Event Driven Orchestration & Scheduling Platform for Mission Critical Applications
Workflows declared in YAML, with tasks in any language and event triggers.
- Language
- Java
- Licence
- Apache-2.0
- Stars
- 29k
- Latest
- v2.0.5
- Last push
- 2026-10-06
alternatives to
Apache Airflow
Apache Airflow - A platform to programmatically author, schedule, and monitor workflows
Side by side
| Tool | Fit | Stars | Licence | Terms | Self-hosted | Language | Latest | Last push |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kestra | Full replacement | 29k | Apache-2.0 | Open source | Yes | Java | v2.0.5 | 2026-10-06 |
| Prefect | Full replacement | 24k | Apache-2.0 | Open source | Yes | Python | 3.8.8 | 2026-10-06 |
| Argo Workflows | Full replacement | 17k | Apache-2.0 | Open source | Yes | Go | v4.1.4 | 2026-10-06 |
| Dagster | Full replacement | 16k | Apache-2.0 | Open source | Yes | Python | 1.13.25 | 2026-10-06 |
| Apache DolphinScheduler | Full replacement | 15k | Apache-2.0 | Open source | Yes | Java | 3.4.3 | 2026-10-06 |
| Luigi | Partial | 19k | Apache-2.0 | Open source | Yes | Python | v3.8.1 | 2026-10-06 |
| Windmill | Partial | 18k | Other | Open core | Yes | Rust | v1.825.0 | 2026-10-06 |
| Mage | Partial | 8.8k | Apache-2.0 | Open source | Yes | Python | 0.9.79 | 2026-10-05 |
| Flyte | Partial | 7.6k | Apache-2.0 | Open source | Yes | Go | v1.16.9 | 2026-10-06 |
| Dagu | Partial | 4.3k | GPL-3.0 | Open source | Yes | Go | v2.18.2 | 2026-10-06 |
| Maestro | Partial | 3.8k | Apache-2.0 | Open source | Yes | Java | none | 2026-09-30 |
Every alternative
11 alternatives
Prefect is a workflow orchestration framework for building resilient data pipelines in Python.
Workflows as plain Python functions with decorators, without DAG files.
- Language
- Python
- Licence
- Apache-2.0
- Stars
- 24k
- Latest
- 3.8.8
- Last push
- 2026-10-06
Workflow Engine for Kubernetes
Workflows declared as Kubernetes resources, each step a container, instead of Python DAGs.
- Language
- Go
- Licence
- Apache-2.0
- Stars
- 17k
- Latest
- v4.1.4
- Last push
- 2026-10-06
An orchestration platform for the development, production, and observation of data assets.
Orchestration around data assets, with lineage and a local UI.
- Language
- Python
- Licence
- Apache-2.0
- Stars
- 16k
- Latest
- 1.13.25
- Last push
- 2026-10-06
Apache DolphinScheduler is the modern data orchestration platform. Agile to create high performance workflow with low-code
Workflows drawn in a web UI or written with a Python SDK, with multi-tenant scheduling.
- Language
- Java
- Licence
- Apache-2.0
- Stars
- 15k
- Latest
- 3.4.3
- Last push
- 2026-10-06
Luigi is a Python module that helps you build complex pipelines of batch jobs. It handles dependency resolution, workflow management, visualization etc. It also comes with Hadoop support built in.
Pipelines of Python tasks with dependencies, started by cron rather than a scheduler of its own.
- Language
- Python
- Licence
- Apache-2.0
- Stars
- 19k
- Latest
- v3.8.1
- Last push
- 2026-10-06
Open-source developer platform to power your entire infra and turn scripts into webhooks, workflows and UIs. Fastest workflow engine (13x vs Airflow). Open-source alternative to Retool and Temporal.
Schedules and runs workflows written as code.
🧙 Build, run, and manage data pipelines for integrating and transforming data.
Pipelines built from Python, SQL and R blocks in a notebook-style editor, with scheduling.
- Language
- Python
- Licence
- Apache-2.0
- Stars
- 8.8k
- Latest
- 0.9.79
- Last push
- 2026-10-05
Type-safe, distributed orchestration of agents, ML pipelines, and real-time inference on your k8s — in pure Python with async/await, also other languages (rust, go and ts)
Typed, containerised Python workflows on Kubernetes, aimed at ML and data pipelines.
- Language
- Go
- Licence
- Apache-2.0
- Stars
- 7.6k
- Latest
- v1.16.9
- Last push
- 2026-10-06
Self-hostable workflow orchestrator for teams whose main work isn't orchestration. Declarative YAML over your scripts, SSH commands, containers, etc; keep workflows separate from business logic. One binary, no database, runs on limited H/W resources. Alternative to Airflow / Cron / Job Scheduler.
Workflows as YAML DAGs run from a single binary with a web UI, without a database.
Maestro: Netflix’s Workflow Orchestrator
Netflix's workflow orchestrator, with workflows in JSON, foreach loops and parameters set at run time.
- Language
- Java
- Licence
- Apache-2.0
- Stars
- 3.8k
- Last push
- 2026-09-30
Head to head
- Argo Workflows vs Dagster
- Argo Workflows vs Dagu
- Argo Workflows vs Apache DolphinScheduler
- Argo Workflows vs Flyte
- Argo Workflows vs Kestra
- Argo Workflows vs Luigi
- Argo Workflows vs Maestro
- Argo Workflows vs Mage
- Argo Workflows vs Prefect
- Argo Workflows vs Windmill
- Dagster vs Dagu
- Dagster vs Apache DolphinScheduler
- Dagster vs Flyte
- Dagster vs Kestra
- Dagster vs Luigi
- Dagster vs Maestro
- Dagster vs Mage
- Dagster vs Prefect
- Dagster vs Windmill
- Dagu vs Apache DolphinScheduler
- Dagu vs Flyte
- Dagu vs Kestra
- Dagu vs Luigi
- Dagu vs Maestro
- Dagu vs Mage
- Dagu vs Prefect
- Dagu vs Windmill
- Apache DolphinScheduler vs Flyte
- Apache DolphinScheduler vs Kestra
- Apache DolphinScheduler vs Luigi
- Apache DolphinScheduler vs Maestro
- Apache DolphinScheduler vs Mage
- Apache DolphinScheduler vs Prefect
- Apache DolphinScheduler vs Windmill
- Flyte vs Kestra
- Flyte vs Luigi
- Flyte vs Maestro
- Flyte vs Mage
- Flyte vs Prefect
- Flyte vs Windmill
- Kestra vs Luigi
- Kestra vs Maestro
- Kestra vs Mage
- Kestra vs Prefect
- Kestra vs Windmill
- Luigi vs Maestro
- Luigi vs Mage
- Luigi vs Prefect
- Luigi vs Windmill
- Maestro vs Mage
- Maestro vs Prefect
- Maestro vs Windmill
- Mage vs Prefect
- Mage vs Windmill
- Prefect vs Windmill
About Apache Airflow
- Language
- Python
- Licence
- Apache-2.0
- Stars
- 47k
- Last push
- 2026-10-06