Comparison · Self-hosted vs Self-hosted

Drover vs Sidekiq

Sidekiq is $99/mo (Pro). Drover is a self-hosted alternative at $1.99/mo. Here's when each makes sense.

At a glance

	Drover	Sidekiq
Hosting	Self-hosted, your infra	Open source but requires Ruby and Redis
Data location	Your server, your disk	Your server (if self-hosted)
Free tier	1,000 jobs/mo, 1 queue	Paid only
Pro pricing	$1.99/mo	$99/mo (Pro)
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

When to use Drover

Pick Drover when you want simplicity and ownership.

No Ruby or Redis required — single binary
$1.99/mo vs $99/mo
Language-agnostic HTTP API
Embedded storage, no external dependencies

Drover 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/drover/install.sh | sh

Install Drover Drover docs

When Sidekiq fits better

Sidekiq makes sense when you need more.

Extremely fast (millions of jobs/sec with Redis)
Battle-tested in production for 10+ years
Rich Ruby ecosystem and middleware
Reliable exactly-once processing

Sidekiq is the gold standard for Ruby background jobs. If your app is Ruby and you need high throughput, Sidekiq with Redis is the right choice. If you want background jobs without Ruby, Redis, or the $99/mo Pro license, Drover handles the core use case as a single binary.

The trade-off

The pricing math between Drover and Sidekiq changes depending on team size. Sidekiq at $99/mo (Pro) is reasonable for a solo user. At ten seats, the difference compounds. Drover is a flat $1.99/mo regardless of seats — the binary does not count how many people use it. For growing teams, this makes Drover progressively cheaper while Sidekiq gets progressively more expensive.

How they differ under the hood

Drover 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.

Sidekiq can be self-hosted, but the experience differs significantly from Drover. Open source but requires Ruby and Redis With Drover, self-hosting means downloading one file and running it. The gap in operational complexity matters most for small teams without dedicated DevOps staff.

Migration path

The migration path from Sidekiq depends on how much history you need to bring over. If you only need active records, a manual re-entry through Drover's dashboard might be faster than writing a migration script. If you need full history, export from Sidekiq and use Drover's POST API to import records. Either way, the process is measured in hours, not weeks.

FAQ

Is Drover a Sidekiq alternative?

Both process background jobs. Sidekiq requires Ruby and Redis. Drover is a single Go binary with HTTP API, usable from any language.

Is Drover as fast as Sidekiq?

No. Sidekiq with Redis handles millions of jobs/sec. Drover with SQLite handles thousands/sec. For most applications, thousands/sec is sufficient.

Get started

Self-hosted background job queue in 30 seconds.

Single binary. Free to start. $1.99/mo for Pro.

Install Drover All 150 tools for $29/mo →