cadence
★ 9.5k
vs
conductor
★ 32.4k
cadence vs conductor
cadence: Cadence Workflow is an open-source, scalable, and fault-tolerant platform designed for building and running long-running processes. It provides a core orchestration engine, CLI tools, and a UI, supporting various databases and client SDKs for robust workflow management.; conductor: Conductor is an open-source, scalable microservices orchestration engine originally built at Netflix. It empowers developers to define and manage resilient, distributed, and asynchronous workflows across various services and systems.
01
TL;DR
cadenceWorkflow Automation · ★ 9.5k
Building highly scalable and fault-tolerant long-running business processes.
conductorWorkflow Automation · ★ 32.4k
When to choose:
- You want an Apache-2.0 durable workflow engine where workflows are defined as JSON graphs and workers can be written in any language.
- You want built-in LLM task types, MCP tool calling, human approval steps, and vector workflows on top of a microservice orchestrator.
When to skip:
- You prefer writing workflows purely as code rather than JSON graph definitions; Temporal or AutoKitteh fit better.
- You want a lightweight embedded rule engine inside a single Go binary with zero external middleware; RuleGo is designed for that.
02
Side-by-Side Comparison
Field
cadenceconductorCategory
Workflow Automation
Workflow Automation
Stars
★ 9.5k
★ 32.4k
License
Apache-2.0
Apache-2.0
Install Command
docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.yml up
npm install -g @conductor-oss/conductor-cli
Updated
1d ago
1d ago
Open Source
Yes
Yes
Tags
Workflow Engine, Fault Tolerance, Distributed Systems
Microservices Orchestration, Workflow Engine, Distributed Systems
03
Features
cadence01Scalable and Fault-Tolerant Workflow Execution
02Core Workflow Orchestration Engine
03Comprehensive Command Line Interface (CLI)
04Multi-language Client SDKs (Go, Java, Python, Ruby)
05Web-based User Interface for Workflow Monitoring
conductor01Workflow as code with JSON definition
02Rich task types (HTTP, JSON, Lambda, Sub Workflow, Event)
03Dynamic workflow management independent of services
04Built-in UI for monitoring and management
05Flexible persistence and queue options (Redis, MySQL, Postgres)
04
Use Cases
cadence↳Building highly scalable and fault-tolerant long-running business processes.
↳Orchestrating complex microservices interactions in a reliable manner.
↳Ensuring stateful execution and recovery for distributed applications.
conductor↳Orchestrating complex microservice interactions
↳Automating event-driven business processes
↳Building resilient and observable distributed systems
05
Best For
cadenceEssentialTrending
conductorMost PopularEssentialTrending
FAQ
FAQ
What is the difference between cadence and conductor?
Both cadence and conductor are in the Workflow Automation category. cadence has 9.5k stars, while conductor has 32.4k stars.
Which is better, cadence or conductor?
The best choice depends on your use case. Choose cadence if Building highly scalable and fault-tolerant long-running business processes., and conductor if Orchestrating complex microservice interactions.
Is cadence free or open source?
Yes, cadence is open source on GitHub (Apache-2.0).
Is conductor free or open source?
Yes, conductor is open source on GitHub (Apache-2.0).
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