Windmill
Developer platform to turn scripts into workflows and UIs
The Lens
Windmill turns your scripts (Python, TypeScript, Go, Bash, SQL) into scheduled jobs, API endpoints, workflows, and internal tools with UIs. Write a function, Windmill auto-generates the input form and handles scheduling, retries, permissions, and logging. It's like n8n met a proper IDE.
The self-hosted Community edition is free under AGPLv3 with generous limits: 5 users, unlimited flows, all core features. The Enterprise edition adds RBAC, audit logs, SSO, and support. Self-hosting runs via Docker Compose with Postgres. Setup takes under an hour. The platform is lightweight compared to alternatives. A 2GB RAM VM handles it comfortably. Moderate ops burden, mostly database maintenance.
Solo developers: the free tier covers everything you need. Run scripts on schedule, build internal dashboards, automate workflows. Small teams: 5 free users is generous. Growing teams: Enterprise pricing starts at ~$200/mo.
The catch: Windmill is less known than n8n or Retool. The community is smaller, which means fewer pre-built integrations and examples. If you need 400 pre-built connectors to SaaS tools, n8n is ahead. If you want to write actual code (not just drag-and-drop), Windmill is better.
Free vs Self-Hosted vs Paid
open core### Free (Self-Hosted Community) 5 users, unlimited jobs and flows, all workflow features (branching, loops, retries, approval steps), auto-generated UIs, scheduling, webhooks, script library. AGPLv3.
### Paid (Self-Hosted Enterprise): ~$200/mo+ Unlimited users, RBAC, audit logs, SSO/SAML, worker groups, priority support, SLA.
### Cloud Windmill offers a managed cloud with a free tier (1,000 executions/month) and paid plans. Contact for pricing.
### Self-Hosted Costs Postgres + Windmill via Docker. A $20-40/mo VM handles small-to-medium workloads. Workers scale horizontally. Add VMs when you need more parallel execution.
### Comparison - n8n: More pre-built integrations (400+), visual-first workflow builder. Windmill is code-first. - Retool: Better for complex internal tools UI. Windmill is better for script-centric automation. - Prefect: Better for data pipeline orchestration specifically. Windmill is more general purpose. - Temporal: Better for mission-critical durable workflows. Windmill is simpler for most use cases.
### Verdict The free 5-user tier covers small teams completely. Enterprise pricing is reasonable compared to Retool ($10/user/mo minimum) or n8n Cloud ($24/user/mo).
Free for up to 5 users self-hosted. Enterprise at ~$200/mo for larger teams. Code-first alternative to n8n.
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