Dagu vs HCL Workload Automation
Dagu
dagu.shHCL Workload Automation
hcl-software.comSide by side
| Figure | Dagu | HCL Workload Automation |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $50/mo | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 1 |
| Spec score · Workload Automation Software | 8.3 (#11) | 8.4 (#8) |
| Integrations | Built-in integration actions include HTTP, mail, SSH, SFTP, Git, S3, Redis, LLM, browser, computer, SQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, and DuckDB. | Documented integrations include Jira, ServiceNow, RESTful APIs, JSONata, and IBM Robotic Process Automation. |
| Purpose | Dagu is a self-hosted workflow engine that lets users define DAG workflows in YAML and manage runs, logs, and retries through a built-in web UI. | The product orchestrates, initiates, runs, and manages digital business processes from legacy environments to cloud. |
| Scheduling | Dagu supports cron schedules with timezones, catchup windows, overlap policies, retry policies, zombie detection, lifecycle handlers, and notifications. | It schedules jobs across a network, groups them into job streams, and supports dependencies, time constraints, and automatic recovery procedures. |
| Security | Dagu's privacy policy says hosted service data is on Google Cloud Platform and uses encryption in transit and at rest, access controls, and tenant isolation safeguards. | Fresh installations automatically encrypt key product files at rest using AES-256 or AES-128 cryptography; encryption can be disabled during installation. |
| Support | Team and Pro include standard support, Enterprise includes priority support, and support is handled directly by Dagu's maintainer. | HCL’s product documentation page links to HCLSoftware Support, a knowledge base, a community, and a product ideas portal. |
| Trial | A free self-host license trial lasts 14 days and does not require a credit card. | An HCL newsletter advertises a 90-day free trial. |
Plans
In their own words
Dagu
Dagu is a self-hosted workflow engine for defining DAG workflows in YAML and managing runs, logs and retries through a built-in web interface. It runs as a single binary locally or across distributed workers, without an external database or message broker. Workflows can run shell scripts, Docker containers, SSH commands, SQL queries, HTTP requests, chat completion steps and Agent Harness steps. Scheduling supports cron timezones, catchup windows, overlap and retry policies, zombie detection, lifecycle handlers and notifications. Built-in actions cover HTTP, mail, SSH, SFTP, Git, S3, Redis, LLM, browser, computer, SQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite and DuckDB. Dagu also supports MCP connections from clients including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, VS Code, Gemini CLI, OpenCode, Zed and Cline. The project is open source under GNU GPL v3.0. Its free Community plan includes unlimited servers and workers, with up to two API keys. Team is $50 a month and Pro is $150 a month; both add SSO, role-based access, audit logging, incident routing and standard support.
HCL Workload Automation
HCL Workload Automation is software for defining, scheduling, managing, and monitoring critical batch processes. It groups scheduled jobs into job streams and supports dependencies, time constraints, and automatic recovery procedures. Graphical views, embedded analytics, and customizable dashboards help teams follow jobs and streams. Event rules can trigger jobs, respond to prompts, notify users of anomalies, or invoke an external product when conditions occur. Documented integrations include Jira, ServiceNow, RESTful APIs, JSONata, and IBM Robotic Process Automation; HCL says Automation Hub provides over 100 plugins at no additional cost. Tasks can run through local agents, without agents, or through APIs, and the product supports container and hybrid deployments, including Docker, Red Hat OpenShift, and a cloud-native service in a customer-chosen cloud. Pricing is available on request, and HCL advertises a 90-day free trial. From version 10.2, customers need their own WebSphere Application Server Liberty and Db2 licenses to keep using them.