Dagster vs Prefect (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Prefect grades higher than Dagster: 2.4 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Prefect 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
Prefect
Python workflow orchestration with an open-source core and a cloud
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 Prefect if
- Fits if you write Python and want scheduling, retries and run history
- Makes sense if you want an open-source core you can self-host
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you don't write code, as workflows are Python functions
- Tight if you grow past Hobby: 2 users, 5 deployments and 7 days of run history
- Pricey if you need Team: it starts at 4 users at $100 each, so $400 a month
- Watch out: SSO, SCIM, RBAC and an uptime SLA are Enterprise only
- Watch out: there is no free trial of paid plans, the Hobby plan stands in for it
How we grade them
| 2.0GPADagsterFair | 2.4GPAPrefectFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 version is free to host yourself, which needs a server. Paid Cloud starts at $100 a month for 3 users, against a $19.99 middle for automation tools. |
| 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. | BA free Hobby plan: 2 users, 5 deployments, 500 minutes a month of serverless compute and 7 days of run retention. One person can live on that. |
| Features | COrchestration, catalog, data quality checks and cost insights. Cost tracking, project-level roles and several alert types are Pro only. | BFlows, scheduling, remote runs, managed compute, alerting and automations. SSO, SCIM and an SLA are Enterprise only, which the listing treats as plan gating. |
| 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. | DNo store rating on record. You write Python and set up work pools, or self-host the server. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb console with integrations for dbt, Snowflake, Databricks, AWS and Airbyte. No desktop or phone apps. | BWeb, an API and integrations with AWS, Databricks, dbt, Docker, Kubernetes, Slack, Snowflake and GitHub. No desktop or phone app. |
| Best for | Python data pipelines built around assets | Python teams scheduling and tracking workflows |
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 Prefect. How we grade
Price against what you get
Dagster starts at $10 a month and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Prefect starts at $100 a month and scores 2.3.
Prefect scores higher, and starts $90 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other automation tools on the chart, 10 score higher than Dagster for less, and 18 score higher than Prefect for less.
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
Where they differ
- Dagster also covers dashboards.
- Prefect also covers AI agents.
At a glance
| Dagster | Prefect | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $10 per month plus $0.040 per credit (Solo) | $100 per month, billed monthly (Starter, 3 users) |
| Free plan | None | Hobby plan: 2 users, up to 5 deployments, 500 minutes a month of Prefect Serverless and 7 days of run retention. |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial with access to everything Dagster offers | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Prefect Technologies, Inc. | Prefect Technologies, Inc. |
| Price read from | dagster.io | prefect.io |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 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.
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.
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.
Prefect
- Flows from plain Python
- Adding a decorator to a Python function makes it a flow with retries, state tracking and artifacts, without a separate DAG definition language.
- Scheduling and deployments
- Flows are packaged as deployments that can be scheduled, triggered by webhooks or events, and run remotely on work pools you configure.
- Prefect Serverless
- Managed compute run by Prefect, so flows can run without hosting your own infrastructure. Each paid plan includes a monthly allowance of it.
- Observability and automations
- Run logs, alerting and event-driven automations that send notifications or trigger runs when something in a workflow changes state.
- Open-source core
- The orchestration framework is open source and can be self-hosted; Prefect Cloud is the hosted version with more governance and scale features.
- Security and compliance
- Prefect states SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA and GDPR alignment, with hybrid and VPC deployment options on higher plans.
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.
Prefect
Hobby$0
2 users, 5 deployments, 500 min/mo of Prefect Serverless, logging and alerting, 7-day run retention.
Starter$100
per month for up to 3 users, billed monthly
20 deployments, 75 hours/mo of Prefect Serverless, bring your own compute, webhooks and 1,250 API requests/min.
Team$100
per user / month, for 4 to 8 users, billed monthly
100 deployments, 225 hours/mo of Prefect Serverless, service accounts, 24-hour audit log, email support.
EnterpriseCustom
SSO (SAML/OIDC), RBAC and ACLs, SCIM, multiple workspaces, unlimited deployments and a 99.9% uptime SLA. Annual billing; sold through sales.
Ways to pay less
Dagster
No public discounts listed.
Prefect
- Startups
Prefect Startup Program
The pricing page says eligible startups get credits toward the Team plan through the Prefect Startup Program; qualification is by application.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Dagster or Prefect?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Dagster is cheaper to start with: $10 a month, against $100 a month for Prefect. Dagster starts at $10 per month plus $0.040 per credit (Solo), and Prefect starts at $100 per month, billed monthly (Starter, 3 users).
Which has a free plan, Dagster or Prefect?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Prefect 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.