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AWS EventBridge vs Hatchet: Which is Better in 2026?

Background Jobs & Workflows

Choosing between AWS EventBridge and Hatchet? Both are popular background jobs & workflows tools. Below we compare them on pricing, free tiers, features, and pros & cons so you can pick the right fit for your stack.

AWS EventBridge is for: Teams on AWS who need scheduled tasks and event routing between AWS services and SaaS apps.

Hatchet is for: Teams orchestrating background tasks and AI agent workflows who want an open-source engine that runs on Postgres.

Quick verdict

There’s no single winner; pick on your constraint. Choose AWS EventBridge if your stack runs on AWS and you need cron-style schedules for Lambda or other AWS targets. Choose Hatchet if you want an open-source task engine you can self-host on the Postgres you already run.

AWS EventBridge vs Hatchet — Side by Side

AWS EventBridgeHatchet
CategoryBackground Jobs & WorkflowsBackground Jobs & Workflows
What it isManaged event bus and schedulerTask orchestration engine
LanguagesAny (AWS SDKs and API)Python, TypeScript, Go, Ruby
What it runs onAWSHatchet Cloud or self-hosted on Postgres
How you payPer million events or invocationsPer task run and event; no plan fee
Free access14M scheduler invocations a month1M task runs a month with a card on file
PricingFree · then usage-basedFree
Starting priceFree tier availableFree tier available
Free tier
Rating4.24.4
Best forBackground Jobs & Workflows — AWS, event routing, schedulingBackground Jobs & Workflows — Postgres-backed, AI task orchestration, open source

Pros & Cons

  • Deep AWS integration
  • Truly serverless and scalable
  • Generous scheduler free tier
  • Cron + event routing in one
  • AWS lock-in
  • Pricing has many components
  • Not a general-purpose worker/queue
  • Simple Postgres-based architecture
  • Easy to self-host
  • Built for AI task orchestration
  • Fine-grained concurrency control
  • Younger project, smaller community
  • Fewer integrations than incumbents

Key Features Compared

AWS EventBridge

  • Scheduler: 14 million invocations a month free, then $1.00 per million
  • Custom and partner events on classic buses: $1.00 per million
  • AWS management events ingested at no charge
  • Pipes: $0.40 per million requests, billed in 64 KB chunks
  • API destinations: $0.20 per million events plus data transfer
  • Archive and replay: $0.10 per GB processed and $0.023 per GB a month stored

Hatchet

  • Open source under the MIT license; self-hosting needs only PostgreSQL for basic use
  • Hatchet Cloud is pay-as-you-go with no plan fee
  • With a card on file: 1M task runs and 1M events a month included, then $30 per 1M task runs and $5 per 1M events
  • Card-on-file plan includes 100 workers, 50 users and 7-day retention
  • Without a card, lower limits apply and tasks are dropped once a free limit is reached
  • SDKs for Python, TypeScript, Go and Ruby

Choose AWS EventBridge if…

  • Your stack runs on AWS and you need cron-style schedules for Lambda or other AWS targets.
  • You route events between AWS services, SaaS partners and your own apps.
  • You run many schedules and want 14 million free invocations a month.

Choose Hatchet if…

  • You want an open-source task engine you can self-host on the Postgres you already run.
  • You need concurrency and rate limits per tenant or per key.
  • You want managed hosting with no monthly plan fee.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is AWS EventBridge better than Hatchet?⌄

There’s no single winner; pick on your constraint. Choose AWS EventBridge if your stack runs on AWS and you need cron-style schedules for Lambda or other AWS targets. Choose Hatchet if you want an open-source task engine you can self-host on the Postgres you already run.

What is the difference between AWS EventBridge and Hatchet?⌄

What it is — AWS EventBridge: Managed event bus and scheduler. Hatchet: Task orchestration engine. Languages — AWS EventBridge: Any (AWS SDKs and API). Hatchet: Python, TypeScript, Go, Ruby. What it runs on — AWS EventBridge: AWS. Hatchet: Hatchet Cloud or self-hosted on Postgres. How you pay — AWS EventBridge: Per million events or invocations. Hatchet: Per task run and event; no plan fee. Free access — AWS EventBridge: 14M scheduler invocations a month. Hatchet: 1M task runs a month with a card on file.

AWS EventBridge vs Hatchet: which is cheaper?⌄

AWS EventBridge pricing: Free · then usage-based. Hatchet pricing: Free. Confirm current pricing on each tool's official site, as plans change.

Which is rated higher, AWS EventBridge or Hatchet?⌄

In our catalog, AWS EventBridge rates 4.2 out of 5 and Hatchet rates 4.4 out of 5, so Hatchet has a slight edge on reviews.

When should I skip both AWS EventBridge and Hatchet?⌄

Skip AWS EventBridge if you need a worker queue with job retries and step state. Inngest or Temporal handle that. Skip Hatchet if you want a library rather than a separate engine. Graphile Worker and River run inside your app on Postgres.

Sources · tool facts checked November 2026

  1. 1.Amazon EventBridge pricingaws.amazon.com
  2. 2.Hatchet pricinghatchet.run
  3. 3.Hatchet docsdocs.hatchet.run

See more options in our guide to the best background jobs & workflows tools for startups.

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