Question 1

What's the difference between Workflows and orchestration?

Accepted Answer

Workflows are the automated, step-by-step processes you define (the sequence of tasks). Orchestration is the broader practice of coordinating multiple services, systems, and dependencies—often implemented using a workflow engine. In practice, workflow services are common orchestration tools.

Question 2

When should I use Workflows?

Accepted Answer

Use workflows when a process has multiple steps that must run in a specific order, needs retries/timeouts, includes branching (if/else), or spans multiple services (for example: upload file → validate → transform → store → notify). Workflows are especially useful for long-running or event-driven processes where you want visibility into each step and consistent error handling.

Question 3

How much does Workflows cost?

Accepted Answer

Costs usually depend on how many workflow executions you run and how many steps/state transitions occur per execution. Additional costs often come from the services the workflow calls (for example, functions, containers, databases, or API calls). Pricing varies by provider and region, so estimate based on expected runs per day, average steps per run, and the downstream service usage.

Workflows

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