# Mage vs Prefect

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Prefect

| Attribute | Mage | Prefect |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 58.7 (74% (medium)) | 70 (76% (high)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | - | 98 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | - | 767 |
| adoption.github_stars | - | 23,966 |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | - | 2,710,819 |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"Automates the full lifecycle of data pipelines—from design and validation to execution and monitoring. Provides AI-assisted workflow generation and automatic recovery for reliable data delivery. It is indexed under Data Engineering Tools.","source":"https://www.mage.ai","question":"What is Mage?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Mage is a paid product; published pricing starts at $0.50. It is sold across 2 plans (Mage Cloud and Mage Pro). There is no free tier. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://www.mage.ai/pricing","question":"How much does Mage cost?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to Mage. That is the extent of what we could verify from public sources, so it may well offer desktop or mobile clients we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.mage.ai","question":"What platforms does Mage support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Mage can be deployed cloud / SaaS and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://www.mage.ai","question":"Can Mage be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 14 integrations for Mage, including Apache Spark, PySpark, Kafka, Stripe, Salesforce, BigQuery, AWS EMR and Kubernetes, plus 6 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.mage.ai","question":"What does Mage integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed SOC 2 and GDPR for Mage. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as Mage not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://www.mage.ai/stories/regulatory-compliance-reporting","question":"What security certifications does Mage have?","confidence":0.7}]` | `[{"answer":"A workflow orchestration platform where you define workflows as plain Python functions, and Prefect handles scheduling, retries, caching, and recovery automatically. You can run workflows on Prefect's managed cloud infrastructure or deploy workers to your own infrastructure. It is indexed under Data Engineering Tools.","source":"https://www.prefect.io/pricing","question":"What is Prefect?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Prefect 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 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.prefect.io/pricing","question":"Is Prefect free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Prefect supports the web and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://www.prefect.io/pricing","question":"What platforms does Prefect support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Prefect can be deployed cloud / SaaS, hybrid and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://www.prefect.io/pricing","question":"Can Prefect be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 12 integrations for Prefect, including Pydantic AI, OpenAI, AWS Secrets Manager, HashiCorp Vault, dbt, Slack, Snowflake and Redis, plus 4 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.prefect.io/pricing","question":"What does Prefect integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed SOC 2, HIPAA and GDPR for Prefect. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as Prefect not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://www.prefect.io/security","question":"What security certifications does Prefect have?","confidence":0.7},{"answer":"Yes. Prefect 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/PrefectHQ/prefect","question":"Is Prefect open source?","confidence":0.95}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true,"on_prem":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | A platform combining AI orchestration, data validation, and automated issue resolution to manage and optimize production data workflows. | A Python-native workflow automation platform that handles scheduling, retries, caching, and recovery for data pipelines and AI agent workflows, with both cloud-managed and self-hosted execution options. |
| features.capabilities | `{"cdc":true,"role":"orchestrator","lineage":true,"paradigm":"both","dbt_native":true,"data_quality":true,"elt_pushdown":true,"python_first":true,"managed_cloud":true,"connector_count":"12+","self_hosted_oss":true,"incremental_runs":false,"distributed_executor":true}` | `{"role":"orchestrator","lineage":true,"paradigm":"batch","dbt_native":true,"python_first":true,"managed_cloud":true,"connector_count":"Not specified","self_hosted_oss":true,"incremental_runs":true,"distributed_executor":true}` |
| integrations.count | 5 | 6 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Apache Spark"},{"name":"PySpark"},{"name":"Kafka"},{"name":"Stripe"},{"name":"Salesforce"},{"name":"BigQuery"},{"name":"AWS EMR"},{"name":"Kubernetes"},{"name":"EHR systems"},{"name":"Billing platforms"},{"name":"Lab systems"},{"name":"Clinical systems"},{"name":"MySQL"},{"name":"dbt","native":true,"category":"transformation"},{"name":"Slack","native":true,"category":"chat","direction":"outbound"}]` | `[{"name":"Pydantic AI"},{"name":"OpenAI"},{"name":"AWS Secrets Manager"},{"name":"HashiCorp Vault"},{"name":"dbt"},{"name":"Slack","native":true,"category":"chat"},{"name":"Snowflake","native":true},{"name":"Redis","native":true},{"name":"Kubernetes","native":true},{"name":"Amazon ECS","native":true},{"name":"Docker","native":true},{"name":"Google Cloud Run","native":true},{"name":"GitHub","native":true},{"name":"AWS","native":true}]` |
| language.primary | - | Python |
| license.spdx | - | Apache-2.0 |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"web":true}` | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"Starter","summary":"$29/month + $0.50 per CPU-hour. Includes 50 AI credits/month.","features":["Managed orchestration","Alerts","Monitoring"],"minSeats":1,"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":29,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"cpu-hour"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.5,"currency":"USD"}],"description":"For solo builders and small projects transitioning from open-source to managed services.","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"ai_credits":"50/month","developer_seats":"1"}},{"free":false,"name":"Team","summary":"$100/month. Includes 250 shared AI credits/month.","features":["Advanced controls","Lineage","Deployment workflows"],"minSeats":10,"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":100,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"For teams running production workflows with collaboration and AI-assisted operations.","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"ai_credits":"250/month","developer_seats":"10"}},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","summary":"Custom pricing. Annual contract.","commitment":"annual","contactSales":true}],"addOns":[{"name":"AI credits","components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"credit"},"kind":"per_unit","amount":0.12,"currency":"USD"}]}],"summary":"From $29/month (Starter). Free 7-day trial, no credit card required.","currency":"USD","freeTier":false,"sourceUrl":"https://www.mage.ai/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-10-07T15:25:20.415Z","freeTrialDays":7,"startingPrice":{"amount":29,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month","year"]}` | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Hobby","features":["Workflow scheduling","Up to 5 deployments","500 minutes of Prefect Serverless","Workflow observability","Logging & alerting","7 days run retention"],"minSeats":2,"description":"Deploy workflows instantly. Scale when ready.","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Starter","features":["All Hobby features","Up to 20 deployments","75 hours of Prefect Serverless","Bring your own compute","Webhooks","1,250 API requests/min"],"minSeats":3,"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":100,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Team","features":["All Starter features","Up to 100 deployments","225 hours of Prefect Serverless","Service accounts","24 hour audit log"],"minSeats":4,"contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","features":["All Team features","SSO (SAML/OIDC)","RBAC + ACLs","Multiple workspaces","Directory Sync (SCIM)","IP allowlisting & PrivateLink","Unlimited deployments"],"minSeats":5,"contactSales":true}],"summary":"Free Hobby tier. Starter from $100/month. Team per-user monthly pricing. Enterprise custom quote.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.prefect.io/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-10-05T11:05:17.530Z","startingPrice":{"amount":100,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month","year"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | no | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | mid | high |
| pricing.starting_price | `{"amount":29,"currency":"USD"}` | `{"amount":100,"currency":"USD"}` |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| release.cadence_days | - | 1 |
| release.history | - | `[{"url":"https://github.com/PrefectHQ/prefect/releases/tag/3.8.8.dev3","date":"2026-10-02T08:19:49Z","type":"prerelease","version":"3.8.8.dev3"},{"url":"https://github.com/PrefectHQ/prefect/releases/tag/3.8.8.dev2","date":"2026-10-01T08:21:27Z","type":"prerelease","version":"3.8.8.dev2"},{"url":"https://github.com/PrefectHQ/prefect/releases/tag/3.8.8.dev1","date":"2026-09-30T08:20:43Z","type":"prerelease","version":"3.8.8.dev1"},{"url":"https://github.com/PrefectHQ/prefect/releases/tag/3.8.7","date":"2026-09-26T23:41:44Z","type":"stable","version":"3.8.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/PrefectHQ/prefect/releases/tag/3.8.7.dev7","date":"2026-09-26T08:18:02Z","type":"prerelease","version":"3.8.7.dev7"},{"url":"https://github.com/PrefectHQ/prefect/releases/tag/3.8.7.dev6","date":"2026-09-23T08:19:42Z","type":"prerelease","version":"3.8.7.dev6"},{"url":"https://github.com/PrefectHQ/prefect/releases/tag/3.8.7.dev5","date":"2026-09-22T08:19:45Z","type":"prerelease","version":"3.8.7.dev5"},{"url":"https://github.com/PrefectHQ/prefect/releases/tag/3.8.7.dev4","date":"2026-09-19T08:16:49Z","type":"prerelease","version":"3.8.7.dev4"},{"url":"https://github.com/PrefectHQ/prefect/releases/tag/3.8.7.dev3","date":"2026-09-18T08:18:58Z","type":"prerelease","version":"3.8.7.dev3"},{"url":"https://github.com/PrefectHQ/prefect/releases/tag/3.8.7.dev2","date":"2026-09-16T08:19:54Z","type":"prerelease","version":"3.8.7.dev2"},{"url":"https://github.com/PrefectHQ/prefect/releases/tag/3.8.7.dev1","date":"2026-09-15T08:20:02Z","type":"prerelease","version":"3.8.7.dev1"},{"url":"https://github.com/PrefectHQ/prefect/releases/tag/3.8.6","date":"2026-09-14T14:18:53Z","type":"stable","version":"3.8.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/PrefectHQ/prefect/releases/tag/3.8.6.dev5","date":"2026-09-12T08:16:39Z","type":"prerelease","version":"3.8.6.dev5"},{"url":"https://github.com/PrefectHQ/prefect/releases/tag/3.8.6.dev4","date":"2026-09-11T08:19:03Z","type":"prerelease","version":"3.8.6.dev4"},{"url":"https://github.com/PrefectHQ/prefect/releases/tag/3.8.6.dev3","date":"2026-09-10T08:19:23Z","type":"prerelease","version":"3.8.6.dev3"},{"url":"https://github.com/PrefectHQ/prefect/releases/tag/3.8.6.dev2","date":"2026-09-09T08:19:24Z","type":"prerelease","version":"3.8.6.dev2"},{"url":"https://github.com/PrefectHQ/prefect/releases/tag/3.8.6.dev1","date":"2026-09-05T08:16:23Z","type":"prerelease","version":"3.8.6.dev1"},{"url":"https://github.com/PrefectHQ/prefect/releases/tag/3.8.5","date":"2026-09-03T21:25:46Z","type":"stable","version":"3.8.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/PrefectHQ/prefect/releases/tag/3.8.5.dev6","date":"2026-09-03T08:19:56Z","type":"prerelease","version":"3.8.5.dev6"},{"url":"https://github.com/PrefectHQ/prefect/releases/tag/2.20.26","date":"2026-09-02T18:17:41Z","type":"stable","version":"2.20.26"}]` |
| reliability.sla_pct | - | 99.9 |
| reliability.status_page | yes | yes |
| security.certifications | - | `[{"name":"SOC 2 Type II","status":"active"}]` |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | yes |
| security.gdpr | yes | yes |
| security.hipaa | - | yes |
| security.scorecard | - | 6.9 |
| security.soc2 | yes | yes |
| security.trust_center | - | https://www.prefect.io/security |
| security.vulnerabilities | - | `{"count":8,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=pypi&package_name=prefect&per_page=100","last_12m":6,"max_severity":"HIGH"}` |

## Capabilities (Data Engineering Tools)

| Capability | Mage | Prefect |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Tool role | Orchestrator | Orchestrator |
| Processing paradigm | Batch + streaming | Batch |
| **Connectivity** |  |  |
| Connector count | 12+ | Not specified |
| 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 2026-10-20T14:40:13.446Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*