Conductor OSS 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?
Conductor OSS
Microservices and workflow orchestration engine
VS
Prefect
Modern workflow orchestration for data and Python pipelines
| Feature | Conductor OSS | Prefect |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Automation & Workflows | Automation & Workflows |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Java | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal | docker, kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 32,066 | ★ 23,573 |
| First released | 2016 | 2018 |
| Replaces | AWS Step Functions, Camunda | AWS Step Functions, Azure Data Factory |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Conductor OSS or Prefect better?
Neither is universally better. Conductor OSS has the larger community, while Prefect is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Conductor OSS and Prefect free and open-source?
Yes. Conductor OSS is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Prefect under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Conductor OSS and Prefect with Docker?
Conductor OSS: yes. Prefect: yes.