How Cordum compares.
The difference between an orchestration platform and an Agent Control Plane is governance: policy-before-dispatch, approval gates, and a full audit trail.
Built-in vs bolt-on.
Policy enforcement, approval gates, and intelligent scheduling are core to Cordum. Other platforms require manual implementation.
| Feature | Cordum | Temporal | n8n | CrewAI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Policy Enforcement | Policy-before-dispatch with Safety Kernel. Every job evaluated before execution. | No built-in policy layer. Manual checks in workflow code. | No policy engine. Workflows run without governance layer. | No policy system. Agent behavior defined in code only. |
| Approval Gates | Built-in approval step type. Approvals bound to policy snapshot + job hash. | Manual signals/queries. No built-in approval primitives. | UI-based approval nodes. Not bound to policy versions. | No approval gates. Agents run autonomously without human review. |
| Intelligent Scheduling | Least-loaded worker selection. Capability-based routing. Direct dispatch. | Task queue routing with sticky workers. No capability filtering. | Simple FIFO queue. No intelligent worker selection. | No scheduler. Agents managed in-process. |
| Audit Trail | Append-only timeline for every run. Immutable job state log. Policy decisions recorded. | Event history available. No policy decision audit. | Execution logs available. No approval or policy audit. | No built-in audit trail. Logging is manual. |
| Pack/Plugin System | Declarative packs. Install workflows + schemas + policy overlays without core changes. | No plugin system. Custom workflows + workers. | Node/integration marketplace. No policy overlays. | No plugin system. Tools defined in code. |
| MCP Integration | MCP allow/deny rules in Safety Kernel. Per-tool policy enforcement. | No MCP support. | No MCP support. | MCP client support. No policy layer. |
| Production Features | JetStream durability. Reconciler. DLQ. Idempotency keys. Resource locks. | Durable execution. Activity retries. Timeouts. | Execution retries. No reconciler or DLQ management. | No production reliability features. Framework only. |
| Self-Hosted Deployment | Source-available (BUSL-1.1). Full control plane self-hosted. | Open source. Self-hosted or cloud. | Open source. Self-hosted or cloud. | Open source Python framework. |
Why Policy-Before-Dispatch Matters
Temporal and n8n execute workflows immediately after dispatch. If you need policy checks, you write them manually in workflow code. This creates inconsistency across teams.
Cordum makes policy foundational. Every job—whether from the API, a workflow step, or a pack—goes through the Safety Kernel before execution. No exceptions.
The result: Security teams can approve autonomous AI agents because the policy layer is built in, not bolted on. Compliance becomes manageable at scale.
Which tool for which job?
Each platform excels at different use cases. Here's how to choose.
Autonomous AI Agents
You need governance and safety controls for agents that act on their own.
Policy-before-dispatch ensures every action is evaluated. Approval gates for risky operations. Full audit trail for compliance.
Durable Task Orchestration
You need durable execution with strong consistency guarantees.
Both offer durable execution. Choose Cordum when autonomous agents need policy enforcement and approval gates. Choose Temporal for pure orchestration.
Multi-Agent Coordination
You need to coordinate multiple AI agents with different capabilities.
Capability-based routing, intelligent scheduling, and policy-scoped permissions let you run heterogeneous agents under unified governance.
AI Agent Framework
You need a framework to define and run agents in Python.
CrewAI defines agent behavior. Cordum governs what those agents are allowed to do in production — policy, approvals, and audit.
Choose based on your requirements.
If autonomous AI agents need policy enforcement, approval gates, and audit trails, choose Cordum. If you need pure orchestration or an agent framework, other tools may complement it.
Choose Cordum If...
- You need policy-before-dispatch for every agent action
- You need approval gates with policy binding
- You need intelligent capability-based scheduling
- You need MCP integration with per-tool policy enforcement
- You need a full audit trail for compliance
Consider Other Tools If...
- You need pure durable orchestration without governance (Temporal)
- You need a visual builder for non-developer automation (n8n)
- You need an agent framework for defining behavior (CrewAI)
- You don't need policy enforcement or approval gates
Ready to govern your AI agents?
Cordum is the control plane that makes autonomous AI agents safe for production. Policy, approvals, and audit trails built in.