# Apache Airflow vs dbt Core

| Attribute | Apache Airflow | dbt Core |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 69 (66% (medium)) | 65.7 (73% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 100 | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 189 | 553 |
| adoption.github_stars | 47,054 | 14,028 |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | 1,607,065 | 21,005,917 |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"An open-source platform where you define workflows in Python, schedule their execution based on dependencies and timing, and monitor progress through a web interface. Widely used for data orchestration, ML operations, and infrastructure automation. It is indexed under Data Engineering Tools.","source":"https://airflow.apache.org","question":"What is Apache Airflow?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Apache Airflow is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the Apache-2.0 licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://airflow.apache.org","question":"Is Apache Airflow free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Apache Airflow supports the web, Linux and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://airflow.apache.org","question":"What platforms does Apache Airflow support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Apache Airflow can be deployed cloud / SaaS, hybrid and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://airflow.apache.org","question":"Can Apache Airflow be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 56 integrations for Apache Airflow, including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Databricks, Snowflake, dbt Cloud, Slack and Salesforce, plus 48 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://airflow.apache.org","question":"What does Apache Airflow integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Apache Airflow is published under the Apache-2.0 licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/apache/airflow","question":"Is Apache Airflow open source?","confidence":0.95}]` | `[{"answer":"dbt is a framework that enables data teams to transform data using SQL-based development practices similar to software engineering, with built-in testing, version control, and deployment capabilities. It provides lineage tracking, documentation, and can run locally or in the cloud. It is indexed under Data Engineering Tools.","source":"https://www.getdbt.com","question":"What is dbt Core?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"dbt Core is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the Apache-2.0 licence. A commercial or hosted edition starts at $100 per user per month. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://www.getdbt.com","question":"Is dbt Core free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"dbt Core supports the web, Windows, macOS, Linux and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://www.getdbt.com","question":"What platforms does dbt Core support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. dbt Core can be deployed cloud / SaaS and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://www.getdbt.com","question":"Can dbt Core be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 6 integrations for dbt Core, including Tableau, Fivetran, OpenAI, Snowflake, Azure AI and Databricks. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.getdbt.com","question":"What does dbt Core integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed ISO 27001 and GDPR for dbt Core. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as dbt Core not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://www.getdbt.com/security","question":"What security certifications does dbt Core have?","confidence":0.7},{"answer":"Yes. dbt Core is published under the Apache-2.0 licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core","question":"Is dbt Core open source?","confidence":0.95},{"answer":"dbt Core is available worldwide. Its primary market is the United States.","source":"https://www.getdbt.com","question":"Where is dbt Core available?","confidence":0.5}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true,"on_prem":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | 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. | A data transformation framework that applies software engineering principles—such as version control, testing, and modularity—to SQL-based analytics workflows. |
| features.capabilities | `{"role":"orchestrator","lineage":true,"paradigm":"batch","dbt_native":true,"data_quality":true,"python_first":true,"managed_cloud":true,"connector_count":"100+","self_hosted_oss":true,"incremental_runs":true,"distributed_executor":true}` | `{"role":"transform","lineage":true,"paradigm":"batch","dbt_native":true,"data_quality":true,"managed_cloud":true,"connector_count":"6+ named integrations with broader ecosystem","self_hosted_oss":true,"self_hosted_available":true}` |
| integrations.count | 54 | 6 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Amazon Web Services"},{"name":"Microsoft Azure"},{"name":"Google Cloud Platform"},{"name":"Databricks"},{"name":"Snowflake"},{"name":"dbt Cloud"},{"name":"Slack"},{"name":"Salesforce"},{"name":"Tableau"},{"name":"PostgreSQL"},{"name":"MySQL"},{"name":"MongoDB"},{"name":"Redis"},{"name":"Kubernetes"},{"name":"Docker"},{"name":"Apache Spark"},{"name":"Apache Kafka"},{"name":"Apache Cassandra"},{"name":"Apache Flink"},{"name":"Apache Druid"},{"name":"Elasticsearch"},{"name":"Datadog"},{"name":"Jenkins"},{"name":"GitHub"},{"name":"OpenAI"},{"name":"Anthropic"},{"name":"Cohere"},{"name":"Pinecone"},{"name":"Weaviate"},{"name":"Qdrant"},{"name":"Oracle"},{"name":"Teradata"},{"name":"SQLite"},{"name":"Presto"},{"name":"Trino"},{"name":"ClickHouse"},{"name":"Neo4j"},{"name":"Airbyte"},{"name":"Informatica"},{"name":"Asana"},{"name":"Atlassian Jira"},{"name":"Discord"},{"name":"Telegram"},{"name":"Segment"},{"name":"PagerDuty"},{"name":"Opsgenie"},{"name":"Keycloak"},{"name":"Yandex"},{"name":"Zendesk"},{"name":"OpenLineage"},{"name":"New Relic","direction":"outbound"},{"name":"Starrocks","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"OpenSearch","direction":"outbound"},{"name":"IBM Cognos TM1","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Marquez","direction":"outbound"},{"name":"Nexla","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Vertica","native":true},{"name":"Microsoft SQL Server","native":true},{"name":"Influx DB","native":true},{"name":"Cloudant","native":true},{"name":"OpenFaaS","native":true}]` | `[{"name":"Tableau"},{"name":"Fivetran"},{"name":"OpenAI"},{"name":"Snowflake"},{"name":"Azure AI"},{"name":"Databricks"}]` |
| language.primary | Python | Rust |
| license.spdx | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| market.availability | - | `{"primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"web":true,"linux":true}` | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"web":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","sourceUrl":"https://airflow.apache.org","retrievedAt":"2026-09-07T13:08:28.227Z"}` | `{"type":"hybrid","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Developer","summary":"Free","features":["Browser-based IDE","Multi-factor authentication (MFA)","Job scheduling","Keep on the latest dbt release"],"minSeats":1,"description":"The fastest way to get started with dbt","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"seats":"1","projects":"1","successful_models_per_month":"3,000"}},{"free":false,"name":"Starter","summary":"$100/seat/month","features":["All Developer features","dbt Catalog basic","dbt Semantic Layer basic","dbt Copilot code generation","API access"],"minSeats":5,"components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"seat","amount":100,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Pay as you go pricing for your first dbt project","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"seats":"5","projects":"1","queried_metrics_per_month":"5,000","successful_models_per_month":"15,000"}},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","summary":"Custom pricing","features":["All Starter features","dbt Catalog advanced","dbt Semantic Layer advanced","dbt Copilot","dbt Canvas","dbt Insights","dbt Mesh Enterprise"],"contactSales":true,"includedLimits":{"projects":"30","queried_metrics_per_month":"20,000","successful_models_per_month":"100,000"}},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise+","summary":"Custom pricing","features":["All Enterprise features","PrivateLink","IP Restrictions","Rollback","Hybrid projects"],"contactSales":true,"includedLimits":{"projects":"Unlimited","queried_metrics_per_month":"20,000","successful_models_per_month":"100,000"}}],"summary":"Free Developer tier, $100/seat/month for Starter, custom pricing for Enterprise","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.getdbt.com","retrievedAt":"2026-08-05T13:08:54.690Z","freeTrialDays":14,"startingPrice":{"amount":100,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | open_source | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| release.cadence_days | 14 | 2 |
| release.history | 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| `[{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt/releases/tag/v2.0.8","date":"2026-10-14T07:49:06Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.0.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt/releases/tag/v1.13.0b1","date":"2026-10-14T07:41:52Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.13.0b1"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt/releases/tag/v1.12.6","date":"2026-10-14T10:24:02Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.12.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt/releases/tag/v1.11.16","date":"2026-10-14T08:25:55Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.11.16"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt/releases/tag/v2.0.0-dev.41-test-pypi","date":"2026-09-23T14:17:38Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.0.0-dev.41-test-pypi"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt/releases/tag/v2.0.5","date":"2026-09-18T15:47:44Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.0.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt/releases/tag/v2.0.4","date":"2026-09-16T07:12:13Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.0.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt/releases/tag/v2.0.3","date":"2026-09-16T01:44:05Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.0.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt/releases/tag/v2.0.2","date":"2026-09-15T16:08:05Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.0.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt/releases/tag/v2.0.2-test-pypi","date":"2026-09-15T14:48:47Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.0.2-test-pypi"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt/releases/tag/v1.12.5","date":"2026-09-15T19:07:42Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.12.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt/releases/tag/v2.0.1","date":"2026-09-14T22:07:43Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.0.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt/releases/tag/v2.0.0","date":"2026-09-14T20:50:56Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt/releases/tag/v2.0.0-dev.39-test-pypi","date":"2026-09-09T13:17:55Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.0.0-dev.39-test-pypi"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt/releases/tag/v2.0.0-dev.38-test-pypi","date":"2026-09-09T11:24:08Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.0.0-dev.38-test-pypi"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt/releases/tag/v2.0.0-dev.37-test-pypi","date":"2026-09-09T09:21:59Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.0.0-dev.37-test-pypi"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt/releases/tag/v2.0.0-rc.2","date":"2026-09-08T14:57:16Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.0.0-rc.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt/releases/tag/v1.12.4","date":"2026-09-08T10:00:57Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.12.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt/releases/tag/v1.11.15","date":"2026-09-08T06:42:56Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.11.15"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt/releases/tag/v2.0.0-dev.35-test-pypi","date":"2026-09-03T12:35:02Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.0.0-dev.35-test-pypi"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | - | yes |
| security.gdpr | - | yes |
| security.iso27001 | - | yes |
| security.scorecard | 7.3 | 6 |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":1,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=pypi&package_name=apache-airflow-providers-common-sql&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":"HIGH"}` | `{"count":4,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=pypi&package_name=dbt-core&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":"HIGH"}` |

## Capabilities (Data Engineering Tools)

| Capability | Apache Airflow | dbt Core |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Tool role | Orchestrator | Transformation |
| Processing paradigm | Batch | Batch |
| **Connectivity** |  |  |
| Connector count | 100+ | 6+ named integrations with broader ecosystem |
| CDC / log-based replication | - | - |
| **Transformation** |  |  |
| In-warehouse transformation (push-down) | - | - |
| dbt-native orchestration | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Self-hosted / open-source available | ✓ | ✓ |
| Managed cloud available | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Governance** |  |  |
| Data lineage / asset catalog | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Authoring** |  |  |
| Python-first authoring | ✓ | - |
| **Execution** |  |  |
| Incremental / partition-aware runs | ✓ | - |
| **Quality** |  |  |
| Built-in data quality / tests | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Scale** |  |  |
| Horizontal scale (distributed executor) | ✓ | - |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T20:48:42.783Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*