vioscale
Comparison

Apache Airflow vs Prefect

No clear leader: Apache Airflow (73.0) and Prefect (69.8) 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 →Prefect full profile →
Machine formatsJSONMarkdownGraphQLor send Accept: application/json
Apache Airflow73
Prefect70
Score
Vioscale score
Apache Airflow73 / 100medium · 66%updating
Prefect70 / 100high · 76%updating
Pricing
Free tier
Apache Airflow✓
Prefect✓
Model
Apache Airflowopen_source
Prefectcommercial
Price level
Apache Airflowfree
Prefecthigh
Transparent
Apache Airflow✓
Prefect✓
Integrations
Count
Apache Airflow100
Prefect5
Security
Gdpr
Apache Airflow–
Prefect✓
Hipaa
Apache Airflow–
Prefect✓
Scorecard
Apache Airflow7.3
Prefect6.9
Soc2
Apache Airflow–
Prefect✓
Vulnerabilities
Reliability
Sla pct
Apache Airflow–
Prefect99.99
Status page
Apache Airflow–
Prefect✓
Adoption
Dependent repos
Apache Airflow189
Prefect767
Github stars
Apache Airflow46,610
Prefect23,691
Package downloads weekly
Apache Airflow3,883,451
Prefect2,710,819
Activity
Commits last 30d
Apache Airflow100
Prefect100
Release
Cadence days
Apache Airflow13
Prefect1
History
Apache Airflow20 items
Prefect20 items
License
Spdx
Apache AirflowApache-2.0
PrefectApache-2.0
Language
Primary
Apache AirflowPython
PrefectPython
Market
Availability
Apache Airflow–
PrefectAvailable worldwide

Capabilities

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

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

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

Prefect

A workflow orchestration platform that enables teams to build resilient automated processes using Python, with features like automatic retries, state tracking, and run observability. Supports flexible deployment options ranging from managed cloud infrastructure to self-hosted environments on Kubernetes or user-provided compute.

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 ↗

Prefect

from $100/moSubscriptionFree tier

Free tier. Starter from $100/mo. Team at $100/user/mo. Enterprise custom pricing.

  • HobbyFree
    • workflow scheduling
    • workflow observability
    • logging & alerting
  • Starter$100/mo
    • bring your own compute
    • webhooks
    • API access
  • Team$100/user/mo
    • service accounts
    • audit logging
    • team collaboration
  • EnterpriseContact sales
    • SSO (SAML/OIDC)
    • RBAC with object-level ACLs
    • multiple workspaces
    • directory sync (SCIM)
    • IP allowlisting
    • +1 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✓
Prefect✓
Linux
Apache Airflow✓
Prefect✗
CLI
Apache Airflow✓
Prefect✓
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Apache Airflow✓
Prefect✓
Self-hosted
Apache Airflow✓
Prefect✓
On-premise
Apache Airflow✓
Prefect✗
Hybrid
Apache Airflow✓
Prefect✓

Integrations

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

In common (1)
  • OpenAI

Apache Airflow

50 total - 49 not shared
  • Amazon Web Services
  • Microsoft Azure
  • Google Cloud Platform
  • Databricks
  • Snowflake
  • dbt Cloud
  • Slack
  • Salesforce
  • Tableau
  • PostgreSQL
  • MySQL
  • MongoDB
  • Redis
  • Kubernetes
  • Docker
  • Apache Spark
  • Apache Kafka
  • Apache Cassandra
  • Apache Flink
  • Apache Druid
  • Elasticsearch
  • Datadog
  • Jenkins
  • GitHub
  • +25 more
Independently observed

Prefect

5 total - 4 not shared
  • Pydantic AI
  • AWS Secrets Manager
  • HashiCorp Vault
  • dbt
Independently observed

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