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Amazon SQS vs Trigger.dev

SEPT 2026 audit

A comparison of Amazon SQS and Trigger.dev built from values read directly from each provider's own documentation, with the source recorded against every figure.

Reviewed by Palash BagchiUpdated 24 criteria comparedSources last checked

The short answer

Choose Amazon SQS if…

AWS-resident systems that want a queue with a permanent free million requests a month and no capacity to plan — SQS scales without a throughput setting to choose.

Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved

Choose Trigger.dev if…

Teams that want background jobs written as normal code with the bill expressed as compute credits rather than a per-message meter.

Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved

Consider something else if…

  • Amazon SQS: Billing is per request rather than per message, and a 1 MiB payload counts as sixteen, so chatty polling or large messages cost far more than the message count suggests.
  • Trigger.dev: Concurrency is the axis that forces an upgrade — 20 simultaneous runs on free, 50 on Hobby, then $10 a month per additional 50.

Neither quite fits? Every other option, ranked by iScore: Amazon SQS alternatives · Trigger.dev alternatives

13 sourced criteria separate them — see where, with sources, below.

Visit Amazon SQS documentationVisit Trigger.dev documentation

No affiliate links, sponsored placements or paid rankings appear on this site. Ordering follows the sourced data and the stated criteria.

01.

At a glance.

CriterionAmazon SQSTrigger.dev
Pricing
Free tierYesYes
Kind of free offerFree tierFree tier
Entry paid planNo paid plan or minimum fee; billed per request after the free 1 million requests a month.$10/month for Hobby, which includes $10 of credits; Pro is $50/month including $50 of credits.
Pricing modelPer request, not per message: every API action counts, and a 1 MiB payload is billed as 16 requests. FIFO queues cost $0.50 per million against standard's $0.40 in us-east-1, and fair queue requests add $0.10 per million on top of the standard rate.A monthly plan fee that is also a credit balance — the fee buys compute rather than sitting on top of it — with concurrency, preview branches, dashboards and schedules each priced as separate add-ons beyond the plan's allowance.
Infrastructure
Regions
34 commercial AWS Regions plus 2 AWS GovCloud (US) Regions listed in the SQS service endpoints table.
Three AWS regions for running tasks: us-east-1 (US East, Virginia), us-west-2 (US West, Oregon) and eu-central-1 (Europe, Frankfurt). Changelog dated July 13, 2026; region set per project or per run on the dashboard Regions page.
Queues
Included per month1,000,000 requests a month free, permanently and across all regions. Beyond that, standard queues are $0.40 per million in us-east-1, falling to $0.30 above 100 billion and $0.24 above 200 billion.Credits rather than a message or execution count: $5 a month free, $10 included on Hobby and $50 on Pro, spent against compute.
Maximum message size
256 KB per message. A single request carries 1 to 10 messages up to 1 MiB total, and each 64 KB chunk of payload is billed as one request.
3 MB per trigger payload (each batch item up to 3 MB on SDK 4.3.1+); task outputs up to 10 MB; payloads over 512 KB offloaded to object storage.
Message retention4 days by default; configurable from 60 seconds up to 14 days per queue.Log retention of 1 day on the free plan, 7 days on Hobby and 30 days on Pro, with the query period matching.
ConcurrencyApproximately 120,000 in-flight messages per standard queue (received but not yet deleted); API call rate on standard queues is nearly unlimited.20 concurrent runs on the free plan, 50 on Hobby, and more on Pro at $10 a month per additional 50.
Compliance
SOC 2Listed as SOC-compliant on AWS's own compliance scope page.SOC 2 Type II compliant; latest report available on request for Enterprise customers.
HIPAAListed as a HIPAA-eligible service on AWS's own reference page.Meets HIPAA Business Associate requirements; a signed BAA is a paid add-on for running PHI workloads on Trigger.dev Cloud.
GDPR / data residencyAWS customers can process personal data on all AWS services in compliance with GDPR, and choose the storage type and geographic region for their data.Stated GDPR compliant; DPA forms part of the Terms of Service automatically on sign-up.
Encryption at restServer-side encryption of queue contents with SQS-managed keys (SSE-SQS) or AWS KMS keys (SSE-KMS).Data encrypted at rest with AES-256 and in transit with HTTPS/TLS.
Role-based access controlIAM identity-based policies on users, groups and roles plus resource-based queue policies control access to queues and actions.Role-based access control (RBAC) and SSO listed as Enterprise plan features.
Private networking / VPCInterface VPC endpoints (AWS PrivateLink) let a VPC reach SQS privately, including FIPS endpoints; HTTPS endpoints only.AWS PrivateLink to resources in your own AWS VPC; a Pro and Enterprise feature enabled on request.

Only criteria both providers publish appear here; a tinted cell marks a real difference. Criteria only one of them documents are listed below, and an absence there means we found no source — not that the feature is missing. How we source this.

The small bar above a value is inetGeek's own lean toward that side — computed from the same facts shown, never a number the provider published. See the picker below "The short answer" to weigh only the criteria you care about.

02.

Where they differ.

Entry paid plan

Amazon SQS
No paid plan or minimum fee; billed per request after the free 1 million requests a month.
Trigger.dev
$10/month for Hobby, which includes $10 of credits; Pro is $50/month including $50 of credits.
Sources (2) →

Pricing model

Amazon SQS
Per request, not per message: every API action counts, and a 1 MiB payload is billed as 16 requests. FIFO queues cost $0.50 per million against standard's $0.40 in us-east-1, and fair queue requests add $0.10 per million on top of the standard rate.
Trigger.dev
A monthly plan fee that is also a credit balance — the fee buys compute rather than sitting on top of it — with concurrency, preview branches, dashboards and schedules each priced as separate add-ons beyond the plan's allowance.
Sources (2) →

Regions

Amazon SQS

34 commercial AWS Regions plus 2 AWS GovCloud (US) Regions listed in the SQS service endpoints table.

Trigger.dev

Three AWS regions for running tasks: us-east-1 (US East, Virginia), us-west-2 (US West, Oregon) and eu-central-1 (Europe, Frankfurt). Changelog dated July 13, 2026; region set per project or per run on the dashboard Regions page.

Sources (2) →

Included per month

Amazon SQS
1,000,000 requests a month free, permanently and across all regions. Beyond that, standard queues are $0.40 per million in us-east-1, falling to $0.30 above 100 billion and $0.24 above 200 billion.
Trigger.dev
Credits rather than a message or execution count: $5 a month free, $10 included on Hobby and $50 on Pro, spent against compute.
Sources (2) →

Maximum message size

Amazon SQS

256 KB per message. A single request carries 1 to 10 messages up to 1 MiB total, and each 64 KB chunk of payload is billed as one request.

Trigger.dev

3 MB per trigger payload (each batch item up to 3 MB on SDK 4.3.1+); task outputs up to 10 MB; payloads over 512 KB offloaded to object storage.

Sources (2) →
  • Amazon SQS Pricing — AWS ↗

    “A single request can have from 1 to 10 messages, up to a maximum total payload of 1 MiB. [...] Each 64 KB chunk of a payload is billed as 1 request (for example, an API action with a 1 MiB payload is billed as 16 requests).”

    Read 2026-09-06 · official docs · Report a correction

  • Limits - Trigger.dev ↗

    “Single trigger payload Must not exceed 3MB Batch trigger payload Each item can be up to 3MB (SDK 4.3.1+). Prior: 1MB total combined Task outputs Must not exceed 10MB”

    Read 2026-09-13 · official docs · Report a correction

Message retention

Amazon SQS
4 days by default; configurable from 60 seconds up to 14 days per queue.
Trigger.dev
Log retention of 1 day on the free plan, 7 days on Hobby and 30 days on Pro, with the query period matching.
Sources (2) →

Concurrency

Amazon SQS
Approximately 120,000 in-flight messages per standard queue (received but not yet deleted); API call rate on standard queues is nearly unlimited.
Trigger.dev
20 concurrent runs on the free plan, 50 on Hobby, and more on Pro at $10 a month per additional 50.
Sources (2) →

SOC 2

Amazon SQS
Listed as SOC-compliant on AWS's own compliance scope page.
Trigger.dev
SOC 2 Type II compliant; latest report available on request for Enterprise customers.
Sources (2) →
  • AWS Services in Scope — SOC ↗

    “This webpage provides a list of AWS Services in Scope of AWS assurance programs. [...] Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS) ✓ Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) ✓ Amazon Simple”

    Read 2026-09-13 · official site · Report a correction

  • Security | Trigger.dev ↗

    “Yes, Trigger.dev is SOC 2 Type II compliant. Visit our Security Portal for more information. Our latest report is available upon request for our Enterprise customers.”

    Read 2026-09-13 · official site · Report a correction

HIPAA

Amazon SQS
Listed as a HIPAA-eligible service on AWS's own reference page.
Trigger.dev
Meets HIPAA Business Associate requirements; a signed BAA is a paid add-on for running PHI workloads on Trigger.dev Cloud.
Sources (2) →
  • HIPAA Eligible Services Reference — AWS ↗

    “The services listed below are eligible to create, receive, process, maintain, or transmit electronic protected health information (ePHI). [...] Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS) Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) Amazon Simple Workflow”

    Read 2026-09-13 · official site · Report a correction

  • Security | Trigger.dev ↗

    “Yes. Trigger.dev meets HIPAA Business Associate requirements. To run tasks that process PHI on Trigger.dev Cloud you'll need a signed BAA with us, which is available as a paid add-on.”

    Read 2026-09-13 · official site · Report a correction

GDPR / data residency

Amazon SQS
AWS customers can process personal data on all AWS services in compliance with GDPR, and choose the storage type and geographic region for their data.
Trigger.dev
Stated GDPR compliant; DPA forms part of the Terms of Service automatically on sign-up.
Sources (2) →
  • GDPR — Amazon Web Services ↗

    “AWS customers can use all AWS services to process personal data [...] in compliance with the GDPR. [...] Customers have control of their customer data. With AWS, customers can: Determine where their customer data will be stored, including the type of storage and geographic region of that storage.”

    Read 2026-09-12 · official site · Report a correction

  • Security | Trigger.dev ↗

    “Yes, Trigger.dev is GDPR compliant. Visit our Security Portal for more information, or contact us to request data deletion.”

    Read 2026-09-13 · official site · Report a correction

Encryption at rest

Amazon SQS
Server-side encryption of queue contents with SQS-managed keys (SSE-SQS) or AWS KMS keys (SSE-KMS).
Trigger.dev
Data encrypted at rest with AES-256 and in transit with HTTPS/TLS.
Sources (2) →

Role-based access control

Amazon SQS
IAM identity-based policies on users, groups and roles plus resource-based queue policies control access to queues and actions.
Trigger.dev
Role-based access control (RBAC) and SSO listed as Enterprise plan features.
Sources (2) →

Private networking / VPC

Amazon SQS
Interface VPC endpoints (AWS PrivateLink) let a VPC reach SQS privately, including FIPS endpoints; HTTPS endpoints only.
Trigger.dev
AWS PrivateLink to resources in your own AWS VPC; a Pro and Enterprise feature enabled on request.
Sources (2) →

When these numbers change, hear about it. Sources are re-checked monthly; a repricing goes out as a short note.

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03.

Documented by only one.

These criteria are published by one provider and not the other. An absence here means we have not found a source, not that the feature is missing — except where we say we read the other provider's own page on a given date and it does not state it. Those rows lean, and the provider can correct them with a link.

What the free plan includesTrigger.dev: $5 of credit each month with 20 concurrent runs and one day of log retention.
Uptime SLAAmazon SQS: 99.9% monthly uptime per AWS Region, one figure with no configuration split.
Maximum delayAmazon SQS: 15 minutes maximum per-message delay (message timer) or per-queue delay; default is 0 seconds.
Dead letter queueAmazon SQS: Supported
Support on entry paid planTrigger.dev: Community support on the $5 and $10 plans; dedicated Slack support on Pro ($50/month); priority support on Enterprise.
ISO 27001Amazon SQS: Covered under AWS's account-wide ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification — not scoped per-service the way SOC, HIPAA and PCI DSS are on AWS's own site.Trigger.dev: not stated on its own page when read on 2026-09-22 — corrections welcome · every such claim about Trigger.dev.
PCI DSSAmazon SQS: Listed as PCI DSS-compliant on AWS's own compliance scope page.Trigger.dev: not stated on its own page when read on 2026-09-22 — corrections welcome · every such claim about Trigger.dev.
Customer-managed keysAmazon SQS: Supported via SSE-KMS: queues can use a customer managed KMS key created and policy-controlled in AWS KMS.Trigger.dev: not stated on its own page when read on 2026-09-22 — corrections welcome · every such claim about Trigger.dev.
Dedicated infrastructureTrigger.dev: Cloud is fully managed; the docs route teams with data residency, compliance or infrastructure-control requirements to self-hosting instead.
04.

Questions this comparison answers.

Entry paid plan: Amazon SQS or Trigger.dev?

Amazon SQS: No paid plan or minimum fee; billed per request after the free 1 million requests a month.

Trigger.dev: $10/month for Hobby, which includes $10 of credits; Pro is $50/month including $50 of credits.

Should I choose Amazon SQS or Trigger.dev?

Pick Amazon SQS if AWS-resident systems that want a queue with a permanent free million requests a month and no capacity to plan — SQS scales without a throughput setting to choose.

Pick Trigger.dev if Teams that want background jobs written as normal code with the bill expressed as compute credits rather than a per-message meter.

Provider pages

Amazon SQSAWS managed message queue, billed per request with standard and FIFO rates and a permanent free tier.Trigger.devBackground jobs platform billed as monthly credits against compute, with plan tiers set by concurrent runs.

Related comparisons

Amazon SQS vs Azure Queue StorageAmazon SQS vs Cloudflare QueuesAmazon SQS vs Google Cloud Pub/SubAmazon SQS vs HatchetAmazon SQS vs InngestAmazon SQS vs TemporalAmazon SQS vs ZeploCloudflare Queues vs Trigger.dev

Comments

Every page here is sourced and dated.