Conductor OSS 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?
Conductor OSS
Microservices and workflow orchestration engine
VS
Dagster
Data orchestrator for the full development lifecycle
| Feature | Conductor OSS | Dagster |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Automation & Workflows | Automation & Workflows |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Java | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal | docker, kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 32,066 | ★ 15,943 |
| First released | 2016 | 2019 |
| Replaces | AWS Step Functions, Camunda | AWS Step Functions, Azure Data Factory |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Conductor OSS or Dagster better?
Neither is universally better. Conductor OSS has the larger community, while Dagster is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Conductor OSS and Dagster free and open-source?
Yes. Conductor OSS is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Dagster under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Conductor OSS and Dagster with Docker?
Conductor OSS: yes. Dagster: yes.