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Comparison · Infra & APIs

Jackett vs Windmill

A side-by-side editorial comparison of Jackett and Windmill — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Jackett vs Windmill: at a glance

FeatureJackettWindmill
SectorInfra & APIsInfra & APIs
Velocity score5.07.5
Sparks · 30d00
Top themestorrent indexers, open source, media automation, maintenanceworkflow-automation, ai-agents, devtools, dbt
Last editorial update5h ago1mo ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is Jackett?

Jackett ships a daily build to keep hundreds of torrent indexers working as sites move and close.

Jackett is an open-source proxy that turns hundreds of torrent tracker sites into a single Torznab API for media automation tools. It ships an auto-generated release roughly every day, and nearly every one is indexer upkeep: new domains, category mappings, selector fixes after site redesigns, and removing dead trackers.

Read the full Jackett trajectory →

What is Windmill?

Windmill is building a full AI-native workflow platform — guest app access, agent evals, dbt runtime, and AI cost tracking shipped in rapid succession.

Windmill is an open-source workflow automation and developer platform that has been adding AI capabilities at an accelerating rate. The last month brought AI agent evaluations (with dataset-based scoring and run comparison), AI usage and cost tracking per user and model, a Plan mode for AI sessions (read-only investigation posture), version history for both AI artifacts and resource values, and nested filter groups for Kafka and WebSocket triggers. The platform now spans workflow orchestration, AI-assisted script writing, and a native dbt runtime.

Read the full Windmill trajectory →

Jackett vs Windmill: editorial side-by-side

J
Jackett
INFRA · APIS
5.0

Jackett ships a daily build to keep hundreds of torrent indexers working as sites move and close.

◆ Current state

Jackett is an open-source proxy that turns hundreds of torrent tracker sites into a single Torznab API for media automation tools. It ships an auto-generated release roughly every day, and nearly every one is indexer upkeep: new domains, category mappings, selector fixes after site redesigns, and removing dead trackers.

◆ Where it's heading

The work is entirely maintenance. Its value depends on keeping up with a tracker ecosystem where sites change domains and layouts weekly. Where possible, the project is moving definitions to sturdier integrations, such as switching world-of-tomorrow to its Torznab API and retiring trackers that moved to direct downloads.

◆ Prediction

Expect the daily cadence to continue, with more trackers moved to API-based definitions and more dead sites removed. Core changes stay rare.

W
Windmill
INFRA · APIS
7.5

Windmill is building a full AI-native workflow platform — guest app access, agent evals, dbt runtime, and AI cost tracking shipped in rapid succession.

◆ Current state

Windmill is an open-source workflow automation and developer platform that has been adding AI capabilities at an accelerating rate. The last month brought AI agent evaluations (with dataset-based scoring and run comparison), AI usage and cost tracking per user and model, a Plan mode for AI sessions (read-only investigation posture), version history for both AI artifacts and resource values, and nested filter groups for Kafka and WebSocket triggers. The platform now spans workflow orchestration, AI-assisted script writing, and a native dbt runtime.

◆ Where it's heading

The pattern across recent releases is clear: Windmill is building the operational infrastructure around AI agents — not just the ability to run them, but the ability to measure, control, audit, and govern them. Agent evals add a testing layer; Plan mode adds a safety posture; cost tracking adds financial visibility; version history adds rollback capability. The guest app access model also introduces a new monetization dimension (4:1 guest-to-seat ratio above 100 free guests). Windmill is positioning as the AI workflow platform for teams that need enterprise-grade controls.

◆ Prediction

The eval framework (currently beta) will likely gain deeper integration with CI/CD and deployment flows. Guest access metering signals that Windmill is building toward consumption-based pricing for external-facing AI apps. Expect tighter integration between the agent evals system and the existing flow editor deployment pipeline.

Alternatives to Jackett and Windmill

Other Infra & APIs products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Jackett or Windmill.

See all Jackett alternatives → · See all Windmill alternatives →

Recent activity from Jackett and Windmill

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 15h agoJackettJackett adds bigbbs, flags magnetz as pay-to-download
  2. 1d agoJackettUATorrent multi-category search disabled
  3. 1d agoJackettJackett adds UATorrent and Pornorip, bumps three domains
  4. 2d agoJackettJackett drops ptying and bluebird, bumps core packages
  5. 3d agoJackettJackett adds binarybay, renames tocashare to sapibr
  6. 4d agoJackettJackett updates thebrothers categories and v3x engine tag
  7. 1mo agoWindmillGuest access for apps ⚡
  8. 2mo agoWindmillAI agent evals (beta) ⚡
  9. 2mo agoWindmillAI usage and cost tracking
  10. 2mo agoWindmillApplication default credentials for GCP Pub/Sub triggers
  11. 2mo agoWindmillPlan mode for AI sessions
  12. 2mo agoWindmillNested filter groups and dotted paths in trigger filters

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Jackett and Windmill?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Windmill is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 7.5 vs 5.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is Jackett better than Windmill?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Windmill is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 7.5 vs 5.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Infra & APIs products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to Jackett?

Top Jackett alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Jackett alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/jackett for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to Windmill?

Top Windmill alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Windmill alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/windmill for the full list with editorial commentary on each.