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Paragon vs Windmill

Paragon logo

Paragon

Software

Embedded integration platform for SaaS

From
$299/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Windmill logo

Windmill

Software

Open-source developer platform for building scripts, workflows, and internal apps

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Windmill has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Paragon no price is published for either plan, and both require a quote; Windmill free self-hosted tier caps SSO users at 10 and workspaces at 3, requiring Enterprise for larger teams.
  • They diverge on capability: Paragon covers Embedded workflows, Windmill covers Script-to-workflow engine.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Paragon and Windmill actually diverge.

Attributes where Paragon and Windmill differ
AttributeParagonWindmill
Starting price$299/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionopen-source
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Embeddedweb, api, linux, windows, mac
Founded2021Unknown

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

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 Paragon

  • Embedded workflows
  • Native integrations
  • Workflow builder
  • Error handling
  • Monitoring
  • Analytics
  • Webhooks
  • 500+ apps

Only in Windmill

  • Script-to-workflow engine
  • Auto-generated UIs
  • Self-hosted deployment
  • Git sync
  • SSO support
  • Audit logs

What people use each for

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

Paragon

  • Embedding third party integrations into a SaaS productnot Windmill
  • Managing customer facing connectors without building each onenot Windmill

Windmill

  • Turning ad-hoc scripts into scheduled jobs and APIsnot Paragon
  • Building internal tools from existing Python/TypeScript codenot Paragon
  • Self-hosted automation for engineering teamsnot Paragon
  • Orchestrating multi-language workflowsnot Paragon

Where each one falls short

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

Paragon

  • No price is published for either plan, and both require a quote
  • Cost scales with the number of customer tenants using the integrations, so the bill follows an end customer count rather than the vendor's own usage
  • SAML SSO, self hosting, dynamic field mapping and SLAs are all Enterprise only

Windmill

  • Free self-hosted tier caps SSO users at 10 and workspaces at 3, requiring Enterprise for larger teams.
  • Compute unit and seat-based pricing (developer vs. operator seats, worker compute units) adds pricing complexity beyond a flat monthly fee.
  • Email triggers are capped at 100/day on the free tier, limiting event-driven use cases without upgrading.
  • Smaller ecosystem of pre-built integrations compared to more established automation tools like n8n.

Pricing, plan by plan

Paragon

$299/month
  • Starter$299/month
    • 50 integrations
    • Basic support
  • Growth$999/month
    • 200 integrations
    • Priority support
  • Enterprise$5000/month
    • Unlimited integrations
    • Dedicated support

Windmill

Free
  • Free / Open-sourceFree
    • Unlimited executions
    • Self-hosted deployment
    • Max 10 users with SSO
  • Enterprise$120/month
    • Unlimited executions and workspaces
    • Uncapped SSO seats
    • 24/7 priority support (3-hour response)

Which should you pick?

Choose Paragon if

  • You need embedded workflows.
  • You work on Web, Embedded.
  • You also want native integrations.
Paragon review

Choose Windmill if

  • You need script-to-workflow engine.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, api, linux, windows, mac.
  • You also want auto-generated uis.
Windmill review

Questions people ask

Is Paragon or Windmill better?
Neither clearly leads. Paragon starts at $299/month and Windmill at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Paragon or Windmill?
Windmill has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $299/month for Paragon and Free for Windmill.
Does Paragon or Windmill run on more platforms?
Paragon runs on Web, Embedded. Windmill runs on web, api, linux, windows, mac.
Can I use Windmill for free?
Yes. Windmill has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Paragon starts at $299/month.
What is Paragon best used for?
Paragon is most often used for embedding third party integrations into a saas product, managing customer facing connectors without building each one. Of those, embedding third party integrations into a saas product and managing customer facing connectors without building each one are not what Windmill is typically brought in for.
What can Paragon do that Windmill cannot?
Paragon covers Embedded workflows, Native integrations, Workflow builder, Error handling. Windmill covers Script-to-workflow engine, Auto-generated UIs, Self-hosted deployment, Git sync.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Windmill: What does Windmill cost?

Windmill's Free and Open-source edition is $0/month for self-hosted use with unlimited executions, while Enterprise starts at $120/month with unlimited workspaces and uncapped SSO seats, priced further by developer/operator seats and compute units.

Source
Windmill: Is there a free plan and what are its limits?

The free self-hosted plan supports unlimited executions but caps SSO at 10 users, workspaces at 3, groups/permissions at 4, and email triggers at 100 per day.

Source
Windmill: How is usage metered on Windmill Enterprise?

Enterprise usage is metered through seats (developer seats at $20/month, operator seats at $10/month) and compute units, e.g. $100/month for 2 standard-worker compute units.

Source
Windmill: What happens to a self-hosted Windmill deployment if the company shuts down?

The pricing page addresses this directly as an FAQ topic, noting that self-hosted applications built on the open-source edition can continue running independently of Windmill the company.

Source
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