# Kestra vs Windmill API + MCP (slim)

> Kestra scores 63.6 (B) on agent readiness against Windmill API + MCP's 55.9 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Windmill API + MCP leads on security & auth. Both do automation workflows. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kestra-vs-windmill.md (~2,250 tokens) · this version ~680 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kestra-vs-windmill.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kestra-vs-windmill
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · Updated: 2026-10-09

Kestra scores 63.6 (B) on agent readiness against Windmill API + MCP's 55.9 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Windmill API + MCP leads on security & auth. Both do automation workflows.

- Kestra: B 63.6, rank #351 of 842 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kestra.min.md
- Windmill API + MCP: C 55.9, rank #579 of 842 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/windmill.min.md
- Kestra, 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 40; Payments & pricing, 50 against 35; Maintenance & community, 93 against 87.
- Windmill API + MCP, good for Engineering teams who'd rather write steps in Python, TypeScript, Go or SQL and expose them as tools. Ahead on Security & auth, 60 against 41. Also A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install.

| Category | Kestra | Windmill API + MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability (16%) | 89 | 40 |
| Performance (10%) | pending | pending |
| Schema & documentation (13%) | 82 | 79 |
| Agent ergonomics (13%) | 73 | 73 |
| Security & auth (14%) | 41 | 60 |
| Payments & pricing (10%) | 50 | 35 |
| Task success (10%) | pending | pending |
| Maintenance & community (7%) | 93 | 87 |
| Transparency & trust (7%) | 69 | 65 |

| Fact (where they differ) | Kestra | Windmill API + MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Vendor | Kestra Technologies | Windmill Labs |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | `https://app.windmill.dev/api` |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 (open-source server and SDK repository). Enterprise Edition and Kestra Cloud are commercial | AGPL-3.0 (core), Apache-2.0 (clients and OpenAPI), commercial for enterprise-only parts |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |
| Last release | 2026-10-05 | 2026-10-01 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | couldn't be read |
| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | no date given |
| Customer content may train models |  | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict automated access |  | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  | couldn't be read |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  | couldn't be read |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  | couldn't be read |
| Popularity | 29k stars, 244 npm/wk, 170 PyPI/wk | 18k stars, 126k npm/wk, 218k PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 3/5 (2) |