SHSelfHostIndex

Automa vs Dagster

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?
AU Automa Browser automation via drag-and-drop visual workflows VS DA Dagster Data orchestrator for the full development lifecycle
FeatureAutomaDagster
CategoryAutomation & WorkflowsAutomation & Workflows
LicenseMITApache-2.0
LanguageVuePython
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM256 MB2,048 MB
Deploymentsourcedocker, kubernetes, helm
GitHub stars★ 21,543★ 15,943
First released20212019
ReplacesZapier, UiPathAWS Step Functions, Azure Data Factory

Why pick each one

Choose Automa if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • Mature project with 21.5k GitHub stars
  • Written in Vue
Automa details

Choose Dagster if…

  • Strong developer tooling
  • Great for data-centric teams
Dagster details

Frequently asked questions

Is Automa or Dagster better?

Automa is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Dagster if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Automa and Dagster free and open-source?

Yes. Automa is licensed under MIT and Dagster under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Automa and Dagster with Docker?

Automa: check the project docs for container support. Dagster: yes.

Related comparisons