IronWorker vs. Sidekiq

Overview

  • Architecture: IronWorker is a server-less on-demand task processing solution for managing container-based workloads. Sidekiq is a background processing tool that handles various jobs at the same time.
  • Language: IronWorker is "language agnostic." It runs in a multi-language containerized environment. Sidekiq runs on Ruby.
  • Scalability: IronWorker is a lot easier to scale than Sidekiq.
  • Price: IronWorker starts from $24 per month. Sidekiq starts from around $80 per month. (There is a free version of Sidekiq, but this probably won't provide you with the features you need if you have a business.)
  • Reviews: IronWorker has an average user rating of 4.6/5 on the software review website G2.com. Sidekiq hasn't received enough reviews on G2 to calculate an average user score.

Task processing is fundamental for any business that wants to track tasks, improve productivity, and save resources. There are various tools on the market that streamline this process. IronWorker and Sidekiq are two of these tools, but they handle task processing in unique ways.

In this review, learn the differences between IronWorker vs. Sidekiq and decide which tool is right for your business.

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Comparing IronWorker vs. Sidekiq

Details

IronWorker and Sidekiq might both fall into the category of "task processing" software, but there are many differences. This is the main one:

  • IronWorker is an on-demand task processing tool. 
  • Sidekiq is a background processing tool.

What does this mean? IronWorker is an async task processing service that powers tasks in parallel at a huge scale based on your requirements. You decide when to schedule tasks at a time and frequency that suits you. Sidekiq manages jobs at the same time but in the background, so it really schedules nothing at all. (You can't decide when to run tasks like with IronWorker.) Another thing: You can process many tasks at once on Sidekiq but not on the same scale as IronWorker.

Capabilities

IronWorker and Sidekiq might have similar end goals, but these tools have different ways of doing things. We mentioned how IronWorker processes tasks on demand earlier. It does this by isolating the dependencies and codes of tasks, which provides you with much more freedom and flexibility. Sidekiq uses threads to manage jobs in parallel in the same process. So it runs jobs in the background, but not on demand. Here's a simple way of looking at it: You tell IronWorker what to do, and Sidekiq does what it wants when it wants.

It's important to note that Sidekiq doesn't require Rails but integrates with Rails 3/4 for even better background processing.

Language

Let's talk about another difference: Language. We mentioned in the introduction that Sidekiq runs on the programming language Ruby. This excludes many businesses who are unfamiliar with the language. IronWorker, however, is "language agnostic," which means it runs in a multi-language (and containerized) environment. Again, IronWorker provides more flexibility.

Popularity

Some of the world's biggest companies use IronWorker. This includes CNN, which uses IronWorker (and its sister platform IronMQ, a super-fast message queue service) to deliver up-to-the-second news reports to people around the world. Companies like Netflix, Digital Ocean, and Heroku use Sidekiq for various background processing functions.

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IronWorker vs. Sidekiq: Pricing

IronWorker starts from $24 per month for its Hobby pricing tier, which is perfect for small workloads. If you require more concurrency and more hours per month, you can subscribe to one of three additional packages: Launch, Professional, and Enterprise.

There is a free version of Sidekiq and two paid-for versions: Pro ($950 a year, which works out at around $80 per month) and Enterprise ($179 per month). The free version won't suit most businesses as it lacks lots of features. There's no dedicated support, no worker metrics, no encryption, no chron jobs, etc.

IronWorker doesn't offer a free version, but there is a free trial that you can use without providing any credit card details.

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IronWorker vs. Sidekiq: Reviews

What do users think about IronWorker vs. Sidekiq?

IronWorker Reviews

IronWorker has an average user review score of 4.6/5 on G2.com, based on 10 reviews. (Correct as of December 2020.)

One user, a UX designer, says:

"IronWorker is an excellent solution for all requirements that my team needs in their daily work. Each one of them says that this tool helps to keep order in the process of design."

Another user, a lead success engineer, says:

"Ease of setup and use. The dashboard makes keeping track of various tasks and workers easy. Very little maintenance required once set up."

Sidekiq Reviews

Sidekiq doesn't have enough reviews on G2.com to calculate an average review. (Correct as of December 2020.)

As of December 2020, there is just one review of the Pro version from an administrator working in marketing and advertising:

"The 'batches' feature is the main reason we use this over the free version. They are nice and work as advertised. The interface is pretty simple to use."

Conclusion

IronWorker and Sidekiq might both provide task processing features, but they do it very differently. IronWorker is an on-demand containerized platform that lets you schedule jobs whenever and however you like. Sidekiq is a background processing tool with more limitations. You could try the free version of Sidekiq and the free trial of IronWorker and decide what's right for your business.

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