkes best used for?
Orkes is most often used for a microservices estate that needs orchestration across services written in different languages without a shared sdk, a team already running conductor oss that wants a supported distribution now that netflix has stopped maintaining it, an ai platform composing agent steps, model calls and vector lookups as versioned workflow definitions, a business process needing human approval steps interleaved with automated service calls. Of those, a microservices estate that needs orchestration across services written in different languages without a shared sdk and a team already running conductor oss that wants a supported distribution now that netflix has stopped maintaining it are not what Temporal is typically brought in for.
What can Orkes do that Temporal cannot?
Orkes covers JSON workflow definitions, Polyglot workers, Visual workflow builder, AI and LLM tasks.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Orkes: Does Netflix still maintain Conductor?

No. Netflix archived its repository in December 2023. The open source project continues at conductor-oss under Apache 2.0, maintained by Orkes.

Temporal: What programming languages does Temporal support?

Temporal provides native SDKs for Go, Java, .NET, PHP, Python, Ruby, Rust, and TypeScript.

Source
Orkes: Is there a free production tier?

No. The Developer Edition is a sandbox that the vendor states is unsuitable for production. Self-hosting Conductor OSS is the free production route.

Temporal: Can I run Temporal on-premises or self-hosted?

Yes. Temporal is available as open-source software under the MIT license, allowing self-hosted deployment. Temporal Cloud is also available as a managed service alternative.

Source
Orkes: What does Enterprise cost?

Nothing is published; it is quoted by deployment and support requirements.

Temporal: What is included in the free tier?

$1,000 in free credits for new users to explore Temporal Cloud. Self-hosted Temporal is available free with full platform functionality.

Source
Orkes: How does it compare with Temporal?

Conductor uses declarative JSON workflow definitions and external workers; Temporal defines workflows in code. Temporal has the larger community.

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