Prefect

A workflow orchestration tool for scheduling, retrying and observing Python data and ML pipelines.

FreemiumOpen sourceWebSelf-hostedCommand line
Official websiteprefect.ioDocumentationdocs.prefect.io

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About Prefect

Prefect turns ordinary Python functions into flows and tasks using decorators, adding retries, scheduling and run tracking. A dashboard shows deployments, run history, success rates and task timelines.

The core is open source and can be run on your own infrastructure, while the company also offers a hosted platform with a free starting tier and enterprise plans. It suits data and ML engineers who want to replace fragile cron jobs with observable pipelines.

Strengths

  • Plain Python decorators define flows and tasks
  • Built-in retries and scheduling
  • Dashboard with run history and task timelines

Limitations

  • Aimed at Python users
  • Some features belong to the paid hosted platform

Details

Pricing
FreemiumOpen source core is free; the hosted platform has a free start and paid plans.
License
Apache-2.0
Developer
Prefect
Platforms
Web, Self-hosted, Command line
How it runs
Self-hosted, Hosted service
Best suited for
Data and ML engineers orchestrating Python pipelines
Last verified
Added
Provenance
Facts checked against the developer's own pages and store listings, 1 sources on file.

Alternatives to Prefect

Compare all

Software that can replace Prefect for an important use case, and what changes if you switch.

  • Apache Airflow

    A self-hosted platform for writing, scheduling and monitoring workflows defined as Python code.

    FreeOpen sourceWebSelf-hosted

    Apache Airflow is a fully open-source, self-hosted Python workflow platform with a large set of operators, where you run the scheduler, workers and web server yourself.

  • Dagster

    An open-source orchestrator for building, scheduling and monitoring data pipelines, with a hosted Dagster+ option.

    FreemiumOpen sourceWebSelf-hosted

    Dagster is an open-source data orchestrator with an asset-based model, lineage tracking and a hosted Dagster+ option, and its announced merger with Prefect makes the roadmap uncertain.

  • Flyte

    An open-source orchestration platform for durable data, machine learning and AI agent workflows written in Python.

    FreeOpen sourceWebSelf-hostedCommand line

    Flyte is a free open-source orchestrator for data, ML and AI agent workflows in plain Python, with a local devbox, though Flyte 1 users must migrate.

  • Luigi

    A Python tool from Spotify for building, scheduling and visualising pipelines of batch jobs.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinuxCommand line

    Luigi is Spotify's free Python tool for chaining batch jobs with dependency resolution, aimed at batch work rather than event-driven workflows and without a hosted platform.

  • Kestra

    An open-source declarative orchestration platform for scheduled and event-driven workflows, self-hosted or in the cloud.

    FreemiumOpen sourceWebSelf-hosted

    Kestra uses declarative workflows with more than 2,000 plugins and event triggers instead of Python decorators, and it can be self-hosted including air-gapped setups.

  • Windmill

    An open-source, self-hostable platform for turning scripts into workflows, internal apps and scheduled jobs.

    FreemiumOpen sourceWebSelf-hosted

    Windmill is an open-source, self-hostable platform that turns scripts in Python, TypeScript, Go and more into workflows, internal apps and scheduled jobs.

  • Dagu

    A self-hosted workflow orchestrator that runs scripts, SSH commands and containers from declarative YAML files.

    FreeOpen sourceSelf-hostedCommand line

    Dagu is a single-binary open-source orchestrator that runs scripts and containers from YAML files with no database, suited to smaller teams replacing cron.

  • Conductor

    An open-source, event-driven workflow engine for durable execution of application and AI agent workflows.

    FreeOpen sourceSelf-hosted

    Conductor is an open-source event-driven engine for durable microservice and AI agent workflows, which takes more effort to deploy and operate.

Prefect as an alternative

Listings that name Prefect as an alternative.

  • Apache NiFi

    A visual dataflow system for automating the movement and transformation of data between systems.

    FreeOpen sourceWebSelf-hosted

    Prefect defines flows with plain Python decorators and adds built-in retries, with some features belonging to its paid hosted platform instead of a visual designer.

  • Trigger.dev

    An open-source platform for durable background jobs, scheduled tasks and AI agents written in TypeScript.

    FreemiumOpen sourceWebSelf-hosted

    Prefect orchestrates workflows written in Python with decorators, built-in retries and scheduling. It suits Python data and ML pipelines rather than TypeScript background jobs.

Similar software

Related functionality, not necessarily a direct replacement.

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