# Airbyte vs Apache Spark

| Attribute | Airbyte | Apache Spark |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 65.3 (76% (high)) | 60.5 (38% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 100 | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 7 | 8,896 |
| adoption.github_stars | 21,957 | 43,882 |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | 269,893 | - |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"on_prem":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | Infrastructure that connects your business systems, pre-indexes and unifies their data, and serves it to AI agents through a managed context layer. Supports both real-time queries and pre-materialized context, with built-in OAuth, connector management, and data activation to operational tools. | Apache Spark is an open-source, multi-language distributed computing engine that unifies data engineering, data science, and machine learning workloads. It processes data at scale using batch or streaming paradigms, provides SQL query capabilities for analytics, and includes built-in libraries for machine learning and graph processing. |
| features.capabilities | `{"paradigm":"both","python_first":true,"managed_cloud":true,"connector_count":"50+","self_hosted_oss":true,"incremental_runs":true}` | `{"role":"engine","paradigm":"both","self_hosted_oss":true,"distributed_executor":true}` |
| integrations.count | 50 | 5 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Salesforce"},{"name":"Zendesk"},{"name":"Stripe"},{"name":"HubSpot"},{"name":"Gong"},{"name":"Linear"},{"name":"ActiveCampaign"},{"name":"Azure Blob Storage"},{"name":"BigQuery"},{"name":"Facebook Marketing"},{"name":"GitHub"},{"name":"GitLab"},{"name":"Google Analytics"},{"name":"Google Drive"}]` | `[{"name":"Hadoop"},{"name":"HDFS"},{"name":"YARN"},{"name":"Kubernetes"},{"name":"Docker"}]` |
| language.primary | Python | Scala |
| license.spdx | - | Apache-2.0 |
| market.availability | `{"hqCountry":"US","primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` | `{"cli":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"hybrid","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Free (Agents)","summary":"Free","features":["Single user","API and MCP access","Context Store refreshes daily (hourly for first 14 days)","Community and AI support","No overage available"],"minSeats":1,"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":0,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Get started for free before picking a plan","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"agent_operations":"1000/mo"}},{"free":false,"name":"Individual (Agents)","summary":"$29/month","features":["Single user","API and MCP access","Context Store with hourly refresh","Standard and AI support","Overage AOs available"],"minSeats":1,"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":29,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"AO"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.004,"currency":"USD"}],"description":"For personal use and small scale workflows","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"agent_operations":"5000/mo"}},{"free":false,"name":"Team (Agents)","summary":"$299/month","features":["Everything in Individual","Parallel workflow execution","Multiple users and workspaces","Standard and AI support","Overage AOs available"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":299,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"AO"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.005,"currency":"USD"}],"description":"For teams building agents in production","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"agent_operations":"10000/mo"}},{"free":false,"name":"Custom (Agents)","summary":"Custom pricing","features":["Everything in Team","Custom AO limits","Custom Context Store refresh frequency","Dedicated Solutions Architect","Dedicated support with SLA"],"description":"For companies with enterprise needs","contactSales":true},{"free":true,"name":"Core (Data Replication)","summary":"Free (self-managed)","features":["Self-managed","Open source","Always free"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":0,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"For data engineering orgs comfortable running open source entirely on their own","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Standard (Data Replication)","summary":"Starting at $10/month","features":["Fully managed cloud hosting","Volume-based pricing","Quick deployment"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":10,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"For practitioners looking for fully managed software with volume-based pricing","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Pro (Data Replication)","summary":"Capacity-based pricing (talk to sales)","features":["Fully managed cloud hosting","Capacity-based pricing","Multiple Workspaces","SSO and RBAC","Premium Support","15-minute syncs","Custom mappings"],"description":"For organizations needing scalability, governance, and security","contactSales":true},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise Flex (Data Replication)","summary":"Custom pricing (talk to sales)","features":["Sovereign data movement inside your boundary","On-premises and multi-region options","Hybrid deployment with Airbyte managed control plane","All Pro features","Premium support"],"description":"For enterprises in regulated industries requiring full control of sovereign data","contactSales":true}],"summary":"Free tier available. Agent pricing from $29/month to $299/month. Data Replication from $10/month to enterprise custom pricing.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://airbyte.com","retrievedAt":"2026-08-05T14:24:37.249Z","startingPrice":{"amount":0.004,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month"]}` | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://spark.apache.org","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T13:48:09.654Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | low | free |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| release.cadence_days | 7 | - |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/airbytehq/airbyte/releases/tag/v2.0.0","date":"2025-10-15T21:21:41Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/airbytehq/airbyte/releases/tag/v1.8.0","date":"2025-08-14T17:41:49Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.8.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/airbytehq/airbyte/releases/tag/v1.7.0","date":"2025-06-17T22:23:06Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.7.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/airbytehq/airbyte/releases/tag/v1.6.0","date":"2025-04-11T20:12:56Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.6.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/airbytehq/airbyte/releases/tag/v1.5.0","date":"2025-02-21T00:24:02Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.5.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/airbytehq/airbyte/releases/tag/v1.4.0","date":"2025-01-17T22:40:22Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.4.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/airbytehq/airbyte/releases/tag/v1.3.0","date":"2024-12-09T22:12:48Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/airbytehq/airbyte/releases/tag/v1.2.0","date":"2024-11-07T16:53:11Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/airbytehq/airbyte/releases/tag/v1.1.0","date":"2024-10-03T18:26:45Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/airbytehq/airbyte/releases/tag/v1.0.0","date":"2024-09-24T13:04:18Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/airbytehq/airbyte/releases/tag/v0.64.7","date":"2024-09-18T14:26:43Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.64.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/airbytehq/airbyte/releases/tag/v0.64.6","date":"2024-09-17T20:24:16Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.64.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/airbytehq/airbyte/releases/tag/v0.64.5","date":"2024-09-17T17:59:02Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.64.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/airbytehq/airbyte/releases/tag/v0.64.4","date":"2024-09-13T18:06:35Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.64.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/airbytehq/airbyte/releases/tag/v0.64.3","date":"2024-09-06T18:23:44Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.64.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/airbytehq/airbyte/releases/tag/v0.64.2","date":"2024-09-04T23:54:59Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.64.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/airbytehq/airbyte/releases/tag/v0.64.1","date":"2024-08-30T21:28:25Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.64.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/airbytehq/airbyte/releases/tag/v0.64.0","date":"2024-08-27T20:47:28Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.64.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/airbytehq/airbyte/releases/tag/v0.63.20","date":"2024-08-27T20:19:13Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.63.20"},{"url":"https://github.com/airbytehq/airbyte/releases/tag/v0.63.19","date":"2024-08-20T18:17:00Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.63.19"}]` | - |
| reliability.status_page | yes | - |
| security.disclosure_policy | - | yes |
| security.gdpr | yes | - |
| security.iso27001 | yes | - |
| security.scorecard | 4.3 | 5.6 |
| security.soc2 | yes | - |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=pypi&package_name=airbyte-source-typeform&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | `{"count":7,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=maven&package_name=org.apache.spark%3Aspark-core_2.10&per_page=100","last_12m":1,"max_severity":"CRITICAL"}` |

## Capabilities (Data Engineering Tools)

| Capability | Airbyte | Apache Spark |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Tool role | - | Processing engine |
| Processing paradigm | Batch + streaming | Batch + streaming |
| **Connectivity** |  |  |
| Connector count | 50+ | - |
| 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: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T17:26:15.645Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*