Comparison

Apache NiFi vs Dagster

On the evidence we track, Dagster leads this comparison with a composite score of 70/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
Apache NiFi63
★Dagster70
Score
vioscaleAI score
Apache NiFi63 / 100low · 33%
Dagster70 / 100medium · 68%
Pricing
Free tier
Apache NiFi✓
Dagster✓
Model
Apache NiFiopen_source
Dagsterfreemium
Price level
Apache NiFifree
Dagsterlow
Starting price
Apache NiFi–
Dagster$10
Transparent
Apache NiFi✓
Dagster✓
Integrations
Count
Apache NiFi200
Dagster28
Security
Certifications
Apache NiFi–
Disclosure policy
Apache NiFi–
Dagster✓
Gdpr
Apache NiFi–
Dagster✓
Hipaa
Apache NiFi–
Dagster✓
Scorecard
Apache NiFi7
Dagster5.1
Soc2
Apache NiFi–
Dagster✓
Adoption
Dependent repos
Apache NiFi–
Dagster286
Github stars
Apache NiFi6,255
Dagster16,269
Package downloads weekly
Apache NiFi–
Dagster2,028,283
Activity
Commits last 30d
Apache NiFi99
Dagster100
Release
Cadence days
Apache NiFi40
Dagster7
History
Apache NiFi3 items
Dagster20 items
License
Spdx
Apache NiFiApache-2.0
DagsterApache-2.0
Language
Primary
Apache NiFiJava
DagsterPython
Content
Faq
Apache NiFi6 items
Dagster8 items

Capabilities

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

Core
Tool role
Apache NiFiOrchestrator
DagsterOrchestrator
Processing paradigm
Apache NiFiBatch + streaming
DagsterBatch
Connectivity
Connector count
Apache NiFi200+
Dagster28+
CDC / log-based replication
Apache NiFi✓
Dagster✗
Transformation
In-warehouse transformation (push-down)
Apache NiFi✗
Dagster✗
dbt-native orchestration
Apache NiFi-
Dagster✓
Deployment
Self-hosted / open-source available
Apache NiFi✓
Dagster✓
Managed cloud available
Apache NiFi-
Dagster✓
Governance
Data lineage / asset catalog
Apache NiFi✓
Dagster✓
Authoring
Python-first authoring
Apache NiFi-
Dagster✓
Execution
Incremental / partition-aware runs
Apache NiFi-
Dagster✓
Quality
Built-in data quality / tests
Apache NiFi✓
Dagster✓
Scale
Horizontal scale (distributed executor)
Apache NiFi✓
Dagster✓

What each one is

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

Apache NiFi

Apache NiFi is a data flow automation platform that enables users to build, manage, and operate data processing pipelines. It supports horizontal clustering, provides visual lineage tracking, and includes a wide variety of integrated connectors and processors for data movement and transformation.

Independently observed

Dagster

Leader

An orchestration and observability platform that models data assets, manages their dependencies, and integrates lineage tracking, quality monitoring, and data cataloging for managing pipelines from development to production.

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 NiFi

Open source
as of verify ↗

Dagster

Leader
from $10/moHybridFree tier30-day trial

From $10/month. Free 30-day trial. Subscription plus metered usage model.

  • Solo$10/month + $0.04/credit + $0.01/minute serverless compute
    • Core and asset-based orchestration
    • Local development (dg CLI)
    • Partitions and backfills
    • Branch deployments
    • Asset checks
    • +3 more
  • Starter$100/month + $0.035/credit
    • All Solo features
    • Workflow-based orchestration
    • Freshness policies
    • Data column lineage
    • BI tool integration
    • +5 more
  • ProContact sales
    • All Starter features
    • Custom serverless compute
    • Cost tracking and insights
    • Personalized onboarding support
    • Private Slack channel
    • +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 NiFi✓
Dagster✓
Windows
Apache NiFi✓
Dagster✗
Linux
Apache NiFi✓
Dagster✗
CLI
Apache NiFi✓
Dagster✓
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Apache NiFi✗
Dagster✓
Self-hosted
Apache NiFi✓
Dagster✓
On-premise
Apache NiFi✓
Dagster✓
Hybrid
Apache NiFi✗
Dagster✓

Integrations

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

In common (6)
  • Salesforce
  • Slack
  • SFTP
  • Snowflake
  • Azure
  • AWS

Apache NiFi

61 total - 55 not shared
  • Amazon S3
  • Amazon SQS
  • Amazon DynamoDB
  • Amazon Lambda
  • Amazon Kinesis
  • Amazon Polly
  • Amazon Transcribe
  • Amazon Translate
  • Amazon Textract
  • CloudWatch
  • Azure Blob Storage
  • Azure Data Lake Storage
  • Azure Event Hub
  • Azure Cosmos DB
  • Azure Data Explorer
  • Azure Queue Storage
  • Google Cloud Pub/Sub
  • Google BigQuery
  • Google Cloud Vision
  • Google Drive
  • Apache Kafka
  • Apache MQTT
  • Apache JMS
  • MongoDB
  • +31 more
Independently observed

Dagster

Leader
39 total - 33 not shared
  • dbt
  • Spark
  • Databricks
  • Airbyte
  • Tableau
  • Soda
  • Microsoft Teams
  • PagerDuty
  • Datadog
  • Python
  • dbt Cloud
  • Fivetran
  • AWS S3
  • AWS Redshift
  • AWS EMR
  • AWS Glue
  • AWS Athena
  • AWS CloudWatch
  • Looker
  • Power BI
  • Sigma
  • Clickhouse
  • Ray
  • lakeFS
  • +9 more
Independently observed
Still deciding?

Apache NiFi or Dagster: 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.