Vendor
Apache Airflow
Apache Airflow is OSS under Apache 2.0. The real cost is FTE-loaded ops plus infrastructure: AWS MWAA from $0.49 / environment-hour plus worker-hour charges; Astronomer per-deployment and per-task; self-managed Kubernetes plus 0.3–0.7 FTE. Airflow 3.0 (2025) introduced a first-class data-asset model.source - pulled 2026-06-21
Pricing model
OSS (Apache 2.0). Cost is infra + FTE-loaded operations. MWAA priced per env-hour + worker-hour; Astronomer per-deployment + per-task.
Cheapest published rate: Free as OSS; MWAA from ~$0.49/env-hrApache Airflow pricing page - pulled 2026-06-21
2026 changes
Airflow 3.0 released; first-class data-asset model; backwards-compatible scheduler.
Verified 2026-06-21.
Pricing in detail
MWAA bills per environment-hour ($0.49 small, $0.71 medium, $1.04 large) plus per-worker-hour and storage. A small environment running 24x7 with light worker usage starts around $530 / month before workers.
Astronomer prices per deployment with bundled tasks; Standard tier is publicly listed at $0.35 / task. Self-managed Kubernetes runs roughly $1,000–$2,000 / month in node infra and adds the FTE line.
At a $25,000 / month loaded FTE rate, a 0.5 FTE allocation is $12,500 / month - typically the dominant cost for self-managed Airflow at mid-market scale.
When to pick Apache Airflow
Pick Airflow when the team needs the largest operator ecosystem and has the platform engineering to run it. Airflow 3.0's asset model narrows the gap with Dagster on lineage.
Avoid Airflow when the team is small, doesn't have Kubernetes experience, and would rather pay vendor support than carry the FTE - Dagster Cloud or Prefect Cloud typically lands cheaper all-in.
Mid-market estimate
For a 50M-MAR mid-market profile, the published rate produces an estimated subscription line of $6,250/mo. Self-managed K8s: ~$1,250 infra + 0.5 FTE @ $10k/mo loaded.source - pulled 2026-06-21Run the full TCO at /tco-calculator.
Related
Written by Oliver Wakefield-Smith, Founder of Digital Signet. Independent reference, no vendor sponsorship.
Sources logged at /sources. Pricing-change history at /changelog. Last reviewed 2026-06-21.