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Celery vs Hatchet: Which is Better in 2026?

Background Jobs & Workflows

Choosing between Celery 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.

Celery is for: Python and Django teams who want a free task queue they run themselves on RabbitMQ or Redis.

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 Celery if your app is written in Python, especially Django or Flask. Choose Hatchet if you want an open-source task engine you can self-host on the Postgres you already run.

Celery vs Hatchet — Side by Side

CeleryHatchet
CategoryBackground Jobs & WorkflowsBackground Jobs & Workflows
What it isOpen-source distributed task queueTask orchestration engine
LanguagesPythonPython, TypeScript, Go, Ruby
What it runs onYour RabbitMQ, Redis or Amazon SQS brokerHatchet Cloud or self-hosted on Postgres
How you payFree (BSD); you pay for your infrastructurePer task run and event; no plan fee
Free accessFull open-source project1M task runs a month with a card on file
PricingFreeFree
Starting priceFree tier availableFree tier available
Free tier
Rating4.34.4
Best forBackground Jobs & Workflows — Python, Django, self-hostedBackground Jobs & Workflows — Postgres-backed, AI task orchestration, open source

Pros & Cons

  • Free and open-source
  • Mature and in production use for many years
  • Deep Django/Flask integration
  • Flexible broker support
  • Python only
  • You run the broker and workers
  • Configuration can be complex
  • 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

Celery

  • Open source under the BSD-3-Clause license; current stable version 5.6
  • RabbitMQ and Redis brokers are feature complete; Amazon SQS is also supported
  • Result backends include Redis, SQLAlchemy, Django ORM and Memcached
  • Periodic tasks with celery beat, including crontab expressions
  • Canvas primitives for groups, chains and chunks of tasks
  • Supports Python 3.8 to 3.13 and PyPy3.9+

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 Celery if…

  • Your app is written in Python, especially Django or Flask.
  • You want a free queue and already run RabbitMQ or Redis.
  • You need periodic tasks and task chains without a hosted service.

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 Celery better than Hatchet?⌄

There’s no single winner; pick on your constraint. Choose Celery if your app is written in Python, especially Django or Flask. 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 Celery and Hatchet?⌄

What it is — Celery: Open-source distributed task queue. Hatchet: Task orchestration engine. Languages — Celery: Python. Hatchet: Python, TypeScript, Go, Ruby. What it runs on — Celery: Your RabbitMQ, Redis or Amazon SQS broker. Hatchet: Hatchet Cloud or self-hosted on Postgres. How you pay — Celery: Free (BSD); you pay for your infrastructure. Hatchet: Per task run and event; no plan fee. Free access — Celery: Full open-source project. Hatchet: 1M task runs a month with a card on file.

Celery vs Hatchet: which is cheaper?⌄

Celery pricing: Free. Hatchet pricing: Free. Confirm current pricing on each tool's official site, as plans change.

Which is rated higher, Celery or Hatchet?⌄

In our catalog, Celery rates 4.3 out of 5 and Hatchet rates 4.4 out of 5, so Hatchet has a slight edge on reviews.

When should I skip both Celery and Hatchet?⌄

Skip Celery if you don’t want to run a broker and workers. Inngest and Hatchet offer managed Python SDKs. 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.Introduction to Celery (Celery docs)docs.celeryq.dev
  2. 2.Celery on GitHubgithub.com
  3. 3.Hatchet pricinghatchet.run
  4. 4.Hatchet docsdocs.hatchet.run

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

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