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Inngest vs Trigger.dev

SEPT 2026 audit

A comparison of Inngest 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 23 criteria comparedSources last checked

The short answer

Choose Inngest if…

Multi-step workflows that need durable execution and retries between steps, rather than a bare queue you write a consumer for.

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…

  • Inngest: Every step is a billable execution, so a three-step workflow costs three times what the run count implies, and the free plan allows five concurrent steps.
  • 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: Inngest alternatives · Trigger.dev alternatives

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

Visit Inngest 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.

CriterionInngestTrigger.dev
Pricing
Free tierYesYes
Kind of free offerFree tierFree tier
What the free plan includes50,000 executions and 500,000 events ingested a month with 5 concurrent steps, no credit card required.$5 of credit each month with 20 concurrent runs and one day of log retention.
Entry paid plan
$99/month for Pro, described as a starting price with usage above the included allowance billed on top.
$10/month for Hobby, which includes $10 of credits; Pro is $50/month including $50 of credits.
Pricing modelPer execution, where a step counts the same as a run, plus separate meters for events ingested, span data, scores and realtime connections. The pricing page ships a calculator because the execution count is not the run count.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
RegionsAll customer data hosted on AWS databases located in the United States; no other region offered on the security page.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 month50,000 executions a month on the free Hobby plan and 1,000,000 on Pro, pay-as-you-go to 20M. An execution is one function run or one step, so a run with two steps counts as three.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
4 MiB per step-returned payload; 32 MiB total function run state; 10 MiB hard cap per event batch.
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 retentionQueue depth rather than a time window: 100,000 queued items on the free plan and 1,000,000 or more on Pro. Trace retention is 7 days on Pro and 90 on Enterprise.Log retention of 1 day on the free plan, 7 days on Hobby and 30 days on Pro, with the query period matching.
Concurrency
5 concurrent steps on the free plan, 100 or more on Pro, custom on Enterprise.
20 concurrent runs on the free plan, 50 on Hobby, and more on Pro at $10 a month per additional 50.
Compliance
SOC 2SOC 2 Type II compliant; report available on request via the trust center.SOC 2 Type II compliant; latest report available on request for Enterprise customers.
HIPAAHIPAA BAAs offered as an add-on for healthcare compliance (Enterprise column of the pricing table).Meets HIPAA Business Associate requirements; a signed BAA is a paid add-on for running PHI workloads on Trigger.dev Cloud.
GDPR / data residency
Data residency only: Inngest Cloud runs in two eastern-US footprints, AWS us-east-2 (Ohio) and Inngest bare metal in Ashburn, Virginia.
Stated GDPR compliant; DPA forms part of the Terms of Service automatically on sign-up.
Encryption at restAll data in Inngest databases is encrypted at rest and in transit; optional encryption middleware lets you bring your own key.Data encrypted at rest with AES-256 and in transit with HTTPS/TLS.
Role-based access controlSAML, RBAC and audit trails listed as Enterprise plan features.Role-based access control (RBAC) and SSO listed as Enterprise plan features.
Dedicated infrastructure
Enterprise runs on dedicated function execution infrastructure with isolated queue and constraint shards; Dedicated Infrastructure is an enterprise add-on. The add-on's contents and price are not described on the page.
Cloud is fully managed; the docs route teams with data residency, compliance or infrastructure-control requirements to self-hosting instead.

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.

What the free plan includes

Inngest
50,000 executions and 500,000 events ingested a month with 5 concurrent steps, no credit card required.
Trigger.dev
$5 of credit each month with 20 concurrent runs and one day of log retention.
Sources (2) →

Entry paid plan

Inngest
$99/month for Pro, described as a starting price with usage above the included allowance billed on top.
Trigger.dev
$10/month for Hobby, which includes $10 of credits; Pro is $50/month including $50 of credits.
Sources (2) →

Pricing model

Inngest
Per execution, where a step counts the same as a run, plus separate meters for events ingested, span data, scores and realtime connections. The pricing page ships a calculator because the execution count is not the run count.
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) →
  • Pricing — Inngest ↗

    “TOTAL EXECUTIONS PER MONTH (30,000 runs × 2 steps per run) + 30,000 runs = 90,000 executions [...] 500 MB span data ingested [...] 10K scores [...] 500k events ingested [...] 50 realtime connections”

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

  • Pricing — Trigger.dev ↗

    “$10 / month credits included [...] Then $10/month per 50 [...] Then $20/month per seat [...] Then $10/month per branch [...] Then $10/month per 1,000”

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

Regions

Inngest
All customer data hosted on AWS databases located in the United States; no other region offered on the security page.
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

Inngest
50,000 executions a month on the free Hobby plan and 1,000,000 on Pro, pay-as-you-go to 20M. An execution is one function run or one step, so a run with two steps counts as three.
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) →
  • Pricing — Inngest ↗

    “50k executions [...] 1M executions included Pay as you go up to 20M [...] (30,000 runs × 2 steps per run) + 30,000 runs = 90,000 executions [...] A single durable function run or step execution”

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

  • Pricing — Trigger.dev ↗

    “$5 / month free credits [...] $10 / month credits included [...] $50 / month credits included”

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

Maximum message size

Inngest

4 MiB per step-returned payload; 32 MiB total function run state; 10 MiB hard cap per event batch.

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) →

Message retention

Inngest
Queue depth rather than a time window: 100,000 queued items on the free plan and 1,000,000 or more on Pro. Trace retention is 7 days on Pro and 90 on Enterprise.
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) →
  • Pricing — Inngest ↗

    “100k queue depth [...] 1M+ queue depth [...] Granular tracing, metrics, alerts + 7 day trace retention [...] Advanced tracing, metrics, alerts + 90 day trace retention”

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

  • Pricing — Trigger.dev ↗

    “1 day log retention 1 day query period [...] 7 day log retention 7 days query period [...] 30 day log retention”

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

Concurrency

Inngest

5 concurrent steps on the free plan, 100 or more on Pro, custom on Enterprise.

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

Inngest
SOC 2 Type II compliant; report available on request via the trust center.
Trigger.dev
SOC 2 Type II compliant; latest report available on request for Enterprise customers.
Sources (2) →
  • Security | Inngest ↗

    “Inngest is SOC 2 Type II compliant. [...] Read our announcement , request a copy of the report or contact us for additional questions.”

    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

Inngest
HIPAA BAAs offered as an add-on for healthcare compliance (Enterprise column of the pricing table).
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) →
  • Pricing | Inngest ↗

    “Dedicated slack channel Direct P0 support from our team HIPAA BAAs for healthcare compliance Add-on”

    Read 2026-09-13 · official pricing · 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

Inngest
Data residency only: Inngest Cloud runs in two eastern-US footprints, AWS us-east-2 (Ohio) and Inngest bare metal in Ashburn, Virginia.
Trigger.dev
Stated GDPR compliant; DPA forms part of the Terms of Service automatically on sign-up.
Sources (2) →

Encryption at rest

Inngest
All data in Inngest databases is encrypted at rest and in transit; optional encryption middleware lets you bring your own key.
Trigger.dev
Data encrypted at rest with AES-256 and in transit with HTTPS/TLS.
Sources (2) →

Role-based access control

Inngest
SAML, RBAC and audit trails listed as Enterprise plan features.
Trigger.dev
Role-based access control (RBAC) and SSO listed as Enterprise plan features.
Sources (2) →
  • Pricing | Inngest ↗

    “Advanced tracing, metrics, alerts + 90 day trace retention Dedicated Slack channel SAML, RBAC, audit trails”

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

  • Pricing | Trigger.dev ↗

    “All Pro plan features + Custom log retention Priority support Role-based access control (RBAC) SOC 2 report Penetration test report Single sign-on (SSO)”

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

Dedicated infrastructure

Inngest
Enterprise runs on dedicated function execution infrastructure with isolated queue and constraint shards; Dedicated Infrastructure is an enterprise add-on. The add-on's contents and price are not described on the page.
Trigger.dev
Cloud is fully managed; the docs route teams with data residency, compliance or infrastructure-control requirements to self-hosting instead.
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.

Credit card to startInngest: No
Maximum delayInngest: Step sleeps up to 1 year on paid plans; the free plan supports sleeps up to 7 days.
Dead letter queueInngest: Not supported — No dead-letter queue; failed runs stay in the dashboard and are re-run in bulk with Replay.
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 27001Inngest: Not held as of the June 2024 SOC 2 announcement, which says Inngest is exploring additional certifications, such as ISO 27001. Stated on the SOC 2 Type II announcement, dated Jun 20, 2024.Trigger.dev: not stated on its own page when read on 2026-09-22 — corrections welcome · every such claim about Trigger.dev.
Customer-managed keysInngest: Bring-your-own-key via SDK encryption middleware that encrypts payloads client-side before they reach Inngest; not a server-side KMS option.Trigger.dev: not stated on its own page when read on 2026-09-22 — corrections welcome · every such claim about Trigger.dev.
Private networking / VPCTrigger.dev: AWS PrivateLink to resources in your own AWS VPC; a Pro and Enterprise feature enabled on request.
04.

Questions this comparison answers.

Entry paid plan: Inngest or Trigger.dev?

Inngest: $99/month for Pro, described as a starting price with usage above the included allowance billed on top.

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

Should I choose Inngest or Trigger.dev?

Pick Inngest if Multi-step workflows that need durable execution and retries between steps, rather than a bare queue you write a consumer for.

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

InngestDurable execution platform where the billable unit is a function or step execution rather than a queued message.Trigger.devBackground jobs platform billed as monthly credits against compute, with plan tiers set by concurrent runs.

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Comments

Every page here is sourced and dated.