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Upstash QStash: Pricing, Features & Alternatives

QStash by Upstash is a serverless messaging and scheduling service that delivers HTTP requests with retries, delays, and cron schedules — ideal for triggering background work from serverless and edge functions. It is fully usage-based with a free daily quota, so there are no servers or queues to manage.

Category

Background Jobs & Workflows

Pricing

Free tier available

Free tier

Yes

Best for

Background Jobs & Workflows — queue, scheduler

Upstash QStash Pricing Plans (2026)

PlanPrice
FreePopular$0
Pay as you go$1 per 100K messages

Pricing summary: Free. Always confirm current pricing on the official site.

Key Upstash QStash Features

  • ~1,000 messages/day
  • Cron schedules
  • Automatic retries
  • No infrastructure

Pros

  • +Zero infrastructure to manage
  • +Perfect for serverless/edge
  • +Built-in cron scheduling
  • +Cheap at low volume

Cons

  • HTTP-delivery model only
  • Tied to the Upstash platform
  • Less suited to heavy compute jobs

Best Upstash QStash Alternatives

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Upstash QStash Compared

Upstash QStash FAQ

What is Upstash QStash used for?

Upstash QStash is a background jobs & workflows tool. Serverless message queue and HTTP-based scheduler — background jobs and cron without running any infrastructure.

Is Upstash QStash free?

Yes — Upstash QStash has a free tier you can start with, and paid plans for more usage and features.

How much does Upstash QStash cost?

Upstash QStash is free to use, with usage-based pricing on some features.

What are the best Upstash QStash alternatives?

Popular Upstash QStash alternatives include Inngest, Sidekiq, Trigger.dev, BullMQ, Temporal. Compare pricing and features on our Upstash QStash alternatives page.

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