Apache Airflow
by Apache Software Foundation
Programmatic authoring, scheduling, and monitoring of data workflows Apache Airflow is an open-source workflow orchestration platform for programmatically authoring, scheduling, and monitoring data pipelines using Python DAGs (Directed Acyclic Graphs). Created at Airbnb in 2014 and now an Apache top-level project with 39,000+ GitHub stars, Airflow has over 1,000 community-maintained operators for integrating with AWS, GCP, Snowflake, PostgreSQL, and more.
Performance Scores
1 ranking evaluated
Score range: 8.2 – 8.2
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#3Best Process Orchestration Platforms 2026
Score: 8.2 · Best for: Data engineering teams needing DAG-based pipeline scheduling
Key Facts
| Attribute | Value | As of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current Version | Apache Airflow 2.9.x (as of Q1 2026) | Mar 2026 | Official Website |
| GitHub Stars | 37,000+ | Feb 2026 | GitHub |
| Origin | Created at Airbnb in 2014, Apache top-level project | Feb 2026 | Official Website |
| Contributors | 2,800+ contributors on GitHub | Mar 2026 | GitHub |
| Operators | 1,000+ community-maintained operators | Feb 2026 | Documentation |
| ASF Status | Apache Software Foundation Top-Level Project since January 2019 | Mar 2026 | Official Website |
| Managed Services | Cloud-managed options: Astronomer, AWS MWAA, Google Cloud Composer, Azure Data Factory Managed Airflow | Mar 2026 | Official Website |
| Built-in Operators | 80+ built-in operators covering databases, cloud services, and APIs | Mar 2026 | Documentation |
| Monthly Downloads | 10M+ PyPI downloads per month | Mar 2026 | PyPI Stats |
Strengths
- ●37K+ GitHub stars
- ●80+ operators
- ●Cloud-managed options (Astronomer, MWAA)
- ●Massive community
Limitations
- ●Python-only
- ●Scheduler bottleneck at scale
- ●Complex setup
- ●No native streaming
Based on evaluations in 1 ranking: Best Process Orchestration Platforms 2026
Pricing Plans
Open Source
Free and open-source, self-hosted only
- ✓Unlimited DAGs and task executions
- ✓Python-native pipeline authoring
- ✓Extensive operator and provider ecosystem
- ✓Built-in web UI for monitoring
- ✓Scheduling and dependency management
- ✓Community support via mailing list and GitHub
- !Self-hosted only
- !You manage infrastructure and upgrades
- !No commercial support
About Apache Airflow
Apache Airflow is an open-source workflow orchestration platform for programmatically authoring, scheduling, and monitoring data pipelines using Python DAGs (Directed Acyclic Graphs). Created at Airbnb in 2014 and now an Apache top-level project with 39,000+ GitHub stars, Airflow has over 1,000 community-maintained operators for integrating with AWS, GCP, Snowflake, PostgreSQL, and more. Managed services include Astronomer, Google Cloud Composer, and Amazon MWAA.
Integrations (8)
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Questions About Apache Airflow
Is Apify worth it in 2026?
Apify scores 7.5/10 in 2026. The platform offers 2,000+ pre-built web scrapers, serverless execution, and the open-source Crawlee framework. Costs scale quickly at high volumes, and building custom scrapers requires developer skills.
What are the best process orchestration platforms in 2026?
The best process orchestration platforms in 2026 are Camunda (8.8/10) for BPMN-native enterprise orchestration, Temporal (8.5/10) for durable execution with multi-language SDKs, and Apache Airflow (8.2/10) for DAG-based scheduling with the largest community. For simpler orchestration needs, n8n (7.5/10) provides a visual builder with optional code flexibility.
Is Temporal worth it for workflow orchestration in 2026?
Temporal scores 8.0/10 for workflow orchestration in 2026. The open-source platform provides durable execution guarantees — workflows survive process crashes, server restarts, and infrastructure failures without losing state. Temporal supports Go, Java, TypeScript, Python, and .NET SDKs. Used in production at Netflix, Stripe, Snap, and Datadog. Self-hosted is free; Temporal Cloud starts at $200/month. Main limitation: requires strong software engineering skills, not suitable for no-code or business user workflows.
Is Prefect worth it for data pipeline orchestration in 2026?
Prefect scores 7.5/10 for data pipeline orchestration in 2026. Positioned as a modern alternative to Apache Airflow, Prefect provides Python-native workflow orchestration with automatic retries, caching, concurrency controls, and a real-time monitoring dashboard. Prefect 2 (current) uses a hybrid execution model where the Prefect Cloud API coordinates workflows running on user-managed infrastructure. Free tier includes 3 workspaces; Pro starts at $500/month. Main limitation: Python-only, smaller community than Airflow, and the hybrid model adds architectural complexity.