Apache Airflow vs Procrastinate
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
Procrastinate
PostgreSQL-backed task queue for Python automation
| Feature | Apache Airflow | Procrastinate |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Automation & Workflows | Automation & Workflows |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Python | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 4,096 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, helm | source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 46,409 | ★ 1,360 |
| First released | 2015 | 2019 |
| Replaces | AWS Step Functions, Azure Data Factory | Celery |
Why pick each one
Choose Procrastinate if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Active community (1.4k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Apache Airflow or Procrastinate better?
Neither is universally better. Apache Airflow has the larger community, while Procrastinate is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Apache Airflow and Procrastinate free and open-source?
Yes. Apache Airflow is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Procrastinate under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Apache Airflow and Procrastinate with Docker?
Apache Airflow: yes. Procrastinate: check the project docs for container support.