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River
What it is
River is a background job queue for Go applications, using PostgreSQL as its primary database target and offering experimental SQLite support. Its transactional enqueueing keeps jobs inserted within a database transaction from running until that transaction completes. Core tools include isolated queues, unique and prioritized jobs, recurring cron jobs, snoozing, transactional completion, retries, and test helpers. A web interface supports queue pause and resume, error reporting, and telemetry integrations; the optional River UI is self-hosted and adds no external service dependencies. River Pro adds reusable workflows whose component tasks can be retried individually, along with batching, concurrency limits, and ordered job sequences. Its feature comparison also lists dead letter queues, durable periodic jobs, encrypted jobs, and ephemeral jobs. The free Open Source plan includes background jobs and the web UI but excludes workflows, concurrency limits, and support. Pro costs $125 a month and includes email support for up to 20 developers. Enterprise pricing is custom and includes email and Slack support, unlimited developers, and access to a SOC 2 report.
For and against
For
- Transactional enqueueing waits for transaction completion.
- Supports isolated queues, priorities, recurring jobs, and retries.
- Optional self-hosted UI adds no external service dependencies.
- Pro workflows allow individual task retries.
Against
- SQLite support is experimental.
- Open Source excludes workflows and concurrency limits.
- Open Source includes no support.
- Enterprise pricing is custom.
The verdict
River combines background job processing with transaction-safe enqueueing for Go applications. The free plan covers core queueing, while Pro and Enterprise add workflows, limits, and support options.
Who it suits
River suits Go developers who need database-backed background jobs and transactional enqueueing. Teams needing workflows, concurrency controls, or commercial support can consider Pro or Enterprise.
Plans and prices
Open Source
Reliable background jobs · Intuitive web UI · No workflows · No concurrency limits
Read 30 Sep 2026 · riverqueue.com
Pro
All open source features · Workflows · Batching · Concurrency limits
Read 30 Sep 2026 · riverqueue.com
Enterprise
All open source features · Workflows · Batching · Concurrency limits
Read 30 Sep 2026 · riverqueue.com
On the record
- Commercial support
- The Pro plan includes email support, while Enterprise includes email and Slack support.riverqueue.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- Company
- The site identifies the company as River Software, LLC and names Blake Gentry and Brandur Leach on its About page.riverqueue.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- Core features
- Core features include multiple isolated queues, unique jobs, prioritization, recurring cron jobs, snoozing, transactional job completion, and test helpers.riverqueue.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- Database support
- River documents PostgreSQL as its primary database target and SQLite as experimental support.riverqueue.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- Integrations
- River's OpenTelemetry plugin supports telemetry through compatible providers such as DataDog and Sentry rather than vendor-specific River packages.riverqueue.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- Language and typing
- River is designed for Go and uses generics to provide strongly typed structured worker arguments.riverqueue.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- Operations
- The product lists a web interface, queue pause and resume, automatic retries, error reporting, and telemetry integrations.riverqueue.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- Product
- River provides atomic, transaction-safe background job queueing for Go applications, backed by PostgreSQL or SQLite.riverqueue.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- Pro features
- The Pro feature comparison includes batching, dead letter queues, durable periodic jobs, encrypted jobs, and ephemeral jobs.riverqueue.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- Pro limits
- River Pro includes globally partitioned concurrency limits and job sequences that execute in strict order.riverqueue.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- Pro workflows
- River Pro workflows break complex tasks into discrete, reusable tasks that can be retried individually.riverqueue.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- Security
- River Pro includes an encrypted jobs feature, and Enterprise subscribers can access River's SOC 2 report.riverqueue.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- Self-hosting
- River UI is an optional self-hosted interface, and the product says it adds no external service dependencies.riverqueue.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- Transactional enqueueing
- River documents that jobs inserted within a transaction do not run before that transaction completes.riverqueue.com · read 30 Sep 2026
