Temporal is $25/mo (Cloud Starter). Dispatch is a self-hosted alternative at $0.99/mo. Here's when each makes sense.
| Dispatch | Temporal | |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting | Self-hosted, your infra | OSS requires Cassandra/Postgres, Elasticsearch, and multiple services |
| Data location | Your server, your disk | Your server (if self-hosted) |
| Free tier | 100 tasks/mo | Paid only |
| Pro pricing | $0.99/mo | $25/mo (Cloud Starter) |
| Dependencies | None (single binary + SQLite) | Docker, Postgres, etc. |
| Setup time | ~30 seconds | 15-30 minutes (self-host) |
| Dashboard | Built-in at /ui | Web UI |
| License | BSL 1.1 | Open source |
Dispatch is a single Go binary with embedded SQLite. Install it with one command, and you are running in under a minute. Your data stays on your server.
curl -fsSL https://stockyard.dev/dispatch/install.sh | sh
Before choosing between Dispatch and Temporal, consider what happens when you need to leave. Temporal exports vary in completeness — some fields, some history, some metadata may not come with you. Dispatch stores everything in a single SQLite file. Leaving means copying that file. This is not a hypothetical concern: the average team changes tools every 18 to 24 months.
Dispatch runs as a single static binary with an embedded SQLite database. There is no application server, no cache layer, no background worker. One process handles HTTP requests and reads from and writes to the database file directly. This simplicity is the entire point — fewer moving parts means fewer things that can break at 2 AM.
Temporal can be self-hosted, but the experience differs significantly from Dispatch. OSS requires Cassandra/Postgres, Elasticsearch, and multiple services With Dispatch, self-hosting means downloading one file and running it. The gap in operational complexity matters most for small teams without dedicated DevOps staff.
Switching from Temporal to Dispatch is straightforward for most teams. Export your data from Temporal (most services offer CSV or JSON export), then POST each record to Dispatch's API. A migration script that reads the export and writes to /api/ endpoints typically takes less than 50 lines of code. The reverse migration is equally simple — Dispatch's SQLite database is a standard file you can query with any SQLite client.
Single binary. Free to start. $0.99/mo for Pro.