Tool profile
Windmill: cost, fit and limits
Windmill is an open source workflow and internal tool platform made by Windmill Labs, Inc. that turns scripts into jobs, flows and apps, available as a free self-hosted edition and as paid Enterprise plans priced per builder, per non-builder and per compute group.
What to know first
Windmill's free tier is open source and self-hosted, with 3 workspaces, up to 50 users and 10 GiB of object storage. Enterprise plans start at $120 a month and are itemized: $20 per builder, $10 per non-builder, $100 for a two-worker standard group and $50 for eight native subworkers. The pricing page opened names no AI feature, hosting region or certification.
Windmill at a glance
| Maker | Windmill Labs, Inc., Not stated on the vendor pages |
|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes |
| Entry price | Free (open source, self-hosted) |
| API access | No |
| Category | Best AI Data Orchestration Tools in 2026, rank 7 of 12 |
| Website | windmill.dev |
Who Windmill is best for
Platform teams running scripts
Scripts become jobs, flows and apps on one engine, so an internal platform team can serve several groups from a single self-hosted install.
Seed-stage startups
A self-hosted Pro plan is listed for small teams and seed-stage startups, which gives early companies a path beyond free without a full enterprise contract.
Buyers who want line-item pricing
Builder, non-builder and compute lines are priced separately, so a finance lead can add up a sample bill instead of waiting for a quote.
Windmill plans and pricing
| Plan | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Free and open source | From $0 per month | 3 workspaces, up to 50 users (10 with SSO), 4 groups, 10 GiB object storage, 30-day job run retention and 100 email triggers a day. |
| Enterprise (Pro, Nonprofit and Enterprise variants) | From $120 per month | Unlimited workspaces, users, groups and storage, audit logs, SAML with group sync, a commercial license and 24/7 support with a 3-hour response. |
| Sample Enterprise configuration | $170 per month example | Built from $20 per builder, $10 per non-builder, $100 for a 2-worker standard group and $50 for 8 native subworkers. |
Checked November 2026.
What Windmill does
- Free-tier triggers
- Email triggers are capped at 100 a day on the free tier, and Kafka, NATS, SQS, GCP and Azure triggers are Enterprise only, which gates event-driven pipelines.
- Git sync
- The free tier lists Git sync for up to 2 users, so small teams can version scripts in a repository without paying for a plan upgrade.
- Audit logs
- Audit logs are listed on Enterprise only. Teams that need a record of who changed or ran what must move off the free tier before an audit.
- App guests
- Free app guests are capped at 100 per 30 days, and past 100 guests on Enterprise every 4 guests count as 1 seat, which matters for customer-facing apps.
- Compute groups
- Compute is bought as worker groups on Enterprise, a standard group of two workers at $100 a month, so capacity is a visible line, not a hidden multiplier.
How Windmill handles your data
The Windmill pricing page, the only page opened for this review, does not say whether customer data trains models, how long it is retained beyond the 30-day job run retention on the free tier, where data is hosted or which certifications apply. It shows an address in Dover, Delaware, and does not name a headquarters. Because the free tier is self-hosted, you control storage and network placement yourself, and that is its main data advantage. For Enterprise terms, the vendor's policy was not checked for this.
Where Windmill falls short in practice
- Paywalled triggers. Kafka, NATS, SQS, GCP and Azure triggers are not on the free tier, so teams that depend on message queues need Enterprise from the start.
- Short job history. Free keeps job run details for 30 days. A team investigating a quarterly report failure would find the evidence gone unless it exports logs elsewhere beforehand.
- No AI feature on the pricing page. Nothing on the page opened describes an AI feature, so a buyer comparing copilots or agent runtimes must look elsewhere in the vendor's own documentation and verify it.
Works with
Alternatives to Windmill
Windmill: common questions
Is Windmill free to self-host?
Yes. The free and open-source tier is self-hosted and starts at $0 a month with 3 workspaces, up to 50 users (10 with SSO), 4 groups and 10 GiB of object storage. Audit logs and several queue triggers are paywalled. Check the license text for commercial use.
How much does Windmill Enterprise cost?
Plans start at $120 a month. The page's sample configuration totals $170 a month: $20 per builder, $10 per non-builder, $100 for a two-worker standard group and $50 for eight native subworkers. Your total depends on the number of builders and worker groups.
Which triggers are not on the free tier?
The pricing page lists Kafka, NATS, SQS, GCP and Azure triggers as paywalled, and email triggers are capped at 100 a day on the free tier. HTTP and schedule behavior was not detailed on the page opened, so test those in your own install before you plan around them.
Does Windmill have AI features?
The pricing page we opened describes no AI feature. Windmill may document assistants elsewhere, but that was not checked for this review. If AI authoring or agents are a requirement, verify them in the vendor's documentation before shortlisting, and ask whether any AI feature can be disabled per workspace.
What support does Windmill Enterprise include?
The Enterprise plans list 24/7 support with a 3-hour response, audit logs, SAML with group sync and a commercial license. The page shows these in the plan comparison, and does not state what the response covers, so confirm severity definitions in the contract.