A hands-on comparison of three durable workflow engines — Temporal, Inngest, and Vercel Workflow — based on real production experience. Covers the core model of each tool, where each shines and struggles, pricing, learning curve, operational overhead, and AI agent suitability. Includes a practical decision tree: solo/small teams should start with Inngest or Vercel Workflow, Vercel-committed teams benefit from Vercel Workflow's platform integration, and large teams with complex multi-week workflows should choose Temporal. The author shares concrete production examples across all three tools and advises against premature migration without a concrete technical reason.
Table of contents
What Durable Execution Actually MeansTemporal: The Heavyweight ChampionInngest: The Developer Experience PickVercel Workflow: The Platform-Native NewcomerHow They Compare On The Dimensions That MatterPicking One: The Decision Tree I Actually UseWhat Changes When You Add AI Agents To The MixWhat I Actually Run In ProductionWhat To Build This WeekSort: