COMPARISON / Message queues

SQS · Standard vs. Cloudflare Queues · Paid vs. QStash · Pay as You Go

Asynchronous delivery for workers, webhooks and background jobs. Pick two to four options to explore how they differ.

General review: 2026-11-04 · Individual dates with sources · Not a real-time feed

Editorial editionGeneral review: 2026-11-04Not a real-time feed

Option 1

SQS · Standard

AWS · Pull queue
Key figure · Delivery scenario$1.20USD / M messages (Best value)
Best in 1 of 1
View details
Option 2

Cloudflare Queues · Paid

Cloudflare · Workers queue
Key figure · Delivery scenario$1.20USD / M messages (Best value)
Best in 1 of 1
View details
Option 3

QStash · Pay as You Go

Upstash · HTTP push delivery
Key figure · Delivery scenario$10.00USD / M messages
Best in 0 of 1
View details
Option 4
Same category, comparable metrics

What changes between your options

CSV
Highlighted = best value on that dimension, not an overall winner
Comparison of SQS · Standard, Cloudflare Queues · Paid, QStash · Pay as You Go
MetricSQS · StandardCloudflare Queues · PaidQStash · Pay as You Go
Delivery scenarioUSD / M messages · lower is betterSQS · Standard · Cloudflare Queues · Paid 8.3× cheaper$1.20 (Best value)Vendor ↗$1.20 (Best value)Vendor ↗8.3×$10.00Vendor ↗
Max queue retentiondays · higher is better14Vendor ↗14Vendor ↗No dataNot included
Max scheduled delayminutes · higher is better15Vendor ↗1,440Vendor ↗No dataNot included

The reference cost models 1 M messages of 1 KiB to a single consumer, with no batching, retries or free tiers. SQS and Cloudflare: send + receive + delete (3 M operations). QStash: 1 M HTTP attempts. Excludes consumer execution, transfer and base plans; it doesn't measure latency or guarantee exactly-once execution.

Compare each dimension

Max queue retention (days) versus Delivery scenario (USD / M messages)3 records. View the data as a table.051015$0.00$0.50$1.00$1.50Max queue retention (days)Delivery scenario (USD / M messages)SQS · StandardSQS · FIFOCloudflare Queues · P…
1 record without data is not shown.
View the data as a table
Max queue retention (days) versus Delivery scenario (USD / M messages)
NameDelivery scenario (USD / M messages)Max queue retention (days)
SQS · Standard$1.2014
SQS · FIFO$1.5014
Cloudflare Queues · Paid$1.2014
Cost at scale

What you would pay each month, by volume

Three usage levels computed only from catalog rates. Assumptions in plain sight; not a quote.

Pilot

1M messages / month

Cheapest option$1.20/ monthCloudflare Queues · Paid8.3× cheaper than the priciest
  1. Cloudflare Queues · Paid$1.20 (Best value)
  2. SQS · Standard$1.20 (Best value)
  3. QStash · Pay as You Go$10.00

Product

10M messages / month

Cheapest option$12.00/ monthCloudflare Queues · Paid8.3× cheaper than the priciest
  1. Cloudflare Queues · Paid$12.00 (Best value)
  2. SQS · Standard$12.00 (Best value)
  3. QStash · Pay as You Go$100.00

Scale

100M messages / month

Cheapest option$120.00/ monthCloudflare Queues · Paid8.3× cheaper than the priciest
  1. Cloudflare Queues · Paid$120.00 (Best value)
  2. SQS · Standard$120.00 (Best value)
  3. QStash · Pay as You Go$1,000.00

The catalog delivery scenario (1 KiB, one consumer, no batching or retries) times the volume.

Specs and operations

FeatureSQS · StandardCloudflare Queues · PaidQStash · Pay as You Go
DeliveryBest effort; may arrive out of orderNo dataNo data
Billing unit$0.40/M requests; scenario ×3$0.40/M operations; scenario ×3$1/100K HTTP attempts; scenario ×10
Max size1 MiB native; not to be confused with the 64 KB billing unitNo dataNo data
DelayFIFO: per queue; Standard: also per-message timerNo dataNo data
Plan typeNo dataWorkers PaidNo data
RetentionNo data4 days by default; configurable up to 14No data
Published sizeNo data128 KB per message10 MB per message
Included queuesNo data10,000 per account; Paid overage costs $0.10/queue-monthNo data
Published maximum delayNo data24 hours (delaySeconds)1 year (not converted to minutes)
DLQNo dataNo dataUp to 7 days on Pay as You Go
TransferNo dataNo data50 GB/month; overage $0.05/GB

Sources, scope and fine print

What to validate before you make a decision.

Methodology

QStash · Pay as You Go

Rate $1 per 100K attempts = $10/M. Every retry and extra destination counts. Excludes endpoint execution and transfer overage. The 7-day DLQ retention isn't presented as queue retention.

Checked on 2026-11-04 · Editorial update

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Frequently asked questions

How much does SQS · Standard cost?+

Delivery scenario: $1.20 USD / M messages. Official prices reviewed on Nov 4, 2026; confirm conditions and discounts in the linked source.

How much does Cloudflare Queues · Paid cost?+

Delivery scenario: $1.20 USD / M messages. Official prices reviewed on Nov 4, 2026; confirm conditions and discounts in the linked source.

How much does QStash · Pay as You Go cost?+

Delivery scenario: $10.00 USD / M messages. Official prices reviewed on Nov 4, 2026; confirm conditions and discounts in the linked source.

How much does SQS · Standard cost in Colombian pesos?+

Escenario de entrega: $1.20 USD / M mensajes ≈ COP 3,810 / M mensajes · MXN 22.16 / M mensajes · BRL 6.11 / M mensajes. Reference conversion at the TRM of 3,174.67 COP per dollar (Oct 17, 2026); it excludes taxes and bank fees.

How much does Cloudflare Queues · Paid cost in Colombian pesos?+

Escenario de entrega: $1.20 USD / M mensajes ≈ COP 3,810 / M mensajes · MXN 22.16 / M mensajes · BRL 6.11 / M mensajes. Reference conversion at the TRM of 3,174.67 COP per dollar (Oct 17, 2026); it excludes taxes and bank fees.

How much does QStash · Pay as You Go cost in Colombian pesos?+

Escenario de entrega: $10.00 USD / M mensajes ≈ COP 31,747 / M mensajes · MXN 185 / M mensajes · BRL 50.89 / M mensajes. Reference conversion at the TRM of 3,174.67 COP per dollar (Oct 17, 2026); it excludes taxes and bank fees.

Which is cheapest by delivery scenario?+

By SQS · Standard ($1.20 USD / M messages) < Cloudflare Queues · Paid ($1.20 USD / M messages) < QStash · Pay as You Go ($10.00 USD / M messages). Also compare limits and conditions: a lower price does not always mean an equivalent plan.

Where do these prices come from?+

From each provider's official pages, linked on every product page and reviewed on Nov 4, 2026. Codifly is not paid for any product's position.