DevVersus

Trigger.dev vs Inngest(2026)

Trigger.dev is better for teams that need open source (self-hostable). Inngest is the stronger choice if excellent dx. Trigger.dev is freemium (from $0 (free tier)) and Inngest is freemium (from $0 (generous free tier)).

Full feature breakdown, pricing details, and pros & cons below.

By Bikram Nath

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Trigger.dev logo

Trigger.dev

freemium

Trigger.dev is an open-source platform for creating background jobs and scheduled workflows with TypeScript.

Starting at $0 (free tier)

Visit Trigger.dev
Inngest logo

Inngest

freemium

Inngest is a developer platform for building event-driven workflows, background jobs, and scheduled tasks.

Starting at $0 (generous free tier)

Visit Inngest

How Do Trigger.dev and Inngest Compare on Features?

FeatureTrigger.devInngest
Pricing modelfreemiumfreemium
Starting price$0 (free tier)$0 (generous free tier)
TypeScript-native jobs✓—
Cron scheduling✓—
Event-triggered jobs✓—
Retries✓—
Delays✓—
Self-hostable✓—
Event-driven functions—✓
Background jobs—✓
Scheduled crons—✓
Retries and error handling—✓
Fan-out—✓
Step functions—✓

Trigger.dev Pros and Cons vs Inngest

T

Trigger.dev

+Open source (self-hostable)
+TypeScript-first
+Great DX
+Real-time job monitoring
−Newer ecosystem
−Less battle-tested than BullMQ
−Fewer language SDKs
I

Inngest

+Excellent DX
+Works with any JS framework
+Local dev server
+Free tier is generous
−Newer platform
−Vendor lock-in for workflow definitions
−Less control than BullMQ

Should You Use Trigger.dev or Inngest?

For most teams, Trigger.dev is the better default: it offers open source (self-hostable) and is freemium (from $0 (free tier)). Choose Inngest instead if excellent dx matters more than newer ecosystem. There is no universal winner — the right pick depends on your budget, team size, and whether you value open source (self-hostable) or excellent dx more.

Choose Trigger.dev if…

  • •Open source (self-hostable)
  • •TypeScript-first
  • •Great DX

Choose Inngest if…

  • •Excellent DX
  • •Works with any JS framework
  • •Local dev server

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