Alternatives

Best Dagster alternatives in 2026

Data compiled by Toolradar Updated November 2, 2026 How we rate

Cite this list: Toolradar, best Dagster alternatives 2026, toolradar.com/alternatives/dagster

3 direct alternatives to Dagster and 5 more tools in the same category, compared on pricing, features, and best-for use cases. Pick the right replacement without the marketing fluff.

Quick answer

Apache Airflow is the top alternative to Dagster on our list, followed by Prefect and Kubeflow.
4 of the 8 alternatives have a free plan, starting with Prefect.
Highest rated: Skyvia, 4.8 out of 5 from 437 ratings, Aug 2026.

Publications that cover the tools tracked here

8 alternatives
3 direct
4 with a free plan

Apache Airflow
#1 Top pick
Workflow orchestration for data engineering pipelines
Pricing
Usage-based
4.4 /5 on G2 · 129 ratings, Sep 2026
Our take
Best overall
Read the review
Prefect
#2
Modern workflow orchestration platform
Starting price
From $100 /mo
Cheapest paid plan, monthly, as of November 2026
4.5 /5 on G2 · 125 ratings, Sep 2026
Our take
Best free tier
Read the review
Kubeflow
#3
The open-source foundation for building and deploying AI platforms on Kubernetes.
Pricing
Free
4.5 /5 on G2 · 22 ratings, Oct 2026
Read the review

Dagster vs 8 alternatives

Dagster and its alternatives compared on starting price (cheapest paid plan, monthly, as of November 2026), free plan and average user rating, and how directly each replaces it.
Tool	Starting price (Nov 2026)	Free plan	Rating	Fit
Dagster Compared tool	Price: $10/mo	Free plan: No	n/a
Apache Airflow	Price: Usage-based	Free plan: No	4.4 out of 5, from 129 ratings on G2 (129)	Direct alternative
Prefect	Price: $100/mo	Free plan: Yes	4.5 out of 5, from 125 ratings on G2 (125)	Direct alternative
Kubeflow	Price: Free	Free plan: Yes	4.5 out of 5, from 22 ratings on G2 (22)	Direct alternative
MuleSoft	Price: Contact sales	Free plan: No	4.4 out of 5, from 1,468 ratings across SourceForge, G2 and Capterra (1,468)	Same category as Dagster
Boomi	Price: Usage-based	Free plan: No	4.4 out of 5, from 779 ratings across G2 and Capterra (779)	Same category as Dagster
Qlik	Price: $300/mo	Free plan: No	4.4 out of 5, from 1,191 ratings across G2 and Capterra (1,191)	Same category as Dagster
Skyvia	Price: Free + paid	Free plan: Yes	4.8 out of 5, from 437 ratings across G2 and Capterra (437)	Same category as Dagster
Logstash	Price: Free	Free plan: Yes	4.6 out of 5, from 553 ratings across SourceForge and G2 (553)	Same category as Dagster

Why people consider alternatives to Dagster

Dagster orchestrates data pipelines with a focus on developer experience. Define assets and their dependencies, let Dagster handle scheduling and execution-data engineering that fits software engineering practices. The asset-based model…

Here are the real cost and limitation gotchas that push teams to look elsewhere:

Overage fees: $0.04/credit for Solo, $0.03/credit for Starter.
Serverless compute costs: $0.033/min, separate from credits.

The 3 direct alternatives below cover the same core job (ETL & data pipelines) with different trade-offs. The 5 tools marked "Same category as Dagster" fit the category but replace Dagster less directly.

See full Dagster review Best etl & data pipelines tools How we rank

Dagster by the numbers

Toolradar data: Dagster's entry paid plan ($10/mo, billed monthly) ranks #3 of 26 (joint) for price among the ETL & Data Pipelines tools with a verified entry price and no stated unit, where the median is $100/mo. Its head-to-head comparison pages had 37 visits in the last 30 days, ranking #7 of 28 tools with 20+ compare-page visits in ETL & Data Pipelines. As of Nov 2026.

#149 (joint) most-listed alternative in Developer Tools, out of 1851 tools in Developer Tools. Source: Toolradar data, Nov 2026.

Dagster compared with 111 ETL & Data Pipelines tools on Toolradar, as of Nov 2026
Metric	Dagster	Peer median	Position (1 is best)
Entry paid plan	$10/mo, billed monthly	$100/mo	#3 of 26 (joint) tools with no stated price unit, verified price
Free plan	No	60% have one	n/a
Listed as an alternative to	13 tools	1	#12 of 111 (joint)
Integrations listed	2	2	#12 of 23 (joint) tools with at least one integration recorded
Compare-page visits, last 30 days	37 visits	30	#7 of 28 tools with 20+ compare-page visits

Visitors most often compare Dagster with Apache Airflow (last 30 days, Nov 2026).

Listed as an alternative to: #12 on 2026-10-16 to #12 on 2026-11-02 (rank among 111 tools, 1 is best).

Each position is counted among the tools that have data for that row, as noted under it. A lower entry price ranks higher; prices are read on vendor pages and compared only with tools priced on the same basis. All ETL & Data Pipelines data · How we compute this. Advertising and placement fees are not inputs to any position. Visit counts include visits from every source.

Cite this: Toolradar, “Dagster by the numbers”, Nov 2026.

ETL & Data Pipelines leaderboards from Toolradar data

Toolradar ranks ETL & Data Pipelines tools on one measure at a time, only where at least 8 tools have data. As of Nov 2026.

CSV

Lowest entry price, plans with no stated unit

Cheapest standard paid plan per month (annual prices divided by 12), read on vendor pages and compared only with tools priced on the same basis.

Counted among 26 tools with no stated price unit, verified price.

Lowest entry price, plans with no stated unit, ETL & Data Pipelines tools on Toolradar, as of Nov 2026
#	Tool	Entry plan
1	Cleo	$2.99/mo, billed monthly
2	Import.io	$9/mo, billed monthly
3	Airbyte	$10/mo, billed monthly
3	Dagster	$10/mo, billed monthly
5	Supermemory	$19/mo, billed monthly

A position exists only when at least 8 tools have data for that metric. 26 of 111 ETL & Data Pipelines tools have a verified price; the others publish none we could read (often "contact sales"). Advertising and placement fees are not inputs to any position. Visit counts include visits from every source. How we compute this. Cite this: Toolradar, “ETL & Data Pipelines leaderboards”, Nov 2026. Data licensed CC BY 4.0. All ETL & Data Pipelines statistics.

8 alternatives to Dagster

Direct alternatives come first, ranked by G2 and Capterra ratings, media mentions, and editor review. Tools marked "Same category as Dagster" follow, ranked the same way.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best alternative to Dagster?

Based on real-signal scoring (G2 and Capterra ratings, media mentions, and editorial review), the top alternatives to Dagster are Apache Airflow, Prefect, Kubeflow. Each solves the same core job with different trade-offs on pricing, features, and integrations.

Is there a free alternative to Dagster?

Yes. Kubeflow is 100% free (no paid upgrade path) (The open-source foundation for building and deploying AI platforms on Kubernetes). Freemium tools on this list offer a free tier with paid upgrades; they are not the same as fully free.

Why do people look for Dagster alternatives?

Common reasons teams switch away from Dagster: pricing that scales aggressively, missing integrations with the rest of their stack, performance or scale limits, or a specific feature gap in etl & data pipelines. The alternatives on this page solve the same core problem with different trade-offs.

Side-by-side comparisons

In-depth comparison pages for Dagster versus each alternative.

Dagster vs Apache Airflow Dagster vs Prefect Dagster vs Kubeflow

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Full Dagster review Visit Dagster

Top 3 alternatives to Dagster

Apache Airflow

Prefect

Kubeflow