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Astro vs. Apache Airflow®
Explore the key differences between Astro and self-managed Airflow, along with a comprehensive comparison overview of the additional features and benefits Astro provides.
The Airflow platform your engineers never have to babysit.
Astro augments Airflow with enterprise-grade features to enhance developer productivity, optimize operational efficiency at scale, meet production environment requirements, and more.
| Feature |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| High AvailabilityEnsure the dependable delivery of mission-critical data pipelines with high availability schedulers. | Not supported | Supported |
| Scale to 0 DeploymentsSchedule zero-cost downtime to optimize development deployment cost savings. | Not supported | Supported |
| Task-Optimized Worker QueuesAssign tasks to specific worker sets based on computational needs for optimized resource utilization. | Not supported | Supported |
| Dynamic WorkersWorkers automatically scale up, and back down to zero, based on the needs of your workloads. | Not supported | Supported |
| Astro APIEnable programmatic interactions and provide schemas for updating infrastructure and managing access control. | Not supported | Supported |
| Set-up and Teardown TasksManage task resources with setup tasks for preparation and teardown tasks for dismantling, regardless of task success. | Supported | Supported |
| Astro CLIRun, parse, debug, and test DAGs on a local machine in a dedicated environment. | Supported | Supported |
| Branch-Based DeploysCreate isolated development environments for running, testing, and deploying your DAGs. | Not supported | Supported |
| CI/CDAutomate reliable code deployment, enforce reviews, promote code across environments, and ensure testing. Seamlessly integrated with your favorite CI/CD tools. | Limited | Supported |
| Advanced Connection ManagementStreamline Airflow connections setup in a centralized location with a built-in, native solution provided by a secrets backend. | Not supported | Supported |
| Deployment RollbacksEasily revert your Airflow deployments to any previous code deployment, allowing you to quickly undo any problematic changes made to your deployment. | Not supported | Supported |
| Multi-Tenant AirflowEmpower teams to efficiently manage their own isolated Airflow environments, maximizing resource utilization and operational efficiency. | Not supported | Supported |
| In-Place Airflow UpgradesUpgrade Airflow while preserving DAGs, configurations, and data to minimize downtime and data loss risks. | Not supported | Supported |
| Upgrade UtilitiesProactively identify and address common pitfalls and issues post-upgrade. | Not supported | Supported |
| CosmosExecute dbt Core within Airflow, transforming projects into Task Groups or complete DAGs. | Supported | Supported |
| DatasetsCreate explicit data dependencies, enable data-aware scheduling, and simplify cross-dag interactions. | Supported | Supported |
| Cross Deployment Visibility + HealthGain complete visibility of your DAGs and metadata across all of your Airflow deployments. | Not supported | Supported |
| Data-Centric AlertingConfigure alerts based on DAG run and task states, receiving real-time notifications for proactive monitoring. | Not supported | Supported |
| LineageVisualize task relationships and track data movement within workflows, including data movement in external systems. | Limited | Supported |
| Organizational DashboardsGain comprehensive insights into your Astro usage, SLAs, deployments, and operations across your organization. | Not supported | Supported |
| Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)Implement granular and customized role-based access control across workspaces, teams, and deployment. | Limited | Supported |
| Multi-TenancyCollaborate within isolated spaces by utilizing workspaces and deployments for your DAGs. | Not supported | Supported |
| Private NetworkingEstablish secure connections by VPC peering directly with your private networks. | Not supported | Supported |
| Compliance ReadinessMeet SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS security standards compliance. | Not supported | Supported |
| Secrets ManagementAutomate secret management across Airflow deployments, ensuring a unified interface for seamless handling of secrets. | Not supported | Supported |
| EncryptionAutomatically encrypts all data, both at rest and in transit, including databases, file systems, and network transmissions. | Not supported | Supported |
| 24x7x365 SupportAccess to the world's leading Airflow experts and committers. | Not supported | Supported |
| Professional ServicesCustomize hands-on engagements to achieve your goals. | Not supported | Supported |
| Education, Enablement, and CertificationBuild Airflow expertise across your organization with diverse training and certification options. | Not supported | Supported |
We no longer spend huge chunks of time fixing outages. Our engineering teams can focus on product engineering, and our analytic engineers and data scientists can focus on getting stakeholders the analytics they need.
Using Astro's Apache Airflow® offering on Azure has modernized our data operations. Their best-in-class SLAs, multi-environment deployments, and intuitive dashboards have streamlined our processes, ensuring we can manage our critical pipelines.
Documentation
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