The Windmill Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Windmill 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.
Windmill
The Insider’s Guide
Open-source platform for scripts, workflows and internal apps
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among automation tools, read from Windmill’s own pages.
Made by Windmill Labs, Inc. · checked Oct 6, 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 Windmill’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Windmill’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 6, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.6
GPA, above 24 of the 40 other automation tools we grade
Windmill is an open-source, code-first platform for building internal workflows, apps, AI agents and data pipelines. A script written in TypeScript, Python, Go, SQL or one of more than 20 languages becomes an API endpoint with a generated form, and scripts chain into flows with retries, approval steps and parallel branches. It can be self-hosted with Docker or Kubernetes or used as Windmill Cloud, and paid plans are priced by seats and compute units.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Windmill, taken from its own pages and our grades.
If nobody on your team codes, look elsewhere.
- 1
Best for engineers who want automations kept as code
It's open source and free to host yourself, but then you look after Docker or Kubernetes.
- 2
Paid plans start at $10 a month for each person
As its pricing page puts it: $10 per seat / month (Cloud Team); self-hosted Pro from $48 / month.
- 3
There is a free plan
Self-hosted Community Edition: unlimited executions, up to 3 workspaces and 50 users. Windmill Cloud Free: 1,000 executions a month, with no credit card required.
- 4
It runs on Web
Web.
- 5
Scripts in more than 20 languages
A function in TypeScript, Python, Go, Rust, Bash, SQL, PHP or another supported language becomes an API endpoint and a form. Imports are resolved and versions locked at each deploy.
- 6
Workflows as a graph or as code
Flows are drawn in a flow editor or written in Python or TypeScript and called as an API endpoint. Retries, approval steps and parallel branches are built in.
- 7
Internal apps
An app is a React or Svelte frontend whose backend is your existing scripts and workflows. It can be shared with teams, published publicly or embedded in another product.
- 8
A 2.6 GPA, above 24 of 40
That is against the other automation tools we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 9
Keep it
To replace Windmill 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.
Windmill at a glance
- Pricing
- Free plan, from $10 per seat / month (Cloud Team); self-hosted Pro from $48 / month
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- One-month free trial of the self-hosted Enterprise Edition
- Runs on
- Web
- Made by
- Windmill Labs, Inc.
- Category
- Automation
- Our grade
- 2.6 GPA, good
The report card
Best for engineers who want automations kept as code
Windmill turns a function written in Python or TypeScript into an API endpoint with a form, and chains scripts into flows with retries and approval steps. It's open source and free to host yourself, but then you look after Docker or Kubernetes. Cloud Free stops at 1,000 executions a month, self-hosted Pro is $48 a month minimum and only for firms under 10 people, and audit logs or SAML mean Enterprise from $120. If nobody on your team codes, look elsewhere.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | B | Cloud Team is $10 a seat a month with 10,000 executions in each seat, which sits inside this category's lowest-priced quarter, under $15. Self-hosting costs more, oddly: Pro is $48 a month minimum and only open to firms under 10 people, and audit logs or SAML mean Enterprise from $120. |
| Free plan and trial | B | The Community Edition is free and open source with unlimited executions for up to 50 users, which a small team could run on forever, as long as somebody is willing to look after Docker or Kubernetes. The no-effort route, Cloud Free, is thinner: 1,000 executions a month, no card. |
| Features | B | For an engineering team it covers the job: scripts in 20-odd languages turned into endpoints, flows with retries, approvals and parallel branches, internal apps in React or Svelte, AI agents across 12 model providers, and forks, diffs and rollback. What it hasn't got is a connector library. |
| Ease of use | D | No rating on record, and the listing is blunt about it: scripts and most flow steps are written in a programming language. The free edition means hosting it yourself with Docker or Kubernetes. Hand this to someone who doesn't code and nothing happens. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | Web only, with nothing for phones or the desktop, though you can run it on Windmill Cloud or your own Docker or Kubernetes. It reaches GitHub, GitLab, Slack, Stripe, Snowflake and PostgreSQL, and every script you write becomes an API endpoint. |
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 Windmill is for
- Fits if your automations are a pile of cron jobs and stray scripts that need one home
- Works for engineering teams who want every change reviewed as a diff before it goes live
Who it is not for
- Skip it if nobody on the team writes code, because most steps are written in a programming language
- Tight if you're on Cloud Free, where each extra second of compute counts as another of your 1,000 executions
- Tight if you self-host for free, as Community stops at 3 workspaces and 50 users and keeps run details for 30 days
- Pricey if you self-host and need audit logs or SAML, as that's Enterprise from $120 a month
- Watch out: there's no connector library, and paid self-hosted instances report seat and memory use to Windmill
Good to know
Good for
- Engineering teams that want internal tools and automations kept as code
- Organizations that must run workflows on their own infrastructure
- Replacing scattered cron jobs and scripts with one orchestrated platform
Worth knowing
- Windmill is code-first: scripts and most flow steps are written in a programming language, so it suits engineers more than non-technical users.
- The free self-hosted edition stops at 3 workspaces, 50 users and 10 SSO users, has no audit logs and keeps run details for up to 30 days.
- Cloud Free covers 1,000 executions a month, and an execution is one job of under a second; each extra second of compute counts as another.
- Enterprise and Pro bill at least 2 compute units, and their instances report seat and memory use to Windmill through license telemetry.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$10
A month to start, for each person. There is a free plan too
Windmill has a free plan. Paid plans start at $10 per seat / month (Cloud Team); self-hosted Pro from $48 / month.
Free and Open-source
$0
Self-hosted Community Edition with unlimited executions, capped at 3 workspaces, 50 users, 4 groups and 10 SSO users. Community support on Discord.
Free (Cloud)
$0
Windmill Cloud with 1,000 executions a month, sign-in with Google, GitHub or GitLab, and community support on Discord. No credit card required.
Team (Cloud)
$10
per seat / month, billed by usage each month
Set per workspace. A seat covers one developer or two operators and includes 10,000 executions a month. 10 seats at most, with audit logs kept for 7 days.
Pro (self-hosted)
From $48
per month: $8 per seat plus compute units
For individuals, seed-stage startups and companies under 10 employees and $250k in revenue. Capped at 10 compute units and 10 SSO users, with no audit logs.
Enterprise (self-hosted)
From $120
per month: $20 per developer seat, $50 per compute unit
Audit logs, SAML and SCIM, Git sync, autoscaling, a commercial license and 24/7 priority support with a 3-hour response time. Operators count as half a seat.
Enterprise (Cloud)
From $840
per month: $40 per developer seat plus compute
A dedicated Windmill Cloud instance with isolated workers and database, unlimited audit log retention and 24/7 priority support.
The free plan
Self-hosted Community Edition: unlimited executions, up to 3 workspaces and 50 users. Windmill Cloud Free: 1,000 executions a month, with no credit card required.
Trying it first
One-month free trial of the self-hosted Enterprise Edition
Read from windmill.dev on Oct 6, 2026.
Ways to pay less
Annual discount
16% off Enterprise and Pro with annual billing
With the Annually option selected, the pricing page applies a 16% annual discount to Enterprise and Pro subscriptions, which comes to 10 months' price for the year.
Stated on windmill.devNonprofit
40% off Enterprise for nonprofits
Windmill gives non-profits the regular Enterprise plan at a 40% discount: $12 per developer seat a month instead of $20 when self-hosted.
Stated on windmill.devEducation
40% off Enterprise for universities
Universities get the same 40% discount on the regular Enterprise plan that Windmill gives non-profits.
Stated on windmill.devStartups
Pro plan for seed-stage startups
The self-hosted Pro plan, at $8 per seat against $20 on Enterprise, is open to individuals, seed-stage startups and businesses with fewer than 10 employees and $250k in revenue.
Stated on windmill.dev
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
1
Place it runs: Web
Open-source platform for scripts, workflows and internal apps. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: open source, self-hostable, public API, AI features, workflow automation, AI agents, app builder.
What it hasn't got is a connector library.
- Scripts in more than 20 languages
- A function in TypeScript, Python, Go, Rust, Bash, SQL, PHP or another supported language becomes an API endpoint and a form. Imports are resolved and versions locked at each deploy.
- Workflows as a graph or as code
- Flows are drawn in a flow editor or written in Python or TypeScript and called as an API endpoint. Retries, approval steps and parallel branches are built in.
- Internal apps
- An app is a React or Svelte frontend whose backend is your existing scripts and workflows. It can be shared with teams, published publicly or embedded in another product.
- AI agents and AI-assisted building
- Agents run on any of 12 model providers or your own OpenAI-compatible endpoint, with scripts and MCP servers as their tools. Scripts and flows can also be generated with AI in the UI.
- Forks, review and rollback
- Changes are made in a fork of the workspace, reviewed as a diff, then deployed to staging and production. Each deployment keeps its version, so an earlier one can be redeployed.
- Run history and observability
- Every run keeps its inputs, logs and result, and a failure can alert a team on Slack, Teams or by email. Enterprise adds audit logs, queue metrics and OpenTelemetry tracing.
Where it runs
- Web
What it works with
- GitHub
- GitLab
- Slack
- Supabase
- Stripe
- Snowflake
- HubSpot
- PostgreSQL
Windmill is made by Windmill Labs, Inc.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
24/40
Other automation tools it is graded above
Windmill's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 24 of the 40 other automation tools we grade, and level with 7.
It stands best on free plan and trial (B, above 29 of 40) and worst on ease of use (D, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $10 a month for each person, against a middle price of $18.50 for the category: 6 of the 29 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 3 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 41 automation tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Windmill’s own letter is outlined.
- BValue for moneyAbove 21 of 40
- BFree plan and trialAbove 29 of 40
- BFeaturesAbove 17 of 40
- DEase of useAbove 0 of 40
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 10 of 40
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 33 automation tools. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Windmill is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
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 Windmill 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.
It costs $120 a year. Windmill is open source, so there is a third way: take its code and run it yourself.
What you could not
- Connections to other products, each kept working as those products change.
- A tool that builds and hosts other apps.
- An AI agent, with the models and the safeguards behind it.
- It is priced for each person, which means accounts and billing for a team.
- What a company asks for before it lets staff use something: audit logs.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Windmill’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
n8n, Activepieces, BuildShip and Node-RED
The 4 tools Windmill is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.4GPA
n8n
Free plan · from €20/mo
Workflow automation and AI agents you can self-host.
- Windmill is open source, according to its own site.
- Windmill also covers AI agents and app builder.
- 2.8GPA
Activepieces
Free plan · from $16/mo
Open-source automation with flows, AI agents and tables.
- Windmill also covers app builder.
- Activepieces also covers databases.
- 2.2GPA
BuildShip
Free trial · from $19/mo
Visual builder for backend workflows, APIs and AI agents.
- Windmill has a free plan. BuildShip does not, though it has a free trial.
- Windmill is open source, according to its own site.
- Windmill also covers app builder.
- 3.0GPA
Node-RED
Free
Open-source, flow-based programming tool for event-driven apps.
- Only Node-RED lists Windows and Linux apps.
- Windmill also covers AI agents and app builder.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
16
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 Windmill free?
Windmill has a free plan. Self-hosted Community Edition: unlimited executions, up to 3 workspaces and 50 users.
How much does Windmill cost?
Windmill lists 6 plans. Free and Open-source: $0.
What platforms does Windmill work on?
Windmill is available on Web.
Does Windmill offer any discounts?
Windmill publicly lists the following: 16% off Enterprise and Pro with annual billing; 40% off Enterprise for nonprofits; 40% off Enterprise for universities; Pro plan for seed-stage startups.
Does Windmill have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 6, 2026. Windmill is listed for Web.
Does Windmill have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 6, 2026. Windmill is listed for Web.
Is Windmill open source?
Yes. Windmill is open source, according to its own site.
Does Windmill have an API?
Yes. Windmill offers a public API, according to its own site.
What does Windmill integrate with?
Windmill's listing names GitHub, GitLab, Slack, Supabase, Stripe, Snowflake, HubSpot and PostgreSQL.
Does Windmill have a student discount?
40% off Enterprise for universities. Universities get the same 40% discount on the regular Enterprise plan that Windmill gives non-profits.
Does Windmill have a free trial?
Yes. One-month free trial of the self-hosted Enterprise Edition.
Who makes Windmill?
Windmill is made by Windmill Labs, Inc.
What are the alternatives to Windmill?
The closest alternatives to Windmill in our directory are n8n, Activepieces, BuildShip and Node-RED.
How does Windmill compare with other automation tools?
Windmill's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 24 of the 40 other automation tools we grade, and level with 7.
Is Windmill good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Windmill B for value for money. Its paid plans start at $10 a month for each person, against a middle price of $18.50 for the category: 6 of the 29 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of Windmill?
To replace Windmill 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 Windmill’s own pages on Oct 6, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 10, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Windmill's own pages on 6 October 2026. Also tested with a demo account on 2026-06-19.
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 Windmill Labs, Inc. Prices change, so check windmill.dev before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
3,189
Tools graded, in 94 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.
3,189
tools graded
94
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Windmill, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/windmill
- 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, "Windmill: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 6, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/windmill
Know someone choosing between automation tools?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/windmill/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded automation tools after Windmill, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Automation Insider's GuideEvery one of the 41 automation tools we grade, compared
- 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
- Ui.Vision Insider's GuideOpen-source browser and desktop automation with computer vision3.0 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 Windmill’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. Windmill is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Windmill Labs, Inc. Prices and plans change: check windmill.dev before you buy.