Alternatives · Automation
Prefect alternatives
As of Nov 13, 2026, the highest-graded Prefect alternative is Windmill (2.6 GPA). It's also the best free one.
Prefect compared with 9 alternatives: Dagster, Apache Airflow, Kestra, Windmill, Astronomer and 4 more.
Prefect has a free plan. Paid plans start at $100 per month, billed monthly (Starter, 3 users). 7 of the 9 alternatives are free or have a free plan. 2 more offer a free trial.
Listings checked up to Nov 13, 2026 · Where the facts come from
Black Friday: is there a Prefect sale?
At a glance
| Tool | Price | Free plan | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|
| PrefectThis tool | Free plan · from $100/mo | Yes | Web |
| Dagster | Free trial · from $10/mo | Trial only | Web |
| Apache Airflow | Free | Free | Web |
| Kestra | Free plan | Yes | Web |
| Windmill | Free plan · from $10/mo | Yes | Web |
| Astronomer | Free trial · from $0.35 | Trial only | Web |
| Apache DolphinScheduler | Free | Free | Web |
| Argo Workflows | Free | Free | Web |
| Hatchet | Free plan · from $0 | Yes | Web |
| Restate | Free plan · from $75/mo | Yes | Web |
Price against what you get
Prefect starts at $100 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. None of the 6 alternatives on this chart both scores higher and starts lower.
Dagster, Apache Airflow, Windmill, Apache DolphinScheduler, Argo Workflows and Restate start lower without scoring higher.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
How each one differs from Prefect
Dagster
Asset-based data orchestration platform, now part of Prefect
- Dagster starts at $10 per month plus $0.040 per credit (Solo).
- Dagster has no free plan, only a free trial, unlike Prefect.
- Dagster also covers dashboards.
- Dagster does not cover AI agents, which Prefect does.
Suits: Data engineering teams that think in tables and models rather than tasks
Apache Airflow
Open-source platform for authoring and scheduling workflows in Python
- Apache Airflow is free.
- Apache Airflow does not cover AI agents, which Prefect does.
Suits: Python-literate data teams that want full control of their orchestrator
Kestra
Open-source workflow orchestration platform defined in YAML
- Kestra does not cover AI agents, which Prefect does.
Suits: Data and platform engineers who want workflows as code
Windmill
Open-source platform for scripts, workflows and internal apps
- Windmill starts at $10 per seat / month (Cloud Team); self-hosted Pro from $48 / month.
- Windmill also covers app builder.
Suits: Engineering teams that want internal tools and automations kept as code
Astronomer
Managed Apache Airflow platform (Astro) with usage-based pricing
- Astronomer starts at $0.35 per hour for a Developer deployment, plus worker hours billed separately.
- Astronomer has no free plan, only a free trial, unlike Prefect.
- Astronomer also covers dashboards.
Suits: Data teams that want Apache Airflow without running the scheduler themselves
Apache DolphinScheduler
Open-source workflow scheduler for data pipelines
- Apache DolphinScheduler is free.
- Apache DolphinScheduler also covers job scheduling.
- Apache DolphinScheduler does not cover AI agents, which Prefect does.
Suits: Data engineering teams running dependent batch pipelines
Argo Workflows
Open-source container-native workflow engine for Kubernetes
- Argo Workflows is free.
- Argo Workflows also covers job scheduling.
- Argo Workflows does not cover AI agents, which Prefect does.
Suits: Platform and data teams that already run Kubernetes
Hatchet
Open-source task queue and durable workflow engine
- Hatchet starts at $0, then $30 per million runs and $5 per million events.
- Hatchet also covers job scheduling.
Suits: Engineering teams replacing a queue like Celery with durable workflows
Restate
Durable execution runtime for backends and AI agents
- Restate starts at $75 per month for 5M actions.
Suits: Backend teams that need workflows and agents to survive crashes and restarts
Limits worth knowing in Prefect
- The Hobby plan stops at 2 users, 5 deployments and 7 days of run retention.
- Team starts at 4 users at $100 per user per month, so the cheapest Team bill is $400 a month.
- SSO, SCIM, object-level RBAC and an uptime SLA are Enterprise-only; Starter and Team have no SLA.
- The pricing page says it offers no free trial of paid plans; the Hobby plan serves that purpose.
Common questions
What are the alternatives to Prefect?
The alternatives to Prefect in this directory are Dagster, Apache Airflow, Kestra, Windmill, Astronomer, Apache DolphinScheduler, Argo Workflows, Hatchet and Restate. Each one has a side-by-side comparison with Prefect.
Is there a free alternative to Prefect?
Yes. Apache Airflow, Apache DolphinScheduler and Argo Workflows are free to use. Kestra, Windmill, Hatchet and Restate have a free plan alongside paid ones.
When were these prices checked?
Each listing shows its own date. On this page they run from Oct 6, 2026 to Nov 13, 2026. Vendors change prices without notice, so confirm on their site before you buy.
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