head to head · open source
airflow vs Lightdash
airflow has 47,301 GitHub stars, 18,202 forks, 1,831 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Lightdash has 6,209 stars, 795 forks, 1,018 open issues and last shipped yesterday. airflow leads on adoption by 662% (47,301 vs 6,209 stars). airflow is written in Python under Apache-2.0; Lightdash is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence. airflow has attracted 38% as many forks as stars, Lightdash 13%. airflow was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| airflow | Lightdash | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 47K | ★ 6.2K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-10-28 | 2026-10-28 |
| Forks | ⑂ 18K | ⑂ 795 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick airflow if
- You weight community size — 47K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Lightdash if
- You want the Lightdash feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Lightdash fits your workflow better
About airflow
Apache Airflow Apache Airflow (or simply Airflow) is a platform to programmatically author, schedule, and monitor workflows. When workflows are defined as code, they become more maintainable, versionable, testable, and collaborative. Use Airflow to author workflows (Dags) that orchestrate tasks. The Airflow scheduler executes your tasks on an array of workers while following the specified dependencies. Rich command line utilities make performing complex surgeries on Dags a snap. The rich user interface makes it easy to visualize pipelines running in production, monitor progress, and troubleshoot issues when…
read the full airflow overview →
About Lightdash
Open source Agentic BI for modern data teams Build governed metrics, dashboards, AI agents, and data apps from your context layer. Ship analytics through Git, CI, MCP, and the Lightdash CLI. Why Lightdash Lightdash is the Agentic BI platform for teams that want analytics to move like software. Your context layer defines trusted metrics, joins, permissions, business logic, and caching once, then powers every way people consume data: dashboards, AI agents, data apps, embedded analytics, SDKs, and MCP. Data teams can build and maintain analytics with any AI agent, then use the terminal, pull requests, and CI to…
read the full Lightdash overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is airflow or Lightdash more popular?
airflow has 47,301 GitHub stars and Lightdash has 6,209. airflow has the larger community by that measure.
Are airflow and Lightdash free?
Both are open source. airflow is licensed under Apache-2.0, and Lightdash has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between airflow and Lightdash?
airflow is written in Python and Lightdash in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, airflow or Lightdash?
Choose airflow if you want the larger community (47,301 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Lightdash if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.