vioscaleAI
Comparison

Apache Airflow vs Apache Spark

On the evidence we track, Apache Airflow leads this comparison with a composite score of 69/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Apache Airflow full profile →Apache Spark full profile →
Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
★Apache Airflow69
Apache Spark52
Score
vioscaleAI score
Apache Airflow69 / 100medium · 66%
Apache Spark52 / 100low · 34%
Pricing
Free tier
Apache Airflow✓
Apache Spark✓
Model
Apache Airflowopen_source
Apache Sparkcommercial
Price level
Apache Airflowfree
Apache Sparkfree
Transparent
Apache Airflow✓
Apache Spark✓
Integrations
Count
Apache Airflow54
Apache Spark5
Security
Disclosure policy
Apache Airflow–
Apache Spark✓
Scorecard
Apache Airflow7.3
Apache Spark5.6
Vulnerabilities
Adoption
Dependent repos
Apache Airflow189
Apache Spark8,896
Github stars
Apache Airflow47,054
Apache Spark44,188
Package downloads weekly
Apache Airflow1,607,065
Apache Spark–
Activity
Commits last 30d
Apache Airflow100
Apache Spark100
Release
Cadence days
Apache Airflow14
Apache Spark–
History
Apache Airflow20 items
Apache Spark–
License
Spdx
Apache AirflowApache-2.0
Apache SparkApache-2.0
Language
Primary
Apache AirflowPython
Apache SparkScala
Market
Availability
Apache Airflow–
Apache SparkAvailable worldwide
Content
Faq
Apache Airflow6 items
Apache Spark6 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for data engineering tools. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Core
Tool role
Apache AirflowOrchestrator
Apache SparkProcessing engine
Processing paradigm
Apache AirflowBatch
Apache SparkBatch + streaming
Connectivity
Connector count
Apache Airflow100+
Apache Spark-
CDC / log-based replication
Apache Airflow-
Apache Spark-
Transformation
In-warehouse transformation (push-down)
Apache Airflow-
Apache Spark-
dbt-native orchestration
Apache Airflow✓
Apache Spark-
Deployment
Self-hosted / open-source available
Apache Airflow✓
Apache Spark✓
Managed cloud available
Apache Airflow✓
Apache Spark-
Governance
Data lineage / asset catalog
Apache Airflow✓
Apache Spark-
Authoring
Python-first authoring
Apache Airflow✓
Apache Spark-
Execution
Incremental / partition-aware runs
Apache Airflow✓
Apache Spark-
Quality
Built-in data quality / tests
Apache Airflow✓
Apache Spark-
Scale
Horizontal scale (distributed executor)
Apache Airflow✓
Apache Spark✓

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Apache Airflow

Leader

Apache Airflow is a workflow orchestration platform that enables users to define data pipelines in Python and schedule their execution across distributed workers. It provides a web interface for visualization and monitoring, plus extensive integrations with cloud platforms and services.

Independently observed

Apache Spark

A data processing framework offering high-level APIs across multiple programming languages and integrated tools for SQL processing, machine learning, graph analysis, and real-time stream processing.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Apache Airflow

Leader
Open source
as of verify ↗

Apache Spark

Open sourceFree tier
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
Web
Apache Airflow✓
Apache Spark✗
macOS
Apache Airflow✓
Apache Spark✗
Linux
Apache Airflow✓
Apache Spark✗
CLI
Apache Airflow✓
Apache Spark✓
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Apache Airflow✓
Apache Spark✗
Self-hosted
Apache Airflow✓
Apache Spark✓
On-premise
Apache Airflow✓
Apache Spark✓
Hybrid
Apache Airflow✓
Apache Spark✗

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

In common (2)
  • Kubernetes
  • Docker

Apache Airflow

Leader
61 total - 59 not shared
  • Amazon Web Services
  • Microsoft Azure
  • Google Cloud Platform
  • Databricks
  • Snowflake
  • dbt Cloud
  • Slack
  • Salesforce
  • Tableau
  • PostgreSQL
  • MySQL
  • MongoDB
  • Redis
  • Apache Spark
  • Apache Kafka
  • Apache Cassandra
  • Apache Flink
  • Apache Druid
  • Elasticsearch
  • Datadog
  • Jenkins
  • GitHub
  • OpenAI
  • Anthropic
  • +35 more
Independently observed

Apache Spark

5 total - 3 not shared
  • Hadoop
  • HDFS
  • YARN
Independently observed
Still deciding?

Apache Airflow or Apache Spark: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.