Dagster vs Kestra (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Kestra grades higher than Dagster: 2.4 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Kestra grades higher on the free plan and features. They get the same grade on value for money, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Dagster
Asset-based data orchestration platform, now part of Prefect
Which one is for you
Pick Dagster if
- Fits if your team writes Python and thinks of pipelines as tables and files
- Works for data teams that want a hosted console but can self-host the core later
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you can't write Python, as pipelines are code
- Tight if you're not paying: no free hosted plan, only a 30-day trial
- Watch out: credits are charged per asset and per op on top of $10 or $100 a month
- Watch out: the site says Dagster is now part of Prefect, so plans and branding may change
Pick Kestra if
- Fits if you are an engineer who wants to own the orchestrator
- Works for data teams already using dbt, Spark or Kafka
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you do not write YAML or run servers
- Tight if you need SSO, roles, audit logs or multi-tenancy, as those are Enterprise
- Watch out: no Cloud or Enterprise price is published
- Watch out: you run and upgrade the platform yourself
How we grade them
| 2.0GPADagsterFair | 2.4GPAKestraFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CSolo is $10 a month and Starter $100, but every asset and op also costs a credit ($0.040 or $0.035), so the bill isn't just the headline. The category's middle is $19.99. | CThe open-source edition is $0 but needs your own servers, which is a C. Cloud and Enterprise prices are not published. |
| Free plan and trial | C30-day trial with everything on, and the core framework can be self-hosted for nothing. There's no free hosted plan, so after a month you pay or run it yourself. | BFree to self-host under Apache 2.0, with unlimited flows and executions. You pay for the server. |
| Features | COrchestration, catalog, data quality checks and cost insights. Cost tracking, project-level roles and several alert types are Pro only. | BDeclarative workflows, code and no-code editors, event-driven scheduling and over 2,600 plugins. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core work. |
| Ease of use | DNo store rating on record. You define pipelines as Python code and run or host a code location, which is a developer's setup, not a click-through one. | DFlows are YAML, and self-hosting means running and upgrading it yourself. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb console with integrations for dbt, Snowflake, Databricks, AWS and Airbyte. No desktop or phone apps. | BWeb interface with plugins for PostgreSQL, MySQL, Kafka, Terraform, dbt, Spark and Redis. No desktop or phone app. |
| Best for | Python data pipelines built around assets | workflows defined in YAML |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Dagster and Kestra. How we grade
Where they differ
- Dagster also covers dashboards.
At a glance
| Dagster | Kestra | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $10 per month plus $0.040 per credit (Solo) | Not published |
| Free plan | None | The open-source edition is free to self-host, with unlimited flows and executions. |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial with access to everything Dagster offers | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Prefect Technologies, Inc. | Kestra |
| Price read from | dagster.io | kestra.io |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Dagster
- Usage is billed in credits: one per asset materialized and one per op executed, on top of the monthly fee.
- There is no free hosted plan; the trial lasts 30 days, though the core framework can be self-hosted.
- Cost tracking, role scoping by project and several alert types are limited to the Pro plan.
- The site says Dagster is now part of Prefect, so plans and branding may change.
Kestra
- No Cloud or Enterprise price is published; Cloud is by access request and Enterprise by contact with sales.
- SSO, role-based access, audit logs and multi-tenancy are Enterprise Edition features.
- Workflows are defined in YAML, so it assumes engineering skills.
- Self-hosting means running and upgrading the platform yourself.
Key features
Dagster
- Asset-based orchestration
- Pipelines are modeled as assets with dependencies, alongside workflow-based orchestration for work that is not tied to a data asset.
- Data catalog and lineage
- Asset metadata, asset-level lineage and, on Starter and above, catalog search; column lineage is listed on the comparison table.
- Data quality checks
- Asset checks, freshness policies and dbt test integration surface the health of each asset.
- Insights and alerts
- Pipeline metrics with a 30-day lookback and alerts by email, Slack or Teams; cost tracking for BigQuery and Snowflake is a Pro feature.
- Hybrid or Serverless compute
- Run on Dagster Serverless, billed at $0.010 a minute, or on your own infrastructure in Hybrid mode with no compute charge from Dagster.
- Open-source core
- The core orchestration framework is open source on GitHub and can be self-hosted; Dagster+ adds branch deployments, RBAC and cost insights.
Kestra
- Declarative workflows
- Workflows, triggers and dependencies are written as YAML, versioned in Git and deployed through CI/CD.
- Code and no-code editors
- Flows can be written in code or built in a visual editor.
- Event-driven scheduling
- Flows run on schedules, on events or through the API, with retries, backfills and failure handling.
- 2,600+ plugins
- Plugins and scripts orchestrate SQL, Python, shell, APIs, Terraform, dbt and Spark in one workflow.
- AI features
- An MCP server for AI agents is in open source; an agentic AI copilot on any LLM is an Enterprise feature.
- Enterprise governance
- Enterprise adds SSO, LDAP and SCIM, role-based access, audit logs, multi-tenancy and secrets management.
Plans
Dagster
Solo$10
per month, plus $0.040 per credit
1 user, 1 code location and 1 deployment for personal projects. Serverless compute is $0.010 a minute.
Starter$100
per month, plus $0.035 per credit
Up to 3 users, 5 code locations, 1 deployment and catalog search. Serverless compute is $0.010 a minute.
ProCustom
Unlimited code locations and deployments, cost tracking and insights, uptime SLAs and a private Slack channel. Sold through sales.
Kestra
Open Source$0
Self-hosted under Apache 2.0. Unlimited flows and executions, queue on PostgreSQL or MySQL.
CloudCustom
Managed by Kestra with scaling and enterprise plugins; priced by usage, access by request.
Enterprise EditionCustom
Annual subscription per instance, with SSO, RBAC, audit logs, worker groups and SLA support.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Dagster or Kestra?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Dagster starts at $10 per month plus $0.040 per credit (Solo), and Kestra publishes no starting price.
Which has a free plan, Dagster or Kestra?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Kestra has a free plan. Dagster does not, though it has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.