Hatchet vs Upstash QStash: Which is Better in 2026?
Choosing between Hatchet and Upstash QStash? 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.
Hatchet is for: Teams orchestrating background tasks and AI agent workflows who want an open-source engine that runs on Postgres.
Upstash QStash is for: Serverless and edge apps that need delayed HTTP calls, retries and cron schedules without running a queue or worker.
Quick verdict
There’s no single winner; pick on your constraint. Choose Hatchet if you want an open-source task engine you can self-host on the Postgres you already run. Choose Upstash QStash if your app runs on serverless functions and you need work to happen later or on a schedule.
Hatchet vs Upstash QStash — Side by Side
| Hatchet | Upstash QStash | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Background Jobs & Workflows | Background Jobs & Workflows |
| What it is | Task orchestration engine | Serverless HTTP message queue and scheduler |
| Languages | Python, TypeScript, Go, Ruby | Any (delivers HTTP requests to your endpoint) |
| What it runs on | Hatchet Cloud or self-hosted on Postgres | Upstash managed service |
| How you pay | Per task run and event; no plan fee | Per message, or fixed monthly plans |
| Free access | 1M task runs a month with a card on file | 1,000 messages a day |
| Pricing | Free | Free · paid from $180/mo |
| Starting price | Free tier available | Free tier available |
| Free tier | ||
| Rating | 4.4 | 4.4 |
| Best for | Background Jobs & Workflows — Postgres-backed, AI task orchestration, open source | Background Jobs & Workflows — serverless, HTTP scheduling, cron |
Pros & Cons
- 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
- Zero infrastructure to manage
- Built for serverless and edge functions
- Built-in cron scheduling
- Cheap at low volume
- HTTP-delivery model only
- Tied to the Upstash platform
- Less suited to heavy compute jobs
- Each retry is billed as a message
Key Features Compared
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
Upstash QStash
- Free: 1,000 messages a day, 10 active schedules and 1 MB maximum message size
- Pay as you go: $1 per 100,000 messages, with 1,000 active schedules included
- Fixed 1M plan: $180 a month for 1M messages a day
- Every delivery attempt, including each retry, is billed as a message
- Pay as you go allows delays up to 1 year and HTTP responses up to 2 hours
- Dead-letter queue kept 3 days on Free and 7 days on Pay as you go
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.
Choose Upstash QStash if…
- Your app runs on serverless functions and you need work to happen later or on a schedule.
- You want to pay per message with nothing to run.
- Your jobs fit an HTTP request to an endpoint you already have.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hatchet better than Upstash QStash?⌄
There’s no single winner; pick on your constraint. Choose Hatchet if you want an open-source task engine you can self-host on the Postgres you already run. Choose Upstash QStash if your app runs on serverless functions and you need work to happen later or on a schedule.
What is the difference between Hatchet and Upstash QStash?⌄
What it is — Hatchet: Task orchestration engine. Upstash QStash: Serverless HTTP message queue and scheduler. Languages — Hatchet: Python, TypeScript, Go, Ruby. Upstash QStash: Any (delivers HTTP requests to your endpoint). What it runs on — Hatchet: Hatchet Cloud or self-hosted on Postgres. Upstash QStash: Upstash managed service. How you pay — Hatchet: Per task run and event; no plan fee. Upstash QStash: Per message, or fixed monthly plans. Free access — Hatchet: 1M task runs a month with a card on file. Upstash QStash: 1,000 messages a day.
Hatchet vs Upstash QStash: which is cheaper?⌄
Hatchet pricing: Free. Upstash QStash pricing: Free · paid from $180/mo. Confirm current pricing on each tool's official site, as plans change.
Which is rated higher, Hatchet or Upstash QStash?⌄
In our catalog, Hatchet rates 4.4 out of 5 and Upstash QStash rates 4.4 out of 5 — they are evenly matched.
When should I skip both Hatchet and Upstash QStash?⌄
Skip Hatchet if you want a library rather than a separate engine. Graphile Worker and River run inside your app on Postgres. Skip Upstash QStash if your jobs have several steps that should each retry on their own. Inngest and Trigger.dev handle step state.
Sources · tool facts checked November 2026
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