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Apache Airflow vs Pega Platform comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 2, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
5.8
Apache Airflow offers high ROI due to open-source features, Python integration, and efficient pipeline building, though measurement varies.
Sentiment score
7.4
Pega Platform boosts efficiency with quicker solutions, yielding significant ROI through cost savings, revenue increase, and improved customer satisfaction.
I estimate that projects take days rather than weeks when using Pega Platform compared to traditional coding.
developer at Velagapudi Ramakrishna Siddhartha Engineering College
Pega Platform has positively impacted my organization, as they were using different technology before and have seen tremendous success and return on investment, so they are very happy.
Pega Lead System Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.6
Users primarily rely on community resources and comprehensive documentation for Apache Airflow, with minimal direct technical assistance needed.
Sentiment score
6.7
Pega Platform's support is mixed, offering knowledgeable help but facing issues with delays and responsiveness; premium support is costly.
Forums and community resources like Stack Overflow are helpful.
Team Lead, Data Engineering at Nesine.com
There is enough documentation available, and the community support is good.
Sr. Team Lead - IT at InfoStretch
The technical support from Pega is very low, rating a one or two out of ten.
Chief Information Officer at a government with 10,001+ employees
I never needed support from the platform standpoint, but if additional features are required, we have regular meetings with the product team for feedback.
MEA Head at Aaseya IT Services Pvt. Ltd.
Pega's technical support team is very helpful.
Quality Assurance Team Lead at Value Labs
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.1
Apache Airflow is scalable and flexible, ideal for adaptable workflows but may pose challenges in cloud-native integration and large-scale tasks.
Sentiment score
7.5
Pega Platform offers scalable solutions for complex applications, though optimization and infrastructure are crucial for handling high loads.
Apache Airflow scales well, especially when deployed in Kubernetes environments.
Team Lead, Data Engineering at Nesine.com
The solution is very scalable.
Sr. Team Lead - IT at InfoStretch
Currently, big banking providers and insurance providers, even the members for healthcare payers, are using more than millions of operations on a daily or weekly basis.
Global Head of Digital, Process Automation at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.0
Apache Airflow's stability is praised, though some face bugs, configuration issues, and performance challenges, especially in cloud environments.
Sentiment score
7.6
Pega Platform is stable and resilient for complex tasks, though technical proficiency is needed for optimal performance.
I would rate the stability of the solution as ten out of ten.
Sr. Team Lead - IT at InfoStretch
I would rate its stability at nine out of ten.
Head of Data at a energy/utilities company with 51-200 employees
Apache Airflow is stable and I have not experienced significant issues.
Team Lead, Data Engineering at Nesine.com
 

Room For Improvement

Apache Airflow needs improvements in flexibility, UI, documentation, scalability, performance, integration, and version control for better workflow orchestration.
Pega Platform needs improved UI, better integration, scalable performance, cost-effective licensing, comprehensive docs, and simpler upgrades.
It is not suitable for real-time ETL tasks.
Team Lead, Data Engineering at Nesine.com
There is no dashboard for us to check all the Directed Acyclic Graphs (DAGs); a dashboard would help us analyze the work better.
Sr. Team Lead - IT at InfoStretch
If we desire to add custom messengers or a rest API, those options are unavailable.
Head of Data at a energy/utilities company with 51-200 employees
For customer interactions, while the Pega Platform's AI-based decisioning and predictive analytics are great, the Process AI is not very popular yet, as it works on process data rather than customer data.
Global Head of Digital, Process Automation at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
There are always areas for improvement, which they are addressing in every part of the patch releases.
Pega Lead System Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Pega introduced Constellation, which allows a user to build a more engaging visual experience.
MEA Head at Aaseya IT Services Pvt. Ltd.
 

Setup Cost

Apache Airflow is free, but enterprises may incur costs using cloud services or managed services for additional features.
Pega Platform is costly but offers ROI and value for large industries despite complex licensing and high fees.
I prefer using the open-source version rather than the enterprise version, which helps manage costs.
Team Lead, Data Engineering at Nesine.com
It is a sub-feature and not an individual purchase.
Head of Data at a energy/utilities company with 51-200 employees
Apache Airflow is a community-based platform and is not a licensed product.
Sr. Team Lead - IT at InfoStretch
From a licensing perspective, it is higher than the competition.
Global Head of Digital, Process Automation at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
The pricing is expensive, and this is an issue.
Chief Information Officer at a government with 10,001+ employees
Pega is priced higher than open-source options like Flowable but is suitable for large-scale industries like banking and insurance.
Quality Assurance Team Lead at Value Labs
 

Valuable Features

Apache Airflow offers customizable, scalable workflows with Python support, seamless integration, and strong community backing for efficiency and maintainability.
Pega Platform offers robust, scalable low-code solutions for seamless integration and digital transformation across diverse industries and frameworks.
Reliability is good, and when integrated with Kubernetes, it performs better compared to on-premises environments.
Team Lead, Data Engineering at Nesine.com
Apache Airflow is an open-source platform that allows easy integration with AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform.
Sr. Team Lead - IT at InfoStretch
We can create notifications for successful or failed tasks, providing a practical way to monitor our workflows.
Head of Data at a energy/utilities company with 51-200 employees
Pega Platform has positively impacted my organization by providing faster application development than traditional methods.
developer at Velagapudi Ramakrishna Siddhartha Engineering College
The best feature is case management, which is so automated and does most of the things out of the box without requiring a lot of customizations.
Pega Lead System Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Pega Platform is excellent for enterprise-level solutions with integrations to entire systems, including case management, service orchestration, CRM, decision-making capabilities, digital process automation, and AI-driven functionalities.
MEA Head at Aaseya IT Services Pvt. Ltd.
 

Categories and Ranking

Apache Airflow
Ranking in Business Process Management (BPM)
3rd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Pega Platform
Ranking in Business Process Management (BPM)
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
85
Ranking in other categories
Business Rules Management (1st), Process Automation (4th), Rapid Application Development Software (8th), Low-Code Development Platforms (7th), Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies (7th), AI Software Development (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Business Process Management (BPM) category, the mindshare of Apache Airflow is 3.5%, down from 7.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Pega Platform is 3.9%, down from 5.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Business Process Management (BPM) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Apache Airflow3.5%
Pega Platform3.9%
Other92.6%
Business Process Management (BPM)
 

Featured Reviews

Madhan Potluri - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of Data at a energy/utilities company with 51-200 employees
We efficiently manage and monitor production pipelines through job resumption and error log integration
We utilize Apache Airflow for managing machine learning production pipelines. The deployment of our machine learning models takes place through Apache Airflow. We configure pipelines, decide on the frequency of recalibration, deployment, and dataset training Apache Airflow allows us to resume…
reviewer4848291 - PeerSpot reviewer
Global Head of Digital, Process Automation at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Pega is a low-code platform that enables organizations to build, automate, and optimize business processes and customer experiences through AI-powered decisioning and workflow automation.
Here are the key areas where Pega Platform could be improved: 1. User Interface (UI) & User Experience (UX) Customization Limitations: The UI layer is tightly coupled with the platform, limiting flexibility for custom front-end development. Constellation Architecture: While it improves consistency, it restricts advanced UI customizations compared to older section-based designs. Learning Curve: Non-technical users find the UI unintuitive despite the low-code promise. 2. Integration & Extensibility Limited Out-of-the-Box Integrations: Users report challenges integrating with non-relational databases and legacy systems. Robotics Integration: Pega RPA (formerly OpenSpan) is not seamlessly integrated with BPM, creating silos in automation. 3. AI & Decisioning AI Capabilities Need Maturity: Users expect more advanced, native AI features without relying on external tools. CDH & Decision Hub: While powerful, these components require deep expertise to configure effectively. 4. Cost & Licensing High Licensing Costs: Pega is often seen as expensive, especially for small and mid-sized enterprises. Lack of Flexible Pricing Models: Calls for subscription-based or usage-based pricing to improve accessibility. 5. Performance & Scalability Scalability Concerns: Some users report performance degradation with large user bases or complex workflows. Upgrade Complexity: Platform upgrades can be time-consuming and disruptive if not planned well. 6. Documentation & Community Support Insufficient Learning Resources: Especially for advanced features, documentation is limited and community support is not as strong as competitors. Talent Availability: Finding skilled Pega professionals remains a challenge in many regions. 7. Low-Code/No-Code Experience Not Fully No-Code: Despite branding, some tasks still require technical intervention, and the drag-and-drop interface can be restrictive 2. Conflict Management: Simultaneous development by multiple users can lead to rule conflicts.
report
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
25%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Insurance Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
25%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business13
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise24
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise69
 

Questions from the Community

Which would you choose - Camunda Platform or Apache Airflow?
Camunda Platform allows for visual demonstration and presentation of business process flows. The flexible Java-based option was a big win for us and allows for the integration of microservices very...
What do you like most about Apache Airflow?
Apache Airflow is easy to use and can monitor task execution easily. For instance, when performing setup tasks, you can conveniently view the logs without delving into the job details.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Apache Airflow?
We don't experience issues with pricing as Apache Airflow is part of a larger platform. It is a sub-feature and not an individual purchase.
Is Pega BPM easy to work with and can beginners utilize this software?
You do need some preparation to be able to use all functions of Pega BPM. However, all users of this platform are in luck as it comes with good documentation and you can learn pretty much everythin...
Have you encountered any issues while using Pega BPM and were you assisted by the company?
My company has been using this tool for years and the only issue we have had, if you can call it that, was while setting it up. When we were setting it up initially, we had some drawbacks and could...
When you consider the features and benefits of Pega BPM, would you say this product is fairly priced?
Pega BPM can be considered overpriced for some; it all depends on the size of your company and the requirements of your customers. Sure, there are products out there that do the things that Pega B...
 

Also Known As

Airflow
Pega BPM, Pegasystems, SmartBPM, PegaRULES
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Agari, WePay, Astronomer
The State of Maine, ANZ, Coca-Cola, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), ME, New South Wales, OptumRx, Texas Department of Transportation, UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement
Find out what your peers are saying about Apache Airflow vs. Pega Platform and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,768 professionals have used our research since 2012.