Apache Airflow vs Windmill
Apache Airflow
Programmatic workflow orchestration for data pipelines
Windmill
Developer-first internal tool and workflow engine
| Feature | Apache Airflow | Windmill |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Automation | Automation |
| Sub-category | Workflow | Workflow |
| Maturity | stable | stable |
| Complexity | intermediate | intermediate |
| Performance tier | medium | medium |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| License type | permissive | copyleft |
| Pricing | fully free | fully free |
| GitHub stars | 38.0K | 12.0K |
| Contributors | 0 | 0 |
| Commit frequency | weekly | weekly |
| Plugin ecosystem | none | none |
| Docs quality | good | good |
| Backing org | Apache Foundation | Windmill |
| Funding model | foundation | vc_backed |
| Min RAM | 2 GB | 512 MB |
| Min CPU cores | 2 | 1 |
| Scaling pattern | single_node | single_node |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| K8s native | No | No |
| Offline capable | No | No |
| Vendor lock-in | none | none |
| Languages | Python | Rust, TypeScript |
| API type | REST | REST |
| Protocols | HTTP | HTTP |
| Deployment | docker, pip | docker |
| SDK languages | — | — |
| Team size fit | solo, small, medium, enterprise | small, medium |
| First release | 2020 | 2020 |
| Latest version | — | — |
When to use Apache Airflow
- ✓ Primary: data-pipeline-orchestration
- ✓ Primary: etl-scheduling
- ✓ Primary: ml-pipeline-management
When to use Windmill
- ✓ Build internal tools from scripts with auto-generated UI
- ✓ Multi-language workflow orchestration
- ✓ Scheduled scripts with approval flows
Apache Airflow anti-patterns
- ✕ Not for real-time streaming
- ✕ Complex setup and operations
- ✕ DAG parsing can be slow
- ✕ Not for event-driven workflows
Windmill anti-patterns
- ✕ AGPL license
- ✕ Newer project — less battle-tested
- ✕ Smaller community than n8n/Airflow