Apache Airflow vs Ofelia
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?
Apache Airflow
Programmatically author, schedule and monitor workflows
VS
Ofelia
A docker-friendly job scheduler written in Go
| Feature | Apache Airflow | Ofelia |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Automation & Workflows | Automation & Workflows |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Python | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 4,096 MB | 32 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, helm | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 46,409 | ★ 3,955 |
| First released | 2015 | 2016 |
| Replaces | AWS Step Functions, Azure Data Factory | cron |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Apache Airflow or Ofelia better?
Neither is universally better. Apache Airflow has the larger community, while Ofelia is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Apache Airflow and Ofelia free and open-source?
Yes. Apache Airflow is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Ofelia under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Apache Airflow and Ofelia with Docker?
Apache Airflow: yes. Ofelia: yes.