Activepieces vs Prefect
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted automation & workflows options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Activepieces
Open-source no-code business automation
VS
Prefect
Modern workflow orchestration for data and Python pipelines
| Feature | Activepieces | Prefect |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Automation & Workflows | Automation & Workflows |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 23,620 | ★ 23,573 |
| First released | 2022 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Zapier, Make | AWS Step Functions, Azure Data Factory |
Why pick each one
Choose Activepieces if…
- Truly open-source license
- Friendly no-code UI
- Active development
Frequently asked questions
Is Activepieces or Prefect better?
Neither is universally better. Activepieces has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Activepieces and Prefect free and open-source?
Yes. Activepieces is licensed under MIT and Prefect under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Activepieces and Prefect with Docker?
Activepieces: yes. Prefect: yes.