Kestra
Make
| Feature | Kestra | Make |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $100/mo | Free / from $10.59/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.4 / 5 | 4.5 / 5 |
| Best For | data-engineers, devops-teams, backend-developers, workflow-automation | power-users, agencies, developers, small-businesses |
| Founded | 2020 | 2012 |
| Workflow Orchestration | ✓ | ✗ |
| Scheduling | ✓ | ✗ |
| Event Triggers | ✓ | ✗ |
| Plugins | ✓ | ✗ |
| Monitoring | ✓ | ✗ |
| Secret Management | ✓ | ✗ |
| Multi Tenant | ✓ | ✗ |
| Scenarios | ✗ | ✓ |
| Modules | ✗ | ✓ |
| Routers | ✗ | ✓ |
| Webhooks | ✗ | ✓ |
| Data Stores | ✗ | ✓ |
| Api | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Kestra Pros
- Open-source with full orchestration capabilities
- Declarative YAML workflows (GitOps friendly)
- 500+ plugins for data, cloud, and messaging services
- Real-time triggers, schedules, and event listeners
✗ Kestra Cons
- Less visual builder than no-code tools
- Learning curve for YAML workflow syntax
- Newer platform with smaller community than Airflow
✓ Make Pros
- Visual workflow builder
- Affordable pricing
- 1,000+ app integrations
- Complex branching logic
✗ Make Cons
- Steeper learning curve than Zapier
- Smaller app library
- Can be slow with large scenarios
The Verdict
Kestra is built for data engineers and devops teams, with a focus on workflow-orchestration and scheduling. Make targets power users and agencies and leads with scenarios and modules.
On pricing, Make is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $10.59/mo compared to $100/mo for Kestra. That $89.41/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Feature-wise, Kestra offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Make takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.
