The Astronomer Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Astronomer in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Astronomer
The Insider’s Guide
Managed Apache Airflow platform (Astro) with usage-based pricing
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among automation tools, read from Astronomer’s own pages.
Made by Astronomer · checked Nov 13, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Astronomer’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Astronomer’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Nov 13, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
1.8
GPA, above 10 of the 134 other automation tools we grade
Astronomer sells Astro, a fully managed platform for running Apache Airflow pipelines, and Astro Private Cloud for running it in your own environment. Pricing is metered by deployment size and worker hours rather than per seat, with higher plans adding observability, audit logging, SSO and support SLAs.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Astronomer, taken from its own pages and our grades.
You still write Airflow pipelines in Python and set up deployments.
- 1
Best for managed Airflow without running the servers
Astronomer's Astro is hosted Apache Airflow billed by the hour per deployment.
- 2
What it costs
Paid plans start at $0.35 per hour for a Developer deployment, plus worker hours billed separately.
- 3
You can try it first
14-day free trial, no credit card required
- 4
It runs on Web
Web.
- 5
Managed Airflow deployments
Each deployment includes the scheduler, webserver and triggerer, sized to the Dag volume and billed at a fixed hourly rate by size.
- 6
Workers that scale to zero
Workers run individual Airflow tasks in seven sizes (A5 to A160) from $0.13 an hour and scale down when idle.
- 7
Astro Observe
Cost and performance metrics, root-cause analysis and lineage for Airflow pipelines, priced as a percentage of compute costs.
- 8
A 1.8 GPA, above 10 of 134
That is against the other automation tools we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 9
Keep it
To replace Astronomer you would be making connections to other products, each kept working as those products change. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
Astronomer at a glance
- Pricing
- Free trial, from $0.35 per hour for a Developer deployment, plus worker hours billed separately
- Free plan
- No
- Free trial
- 14-day free trial, no credit card required
- Runs on
- Web
- Made by
- Astronomer
- Category
- Automation
- Our grade
- 1.8 GPA, weak
The report card
Best for managed Airflow without running the servers
Astronomer's Astro is hosted Apache Airflow billed by the hour per deployment. A 14-day trial needs no card, but deployments, workers, clusters and add-ons are each billed separately, so you can't know the month's total in advance, and the top plans are quote only.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D | $0.35 an hour for a Developer deployment is about $255 a month if it runs all month, before worker hours. The category's dearest tenth starts at $165. |
| Free plan and trial | C | 14-day trial with no card. There's no free plan after that. |
| Features | C | Hosted Airflow with deployments, observability and enterprise tiers. Business and above are quote only, and Astro Private Cloud has no published price. |
| Ease of use | D | No store rating on record. You still write Airflow pipelines in Python and set up deployments. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | Web console on AWS, Azure and Google Cloud, with Snowflake in the mix. No desktop or phone apps. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Astronomer is for
- Fits if you already write Airflow DAGs and don't want to run the servers
- Works for teams that want a trial with no card before committing
Who it is not for
- Pricey if you leave a deployment running all month, at $0.35 an hour before workers
- Skip it if you want a fixed monthly price, because workers, clusters and add-ons bill separately
- Tight if you're staying free, as there's only a 14-day trial
- Watch out: Business and above show a quote only, and cloud networking costs are passed through
Good to know
Good for
- Data teams that want Apache Airflow without running the scheduler themselves
- Teams that prefer paying for compute used rather than per seat
- Companies buying through AWS, Azure or Google Cloud marketplace commitments
Worth knowing
- Deployments, workers, dedicated clusters, Observe and Otto are each billed separately, so the monthly total depends on usage.
- Prices shown are the monthly-billing view; Business and above show only a quote on the annual view.
- Networking costs are passed through from the cloud provider.
- Astro Private Cloud has no published price.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$0.35
To start
Astronomer is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $0.35 per hour for a Developer deployment, plus worker hours billed separately.
Developer
$0.35
per hour per deployment, billed monthly
For building and testing pipelines: scale-to-zero compute, hibernating deployments, API access and rollbacks.
Team
$0.42
per hour per deployment, billed monthly
Adds observability and data quality, dedicated clusters, high availability, 7-day audit logs and 24x5 support.
Business
Custom
Annual quote. Adds SSO enforcement, CI/CD enforcement, 90-day audit logs and 24x7 support with a 1-hour SLA.
Enterprise
Custom
Annual quote. Adds remote execution agents, custom RBAC, SCIM, IP access lists and organization dashboards.
Enterprise Business Critical
Custom
Annual quote. Adds cross-region disaster recovery and 24x7 support with a 30-minute SLA.
Trying it first
14-day free trial, no credit card required
Read from astronomer.io on Nov 13, 2026.
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
1
Place it runs: Web
Managed Apache Airflow platform (Astro) with usage-based pricing. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: public API, AI features, workflow automation, AI agents, dashboards.
Hosted Airflow with deployments, observability and enterprise tiers.
- Managed Airflow deployments
- Each deployment includes the scheduler, webserver and triggerer, sized to the Dag volume and billed at a fixed hourly rate by size.
- Workers that scale to zero
- Workers run individual Airflow tasks in seven sizes (A5 to A160) from $0.13 an hour and scale down when idle.
- Astro Observe
- Cost and performance metrics, root-cause analysis and lineage for Airflow pipelines, priced as a percentage of compute costs.
- Otto data engineering agent
- An agent for Airflow and Astro work, charged with an intelligence fee from $1.25 per million tokens plus model provider costs.
- Dedicated clusters and networking
- Standard multi-tenant clusters are included at no cost; dedicated single-tenant clusters start at $2.40 an hour.
- Private Cloud option
- Astro Private Cloud runs Airflow in your own environment, with multi-cluster management and air-gapped deployment support.
Where it runs
- Web
What it works with
- Apache Airflow
- Snowflake
- AWS
- Microsoft Azure
- Google Cloud
Astronomer is made by Astronomer.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
10/134
Other automation tools it is graded above
Astronomer's GPA of 1.8 is higher than 10 of the 134 other automation tools we grade, and level with 15.
It stands best on platforms and integrations (B, above 39 of 134) and worst on value for money (D, above 0).
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 135 automation tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Astronomer’s own letter is outlined.
- DValue for moneyAbove 0 of 134
- CFree plan and trialAbove 38 of 134
- CFeaturesAbove 2 of 134
- DEase of useAbove 0 of 134
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 39 of 134
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
To replace Astronomer you would be making connections to other products, each kept working as those products change. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 109 of the 134 other automation tools grade higher.
What you could not
- Connections to other products, each kept working as those products change.
- An AI agent, with the models and the safeguards behind it.
- Connections that pull numbers from dozens of other services.
- What a company asks for before it lets staff use something: single sign-on.
What this rests on. Astronomer’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
Apache Airflow, Prefect, Dagster, Kestra and Windmill
The 5 tools Astronomer is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.4GPA
Apache Airflow
Free
Open-source platform for authoring and scheduling workflows in Python.
- Apache Airflow has a free plan. Astronomer does not, though it has a free trial.
- Apache Airflow is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Astronomer also covers AI agents and dashboards.
- 2.4GPA
Prefect
Free plan · from $100/mo
Python workflow orchestration with an open-source core and a cloud.
- Prefect has a free plan. Astronomer does not, though it has a free trial.
- Prefect is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Astronomer also covers dashboards.
- 2.0GPA
Dagster
Free trial · from $10/mo
Asset-based data orchestration platform, now part of Prefect.
- Dagster is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Astronomer also covers AI agents.
- 2.4GPA
Kestra
Free plan
Open-source workflow orchestration platform defined in YAML.
- Kestra has a free plan. Astronomer does not, though it has a free trial.
- Kestra is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Astronomer also covers AI agents and dashboards.
- 2.6GPA
Windmill
Free plan · from $10/mo
Open-source platform for scripts, workflows and internal apps.
- Windmill has a free plan. Astronomer does not, though it has a free trial.
- Windmill is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Astronomer also covers dashboards.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
12
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Astronomer free?
No, Astronomer is a paid product, but you can try it first. 14-day free trial, no credit card required.
How much does Astronomer cost?
Astronomer lists 5 plans. Developer: $0.35 per hour per deployment, billed monthly.
What platforms does Astronomer work on?
Astronomer is available on Web.
Does Astronomer have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Astronomer is listed for Web.
Does Astronomer have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Astronomer is listed for Web.
Is Astronomer open source?
Astronomer is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 13, 2026.
Does Astronomer have an API?
Yes. Astronomer offers a public API, according to its own site.
What does Astronomer integrate with?
Astronomer's listing names Apache Airflow, Snowflake, AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.
Who makes Astronomer?
Astronomer is made by a company of the same name.
What are the alternatives to Astronomer?
The closest alternatives to Astronomer in our directory are Apache Airflow, Prefect, Dagster, Kestra and Windmill.
How does Astronomer compare with other automation tools?
Astronomer's GPA of 1.8 is higher than 10 of the 134 other automation tools we grade, and level with 15.
Could I make my own version of Astronomer?
To replace Astronomer you would be making connections to other products, each kept working as those products change.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Astronomer’s own pages on Nov 13, 2026, and the grades were given on Nov 13, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Astronomer's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Astronomer. Prices change, so check astronomer.io before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
7,721
Tools graded, in 95 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
7,721
tools graded
95
categories
739
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Astronomer, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/astronomer
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Astronomer: The Insider's Guide", checked Nov 13, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/astronomer
Know someone choosing between automation tools?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/astronomer/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded automation tools after Astronomer, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Automation Insider's GuideEvery one of the 135 automation tools we grade, compared
- Knime Insider's GuideOpen-source visual workflows for data analysis and automation3.2 GPA
- IFTTT Insider's GuideSimple trigger-and-action automations for apps and smart devices3.0 GPA
- Node-RED Insider's GuideOpen-source, flow-based programming tool for event-driven apps3.0 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Astronomer’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Astronomer is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Astronomer. Prices and plans change: check astronomer.io before you buy.