Inngest vs Upstash QStash: Which is Better in 2026?
Choosing between Inngest 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.
Inngest is for: TypeScript, Python and Go teams who want durable multi-step functions and event-driven jobs without running queue infrastructure.
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 Inngest if you want multi-step functions where each step retries and keeps its state, without running queues or workers. Choose Upstash QStash if your app runs on serverless functions and you need work to happen later or on a schedule.
Inngest vs Upstash QStash — Side by Side
| Inngest | Upstash QStash | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Background Jobs & Workflows | Background Jobs & Workflows |
| What it is | Hosted durable workflow platform | Serverless HTTP message queue and scheduler |
| Languages | TypeScript, Python, Go, Kotlin | Any (delivers HTTP requests to your endpoint) |
| What it runs on | Inngest Cloud or self-hosted; steps run in your app | Upstash managed service |
| How you pay | Monthly plan plus per-execution overage | Per message, or fixed monthly plans |
| Free access | 50,000 executions a month | 1,000 messages a day |
| Pricing | Free · paid from $99/mo | Free · paid from $180/mo |
| Starting price | Free tier available | Free tier available |
| Free tier | ||
| Rating | 4.6 | 4.4 |
| Best for | Background Jobs & Workflows — durable functions, event-driven jobs, serverless apps | Background Jobs & Workflows — serverless, HTTP scheduling, cron |
Pros & Cons
- No infrastructure to run
- Durable multi-step workflows
- Event-driven + cron in one model
- Great local dev experience
- Execution-based pricing can add up at scale
- Newer ecosystem than Celery/Sidekiq
- 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
Inngest
- Free: 50,000 executions a month, 5 concurrent steps, 5 seats and 24-hour trace history; work pauses at the quota
- Pro from $99 a month with 1M executions, 100 concurrent steps and 7-day trace history
- Pro overage: $50 per extra 1M executions
- Business from $499 a month with 10M executions and 14-day trace history; Enterprise custom
- Self-hosting supported since the 1.0 release, on SQLite by default or your own Postgres and Redis
- SDKs for TypeScript, Python, Go and Kotlin
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 Inngest if…
- Budget is tight — paid plans start lower ($99/mo vs $180/mo).
- You want multi-step functions where each step retries and keeps its state, without running queues or workers.
- You trigger background work from events and cron schedules in the same codebase.
- You deploy to serverless platforms and want jobs to run inside your existing app.
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 Inngest better than Upstash QStash?⌄
There’s no single winner; pick on your constraint. Choose Inngest if you want multi-step functions where each step retries and keeps its state, without running queues or workers. 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 Inngest and Upstash QStash?⌄
What it is — Inngest: Hosted durable workflow platform. Upstash QStash: Serverless HTTP message queue and scheduler. Languages — Inngest: TypeScript, Python, Go, Kotlin. Upstash QStash: Any (delivers HTTP requests to your endpoint). What it runs on — Inngest: Inngest Cloud or self-hosted; steps run in your app. Upstash QStash: Upstash managed service. How you pay — Inngest: Monthly plan plus per-execution overage. Upstash QStash: Per message, or fixed monthly plans. Free access — Inngest: 50,000 executions a month. Upstash QStash: 1,000 messages a day.
Inngest vs Upstash QStash: which is cheaper?⌄
Inngest pricing: Free · paid from $99/mo. Upstash QStash pricing: Free · paid from $180/mo. Confirm current pricing on each tool's official site, as plans change.
Which is rated higher, Inngest or Upstash QStash?⌄
In our catalog, Inngest rates 4.6 out of 5 and Upstash QStash rates 4.4 out of 5, so Inngest has a slight edge on reviews.
When should I skip both Inngest and Upstash QStash?⌄
Skip Inngest if your jobs are simple and you already run Redis. BullMQ runs on your own Redis with no per-execution bill. 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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