Google Cloud Workflows vs Kestra
Google Cloud Workflows
cloud.google.com
Kestra
kestra.ioSide by side
| Figure | Google Cloud Workflows | Kestra |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $0.01/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 6 | 4 |
| Spec score · IT Orchestration Software | 8.8 (#2) | 8.5 (#7) |
| Spec score · Workflow Orchestration Software | 8.8 (#7) | 8.6 (#10) |
| Documentation depth | The documentation set includes quickstarts, tutorials, syntax and standard-library references, REST APIs, connectors, quotas, release notes, training, and code samples. | The documentation includes installation guides, configuration references, security hardening, migration guides, release notes and an API reference. |
| Integrations | Connectors integrate workflows with Google Cloud APIs and handle request formatting, retries, and long-running operations; examples include Pub/Sub, Firestore, and Secret Manager. | The plugin catalog covers databases, warehouses, queues, cloud services, CI/CD and security tools, with more than 2,200 plugins advertised on the features page. |
| Licence | The managed Workflows service is proprietary; Google's public Workflows samples repository is marked Apache-2.0. | The open-source repository is licensed under Apache License 2.0. |
| Limit: learning curve | A G2 reviewer says the product can be complex initially and requires a solid understanding to use effectively. | G2 reviewers report that YAML, Pebble expressions, task-output references and advanced templating take time to learn. |
| Observability | Workflows automatically integrates with Cloud Logging, Cloud Monitoring, and Cloud Audit Logs for execution and health visibility. | Each execution exposes task status, logs, outputs, timing, metrics, a timeline and live workflow topology in the UI. |
| Rating on G2 | 4.4 out of 5 from 6 reviews. | 4.6 out of 5 from 24 reviews |
| Security | Workflows runs in a sandboxed environment without code or library dependencies that require security patches, and it can use Secret Manager to store and retrieve secrets. | Kestra Cloud advertises SOC 2 Type 1 and Type 2 and GDPR status through its linked Trust Center. |
| Security architecture | Workflows runs in a sandbox with no workflow code or library dependencies that require security patching. | In Kestra 2.0 workers do not connect directly to the database; they use outbound gRPC streams to a worker controller. |
| Support | Google Cloud customers, including free trial customers, receive Basic Support with documentation, community forums, billing assistance, and Active Assist. | Enterprise Edition includes a customer success program and enterprise support with an SLA. |
| What it does | Google Cloud Workflows orchestrates Google Cloud services, custom Cloud Run services or functions, and HTTP APIs into serverless applications and pipelines without infrastructure management. | Kestra is an open-source orchestration platform for scheduled and event-driven data, AI, infrastructure and business workflows. |
Plans
Google Cloud Workflows
- Always FreeFree
- Always Free external stepsFree
- Always Free internal stepsFree
- Internal steps$0.01 a month
- Pay as you go$0.01 a month
- External steps$0.03 a month
Kestra
- Open SourceFree
- Enterprise EditionPriced on request
- Kestra CloudPriced on request
- Kestra CloudPriced on request
In their own words
Google Cloud Workflows
Google Cloud Workflows is a managed orchestration platform for running Google Cloud services, custom services, and HTTP APIs in a chosen sequence. Workflow definitions use YAML or JSON and can combine ordered steps with conditions, loops, parallel work, and reusable subworkflows. Start an execution manually, through client libraries or REST, or on a schedule with Cloud Scheduler. Connectors link workflows to Google Cloud APIs such as Pub/Sub, Firestore, and Secret Manager, while workflow steps can also call custom or private HTTP and HTTPS endpoints. Reliability features include retries, polling, error handling, callbacks, and waits of up to one year. A single execution can run up to 100,000 steps and last no more than one year. IAM controls access; Secret Manager can store and retrieve secrets. Cloud Logging and Cloud Monitoring surface execution logs, volume, errors, and duration. Pricing is based on executed steps, including failed and retried steps, while idle workflows incur no charges. The free plan includes 5,000 internal and 2,000 external steps; paid usage starts at $0.01 per month, with rates that vary by step type and volume.
Kestra
Kestra is a declarative orchestration platform for building, running, and governing workflows across an organization. Workflows, called flows, are defined in YAML and can combine tasks, dependencies, conditions, triggers, and runtime parameters. Execution controls include retries, failure policies, timeouts, concurrency limits, worker assignment, and log capture. Kestra advertises more than 2,000 plugins for connecting to external tools, with examples including Airbyte, AWS, Azure, BigQuery, dbt, Docker, GitHub, Kafka, Kubernetes, Slack, Snowflake, and Terraform. A flow can orchestrate SQL, Python, shell, APIs, Terraform, dbt, Spark, and custom tools. The platform includes an MCP server for AI agents and supports exposing flows as callable tools. Teams can self-host with Docker or Kubernetes; Enterprise Edition also supports cloud, on-premises, and air-gapped environments. Setup instructions cover macOS, Windows, and Linux, alongside web and API platforms. Kestra Cloud advertises up to two months free during team setup. The Open Source and Enterprise Edition plans have no price listed.