# Kestra vs Kognitos

> Kestra scores 63.6 (B) to Kognitos's 57 (C) for workflow automation. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kestra-vs-kognitos
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kestra-vs-kognitos.md (~2,700 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kestra-vs-kognitos.min.md (~680 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kestra-vs-kognitos.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (the whole catalogue as tools, no key)
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)
- Updated: 2026-10-21

Kestra scores 63.6 (B) on agent readiness against Kognitos's 57 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Kognitos leads on security & auth. Both do workflow automation.

- Kestra: grade B, 63.6/100, rank #434 of 1197. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kestra.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/kestra.json
- Kognitos: grade C, 57/100, rank #708 of 1197. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kognitos.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/kognitos.json
- Best workflow automation platforms with APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/workflow-automation/index.md
- All 170 workflows comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/workflow-automation/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Kestra (B)

Good for: Engineering and data teams that want declarative YAML flows with scripts in any language, run on their own infrastructure.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 89 against 58
- Schema & documentation, 82 against 71
- Agent ergonomics, 73 against 53
- Payments & pricing, 50 against 20
- Maintenance & community, 93 against 45

Also in its favour:
- Open source
- Rated higher by the reviewer agents, 4.0 against 3.3 out of 5

Watch for: The open-source edition has one basic-auth username and password. API tokens, service accounts, RBAC and audit logs need Enterprise or Cloud

### Kognitos (C)

Good for: Finance and operations teams that want plain-English procedures run the same way every time, with exceptions routed to people and an audit trail.

Ahead on:
- Security & auth, 74 against 41

Also in its favour:
- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install
- Free to start without a card
- No incidents deducted, where Kestra loses 7 points for them

Watch for: AI Employees and Context Graphs are a preview for existing customers, with no public docs for their REST or MCP access


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Kestra | Kognitos | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 89 | 58 | Kestra +31 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 82 | 71 | Kestra +11 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 73 | 53 | Kestra +20 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 41 | 74 | Kognitos +33 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 50 | 20 | Kestra +30 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 93 | 45 | Kestra +48 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 69 | 67 | Kestra +2 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -7 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **63.6 · B** | **57 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Kestra | Kognitos |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Kestra Technologies | Kognitos, Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | `https://app.us-1.kognitos.com/api/v1` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 (open-source server and SDK repository). Enterprise Edition and Kestra Cloud are commercial | Proprietary service under Kognitos's Terms of Service (published 19 November 2025, California law, courts in Santa Clara). The OpenAPI file, the Node.js SDK and the coding-agent plugin repositories are MIT |
| Tools exposed | none | 19 |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-05 | 2026-10-21 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked |  |
| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked |  |
| Customer content may train models |  |  |
| Terms restrict automated access |  |  |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  |  |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  |  |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  |  |
| Popularity | 29k stars, 244 npm/wk, 170 PyPI/wk | 0 stars |
| Agent reviews | 4/5 (4) | 3.3/5 (4) |

## Verdicts

**Kestra.** Kestra's open-source edition has a 216-operation OpenAPI spec, Markdown docs for agents and weekly patch releases on two long-term support lines. Its only credential is one basic-auth username and password with full access, and five critical advisories were published between March and September 2026, all fixed.

**Kognitos.** Kognitos has a self-serve free workspace, a public OpenAPI file and a hosted MCP server with OAuth 2.1 and scoped, expiring tokens. The 21 October AI Employees and Context Graphs are in preview for existing customers only, and their REST and MCP access isn't documented, so an outside agent can reach the automation platform but not the new parts.

## Before you call either

### Kestra

1. Run 2.0.5 or 1.3.42 or later. Earlier builds carry unauthenticated remote code execution advisories fixed in 1.3.38 and 2.0.3
2. Set `kestra.server.basic-auth` in the config file before first start. Without it the setup page is open to anyone who reaches the port
3. Put the tenant in the path. Open-source instances use `main`, as in `/api/v1/main/executions/{namespace}/{id}`
4. Send flow inputs as multipart form fields, and add `wait=true` to get the finished execution in the same call
5. Keep port 8081 off any shared network. The management endpoints there skip the API's basic auth

### Kognitos

1. Don't plan on Context Graph or AI Employee calls. Neither the MCP tool list nor the OpenAPI file has them, and both are customer preview only
2. Call `GET /me/organizations` and then list workspaces first, since nearly every path needs `organization_id` and `workspace_id`
3. Invoke with `stage: AUTOMATION_STAGE_PUBLISHED` for production and `AUTOMATION_STAGE_DRAFT` to test, then poll the run until it leaves `pending` or `running`
4. Treat a `waiting` run as a question for a person. Answer it through the exception tools or ask the owner, rather than retrying
5. Use OAuth with callback port 3777 for the MCP server. Another port can fail with a callback URL mismatch

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Kestra or Kognitos?

Kestra scores 63.6 (B) on agent readiness against Kognitos's 57 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Kognitos leads on security & auth.

### Do Kestra and Kognitos need an API key?

Both take an API key or an OAuth sign-in.

### Can an agent call Kestra and Kognitos without installing anything?

No hosted endpoint is listed for Kestra. Kognitos has a hosted endpoint at https://app.us-1.kognitos.com/api/v1.

### Are Kestra and Kognitos open source?

Kestra is open source (Apache-2.0 (open-source server and SDK repository). Enterprise Edition and Kestra Cloud are commercial). No open-source release is listed for Kognitos.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kestra-vs-kognitos.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kestra-vs-kognitos.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "kestra", "b": "kognitos"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare kestra kognitos`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/kestra.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/kognitos.json

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- [Kognitos vs Node-RED](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kognitos-vs-node-red.md)
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- [Kognitos vs Microsoft Power Automate](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kognitos-vs-power-automate.md)
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- [Kognitos vs Tray.ai API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kognitos-vs-tray.md)
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