The Rundeck Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Rundeck in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Rundeck
The Insider’s Guide
Runbook automation and job scheduling for IT operations
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among automation tools, read from Rundeck’s own pages.
Made by PagerDuty, Inc. · checked Nov 13, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Rundeck’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Rundeck’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Nov 13, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.2
GPA, above 54 of the 134 other automation tools we grade
Rundeck is a runbook automation tool, now part of PagerDuty, for running jobs and operations procedures across scripts, APIs and system commands. A free open-source Community edition is licensed under Apache 2.0, and PagerDuty Runbook Automation adds commercial features such as high availability and enterprise support.
To get you started, here are 8 things to know about Rundeck, taken from its own pages and our grades.
You install it on your own servers, and Community needs registration to download.
- 1
Best for running ops jobs and runbooks on a schedule
Rundeck runs scripts, commands and API calls as scheduled or on-demand jobs, with a free open-source Community edition.
- 2
There is a free plan
Rundeck Community is free, open source software with workflow execution, scheduling, key storage and a job activity log.
- 3
It runs on 4 platforms
Web, Windows, Linux and macOS.
- 4
Workflow execution
Jobs chain scripts, tools, APIs and system commands into standard procedures such as provisioning, software updates and configuration changes.
- 5
Job scheduling
Scheduled and self-service jobs for daily reports, file transfers and other periodic work, as an alternative to maintaining cron or Windows Task Scheduler.
- 6
Job activity log
Execution history for commands and jobs shows when each ran, its log output and duration, which supports auditing.
- 7
A 2.2 GPA, above 54 of 134
That is against the other automation tools we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 8
Keep it
To replace Rundeck you would be making connections to other products, each kept working as those products change. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
Rundeck at a glance
- Pricing
- Free plan
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- Free trial of the commercial product offered; length not stated
- Runs on
- Web, macOS, Windows, Linux
- Made by
- PagerDuty, Inc.
- Category
- Automation
- Our grade
- 2.2 GPA, fair
The report card
Best for running ops jobs and runbooks on a schedule
Rundeck runs scripts, commands and API calls as scheduled or on-demand jobs, with a free open-source Community edition. Community is self-hosted and needs a registration step, and single sign-on, high availability and enterprise support sit in paid editions with no published price.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C | Community is free but self-hosted. The commercial editions are quoted through sales, so there's no price to set against the category. |
| Free plan and trial | B | Community is free, open source and covers workflows, scheduling, key storage and a job log. You host it yourself. |
| Features | C | Workflow execution, scheduling, plugins, key storage and runners. Single sign-on, high availability and enterprise support aren't in the free edition. |
| Ease of use | D | No store rating on record. You install it on your own servers, and Community needs registration to download. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | Web, Windows, Linux and Mac, with 8 integrations and plugins. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Rundeck is for
- Fits if your ops team runs scripts across many servers and wants a job log
- Works for small teams that can host the free Community edition
Who it is not for
- Not for you if you need single sign-on or high availability, since those aren't in Community
- Skip it if you don't want to host it, as Community is self-hosted
- Watch out: commercial pricing isn't published; a PagerDuty Runbook Automation licence is bought through sales
- Watch out: a free trial of the commercial product is offered, but its length isn't stated
Good to know
Good for
- Operations and DevOps teams standardizing runbooks and self-service tasks
- Small teams that want a free, self-hosted job scheduler
- Larger organizations that need vendor support and high availability
Worth knowing
- Single sign-on, high-availability clusters and enterprise support are not in the free Community edition.
- Commercial pricing is not published; the downloads page says a license for PagerDuty Runbook Automation is bought through sales.
- Community is self-hosted and needs a registration step before download.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
3
plans to choose from
Rundeck has a free plan.
The commercial editions are quoted through sales, so there's no price to set against the category.
Rundeck Community
$0
Free open-source edition you host yourself, for small teams; registration is needed to download.
Runbook Automation Self Hosted
Custom
Commercial edition you host, with high availability, enterprise support and certified plugins. License sold through sales.
Runbook Automation
Custom
PagerDuty-hosted edition with a stated 99.9% availability SLA, single sign-on and managed security patching.
The free plan
Rundeck Community is free, open source software with workflow execution, scheduling, key storage and a job activity log.
Trying it first
Free trial of the commercial product offered; length not stated
Read from rundeck.com on Nov 13, 2026.
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
4
Places it runs: Web, macOS, Windows and Linux
Runbook automation and job scheduling for IT operations. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: open source, self-hostable, workflow automation, job scheduling.
Workflow execution, scheduling, plugins, key storage and runners.
- Workflow execution
- Jobs chain scripts, tools, APIs and system commands into standard procedures such as provisioning, software updates and configuration changes.
- Job scheduling
- Scheduled and self-service jobs for daily reports, file transfers and other periodic work, as an alternative to maintaining cron or Windows Task Scheduler.
- Job activity log
- Execution history for commands and jobs shows when each ran, its log output and duration, which supports auditing.
- Plugins
- Community plugins connect Rundeck to infrastructure and tools, and teams can write their own. Certified enterprise plugins come with the commercial editions.
- Key storage and encryption
- The Community edition includes key and password encryption and a key storage facility.
- High availability and runners
- The commercial editions add clusters with automatic takeover, failed-job resume, node health checks and the next-generation runner for remote environments.
Where it runs
- Web
- macOS
- Windows
- Linux
What it works with
- PagerDuty
- ServiceNow
- Datadog
- VMware
- GitHub
- AWS
- Kubernetes
- Ansible
Rundeck is made by PagerDuty, Inc.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
54/134
Other automation tools it is graded above
Rundeck's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 54 of the 134 other automation tools we grade, and level with 35.
It stands best on free plan and trial (B, above 100 of 134) and worst on ease of use (D, above 0).
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 135 automation tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Rundeck’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 22 of 134
- BFree plan and trialAbove 100 of 134
- CFeaturesAbove 2 of 134
- DEase of useAbove 0 of 134
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 39 of 134
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
To replace Rundeck you would be making connections to other products, each kept working as those products change. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
Rundeck is open source, so there is a third way: take its code and run it yourself.
What you could make
- Job scheduling: an app builder makes this well.
What you could not
- Connections to other products, each kept working as those products change.
- Apps for macOS, Windows and Linux that stay in step with each other.
What this rests on. Rundeck’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
StackStorm, Apache Airflow, Kestra, Tines and Apache DolphinScheduler
The 5 tools Rundeck is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.4GPA
StackStorm
Free
Open-source event-driven automation for DevOps and SRE teams.
- Only Rundeck lists Windows and macOS apps.
- Rundeck also covers job scheduling.
- 2.4GPA
Apache Airflow
Free
Open-source platform for authoring and scheduling workflows in Python.
- Only Rundeck lists Windows, Linux and macOS apps.
- Rundeck also covers job scheduling.
- 2.4GPA
Kestra
Free plan
Open-source workflow orchestration platform defined in YAML.
- Only Rundeck lists Windows, Linux and macOS apps.
- Rundeck also covers job scheduling.
- 2.6GPA
Tines
Free plan
Workflow automation and AI agents for security and IT teams.
- Only Rundeck lists Windows, Linux and macOS apps.
- Rundeck is open source, according to its own site.
- Rundeck also covers job scheduling.
- 2.4GPA
Apache DolphinScheduler
Free
Open-source workflow scheduler for data pipelines.
- Only Rundeck lists Windows, Linux and macOS apps.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
12
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Rundeck free?
Rundeck has a free plan. Rundeck Community is free, open source software with workflow execution, scheduling, key storage and a job activity log.
How much does Rundeck cost?
Rundeck lists 3 plans. Rundeck Community: $0.
What platforms does Rundeck work on?
Rundeck is available on Web, Windows, Linux and macOS.
Does Rundeck have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Rundeck is listed for Web, Windows, Linux and macOS.
Does Rundeck have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Rundeck is listed for Web, Windows, Linux and macOS.
Is Rundeck open source?
Yes. Rundeck is open source, according to its own site.
What does Rundeck integrate with?
Rundeck's listing names PagerDuty, ServiceNow, Datadog, VMware, GitHub, AWS, Kubernetes and Ansible.
Does Rundeck have a free trial?
Yes. Free trial of the commercial product offered; length not stated.
Who makes Rundeck?
Rundeck is made by PagerDuty, Inc.
What are the alternatives to Rundeck?
The closest alternatives to Rundeck in our directory are StackStorm, Apache Airflow, Kestra, Tines and Apache DolphinScheduler.
How does Rundeck compare with other automation tools?
Rundeck's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 54 of the 134 other automation tools we grade, and level with 35.
Could I make my own version of Rundeck?
To replace Rundeck you would be making connections to other products, each kept working as those products change.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Rundeck’s own pages on Nov 13, 2026, and the grades were given on Nov 13, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from PagerDuty's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by PagerDuty, Inc. Prices change, so check rundeck.com before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
7,721
Tools graded, in 95 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
7,721
tools graded
95
categories
739
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Rundeck, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/rundeck
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Rundeck: The Insider's Guide", checked Nov 13, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/rundeck
Know someone choosing between automation tools?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/rundeck/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded automation tools after Rundeck, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Automation Insider's GuideEvery one of the 135 automation tools we grade, compared
- Knime Insider's GuideOpen-source visual workflows for data analysis and automation3.2 GPA
- IFTTT Insider's GuideSimple trigger-and-action automations for apps and smart devices3.0 GPA
- Node-RED Insider's GuideOpen-source, flow-based programming tool for event-driven apps3.0 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Rundeck’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Rundeck is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by PagerDuty, Inc. Prices and plans change: check rundeck.com before you buy.