# Apache Airflow vs dbt Core

**Leader by Vioscale score:** Apache Airflow

| Attribute | Apache Airflow | dbt Core |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 73 (66% (medium)) | 64.9 (77% (high)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 100 | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 189 | 553 |
| adoption.github_stars | 46,610 | 13,694 |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | 3,883,451 | 21,005,917 |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true,"on_prem":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | 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. | 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. |
| features.capabilities | `{"role":"orchestrator","lineage":true,"paradigm":"batch","dbt_native":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}` |
| integrations.count | 100 | 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":"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,"web":true,"linux":true}` | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"web":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","summary":"Free, open-source project. Managed cloud versions available through third parties.","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://airflow.apache.org","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T15:28:12.780Z"}` | `{"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 | 13 | 2 |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/apache/airflow/releases/tag/3.3.1","date":"2026-08-12T09:50:17Z","type":"stable","version":"3.3.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/airflow/releases/tag/java-sdk/1.0.0-beta1","date":"2026-07-13T18:14:58Z","type":"prerelease","version":"java-sdk/1.0.0-beta1"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/airflow/releases/tag/3.3.0","date":"2026-07-06T15:16:00Z","type":"stable","version":"3.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/airflow/releases/tag/helm-chart/1.22.0","date":"2026-06-13T23:37:21Z","type":"stable","version":"helm-chart/1.22.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/airflow/releases/tag/airflow-ctl/0.1.5","date":"2026-06-03T20:29:33Z","type":"stable","version":"airflow-ctl/0.1.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/airflow/releases/tag/3.2.2","date":"2026-05-29T06:27:24Z","type":"stable","version":"3.2.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/airflow/releases/tag/helm-chart/1.21.0","date":"2026-04-24T20:54:43Z","type":"stable","version":"helm-chart/1.21.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/airflow/releases/tag/3.2.1","date":"2026-04-22T09:27:57Z","type":"stable","version":"3.2.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/airflow/releases/tag/3.2.0","date":"2026-04-07T14:51:49Z","type":"stable","version":"3.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/airflow/releases/tag/helm-chart/1.20.0","date":"2026-03-22T22:34:36Z","type":"stable","version":"helm-chart/1.20.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/airflow/releases/tag/airflow-ctl/0.1.3","date":"2026-03-19T10:35:06Z","type":"stable","version":"airflow-ctl/0.1.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/airflow/releases/tag/3.1.8","date":"2026-03-11T22:16:16Z","type":"stable","version":"3.1.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/airflow/releases/tag/airflow-ctl/0.1.2","date":"2026-02-25T21:45:45Z","type":"stable","version":"airflow-ctl/0.1.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/airflow/releases/tag/helm-chart/1.19.0","date":"2026-02-17T19:54:34Z","type":"stable","version":"helm-chart/1.19.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/airflow/releases/tag/3.1.7","date":"2026-02-04T12:20:25Z","type":"stable","version":"3.1.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/airflow/releases/tag/3.1.6","date":"2026-01-13T11:08:29Z","type":"stable","version":"3.1.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/airflow/releases/tag/airflow-ctl/0.1.1","date":"2026-01-13T21:57:27Z","type":"stable","version":"airflow-ctl/0.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/airflow/releases/tag/3.1.5","date":"2025-12-10T09:11:07Z","type":"stable","version":"3.1.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/airflow/releases/tag/3.1.3","date":"2025-11-14T14:47:34Z","type":"stable","version":"3.1.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/airflow/releases/tag/3.1.2","date":"2025-11-05T16:03:57Z","type":"stable","version":"3.1.2"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v1.12.3","date":"2026-08-21T00:28:55Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.12.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v1.11.14","date":"2026-08-20T15:48:47Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.11.14"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v2.0.0-beta.2","date":"2026-08-18T18:00:10Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.0.0-beta.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v1.8.10","date":"2026-08-14T06:08:39Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.8.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v1.7.20","date":"2026-08-14T06:51:29Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.7.20"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v1.6.19","date":"2026-08-14T08:06:53Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.6.19"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v1.5.12","date":"2026-08-14T08:46:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.5.12"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v1.4.10","date":"2026-08-14T10:47:20Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.4.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v1.3.8","date":"2026-08-14T13:11:35Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.3.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v1.2.7","date":"2026-08-14T13:54:14Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.2.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v1.1.6","date":"2026-08-14T13:48:20Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.1.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v1.9.11","date":"2026-08-13T20:13:01Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.9.11"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v1.12.2","date":"2026-08-12T19:27:40Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.12.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v1.12.1","date":"2026-08-12T10:43:22Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.12.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v1.11.13","date":"2026-08-12T15:48:56Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.11.13"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v1.10.23","date":"2026-08-12T16:28:10Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.10.23"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v2.0.0-beta.1","date":"2026-08-10T15:35:44Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.0.0-beta.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v2.0.0-alpha.5","date":"2026-07-20T10:03:00Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.0.0-alpha.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v1.12.0","date":"2026-07-16T13:56:39Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.12.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v1.12.0rc3","date":"2026-07-14T22:48:06Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.12.0rc3"}]` |
| 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: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T17:33:35.936Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*