vioscale
Comparison

Apache Airflow vs Dagster

No clear leader: Apache Airflow (73.0) and Dagster (70.4) are within the 5-point margin; treat as a tie. The attribute-by-attribute breakdown below, with a source and date on every value, is the honest way to compare them.

Apache Airflow full profile →Dagster full profile →
Machine formatsJSONMarkdownGraphQLor send Accept: application/json
Apache Airflow73
Dagster70
Score
Vioscale score
Apache Airflow73 / 100medium · 66%updating
Dagster70 / 100medium · 68%updating
Pricing
Free tier
Apache Airflow✓
Dagster✓
Model
Apache Airflowopen_source
Dagsterfreemium
Price level
Apache Airflowfree
Dagsterlow
Transparent
Apache Airflow✓
Dagster✓
Integrations
Count
Apache Airflow100
Dagster14
Security
Disclosure policy
Apache Airflow–
Dagster✓
Gdpr
Apache Airflow–
Dagster✓
Hipaa
Apache Airflow–
Dagster✓
Scorecard
Apache Airflow7.3
Dagster4.8
Soc2
Apache Airflow–
Dagster✓
Vulnerabilities
Adoption
Dependent repos
Apache Airflow189
Dagster286
Github stars
Apache Airflow46,610
Dagster16,066
Package downloads weekly
Apache Airflow3,883,451
Dagster2,176,853
Activity
Commits last 30d
Apache Airflow100
Dagster81
Release
Cadence days
Apache Airflow13
Dagster7
History
Apache Airflow20 items
Dagster20 items
License
Spdx
Apache AirflowApache-2.0
DagsterApache-2.0
Language
Primary
Apache AirflowPython
DagsterPython
Market
Availability
Apache Airflow–
DagsterAvailable worldwide · Popular in US

Capabilities

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

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

What each one is

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

Apache Airflow

A community-built orchestration system that enables users to define data pipelines and tasks in Python, execute them on distributed workers, and monitor progress through a web-based interface. It supports dynamic pipeline generation, extensive third-party integrations, and operates best for batch-oriented workflows.

Independently observed

Dagster

A unified orchestration and observability platform that manages data pipelines through assets, tracks dependencies and lineage, enforces data quality, and integrates with existing tools like dbt, Snowflake, and Spark. Supports both self-hosted open-source and managed cloud deployment.

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

Open sourceFree tier

Free, open-source project. Managed cloud versions available through third parties.

as of verify ↗

Dagster

from $0.01/moSubscription30-day trial

From $120/month. 30-day free trial. Subscription with metered credits (asset materializations and ops executed); serverless compute charged separately.

  • Solo$120/month with 7.5k credits/month included; overages at $0.040/credit
    • 1 User
    • 1 Code location
    • 1 Deployment
    • Core orchestration
    • Asset-based orchestration
    • +6 more
  • Starter$1200/month with 30k credits/month included; overages at $0.035/credit
    • Up to 3 Users
    • 5 Code locations
    • 1 Deployment
    • Catalog search
    • Column-level lineage
    • +8 more
  • Pro/EnterpriseContact sales
    • Unlimited code locations
    • Unlimited deployments
    • Custom serverless compute pricing
    • Cost tracking and insights
    • Personalized onboarding support
    • +8 more
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✓
Dagster✓
Linux
Apache Airflow✓
Dagster✗
CLI
Apache Airflow✓
Dagster✓
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Apache Airflow✓
Dagster✓
Self-hosted
Apache Airflow✓
Dagster✓
On-premise
Apache Airflow✓
Dagster✗
Hybrid
Apache Airflow✓
Dagster✓

Integrations

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

In common (7)
  • Databricks
  • Snowflake
  • Slack
  • Tableau
  • Datadog
  • Airbyte
  • PagerDuty

Apache Airflow

50 total - 43 not shared
  • Amazon Web Services
  • Microsoft Azure
  • Google Cloud Platform
  • dbt Cloud
  • Salesforce
  • PostgreSQL
  • MySQL
  • MongoDB
  • Redis
  • Kubernetes
  • Docker
  • Apache Spark
  • Apache Kafka
  • Apache Cassandra
  • Apache Flink
  • Apache Druid
  • Elasticsearch
  • Jenkins
  • GitHub
  • OpenAI
  • Anthropic
  • Cohere
  • Pinecone
  • Weaviate
  • +19 more
Independently observed

Dagster

14 total - 7 not shared
  • dbt
  • Spark
  • Azure
  • AWS
  • Soda
  • Microsoft Teams
  • Python
Independently observed

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