head to head · open source
Prefect vs Mage
Prefect has 24,109 GitHub stars, 2,624 forks, 858 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Mage has 8,840 stars, 994 forks, 624 open issues and last shipped 11 days ago. Prefect leads on adoption by 173% (24,109 vs 8,840 stars). Prefect is written in Python under Apache-2.0; Mage is written in Python under Apache-2.0. Prefect has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, Mage 11%. Prefect was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 5 topic tags (data, data-engineering, data-science, orchestration), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
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
| Prefect | Mage | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 24K | ★ 8.8K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-23 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.6K | ⑂ 994 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Prefect if
- You weight community size — 24K 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 Mage if
- You want the Mage feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and Mage fits your workflow better
About Prefect
Installation · Quickstart · Build workflows · Deploy workflows · Prefect Cloud Prefect Prefect is a workflow orchestration framework for building data pipelines in Python. It's the simplest way to elevate a script into a production workflow. With Prefect, you can build resilient, dynamic data pipelines that react to the world around them and recover from unexpected changes. With just a few lines of code, data teams can confidently automate any data process with features such as scheduling, caching, retries, and event based automations. Workflow activity is tracked and can be monitored with a self hosted Prefect…
read the full Prefect overview →
About Mage
Mage OSS Build modern data pipelines locally — fast, visual, and production ready. Mage OSS is a self hosted development environment designed to help teams create production grade data pipelines with confidence. Ideal for automating ETL tasks, architecting data flow, or orchestrating transformations — all in a fast, notebook style interface powered by modular code. When it’s time to scale, Mage Pro — our core platform — unlocks enterprise orchestration, collaboration, and AI powered workflows. What you can do with Mage OSS Build pipelines locally with Python, SQL, or R in a modular notebook style UI Run jobs…
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Frequently asked questions
Is Prefect or Mage more popular?
Prefect has 24,109 GitHub stars and Mage has 8,840. Prefect has the larger community by that measure.
Are Prefect and Mage free?
Both are open source. Prefect is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Mage under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Prefect and Mage?
Prefect is written in Python and Mage in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Prefect or Mage?
Choose Prefect if you want the larger community (24,109 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Mage if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.