Softwr

Automation Integration · head to head

Airbyte vs Orkes

Airbyte logo

Airbyte

Automation Integration

The open-source ELT platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Orkes logo

Orkes

Automation Integration

Commercial Conductor, now the maintainer of the workflow engine Netflix archived

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Airbyte the self-managed open source Core edition has no SSO or RBAC, no multiple workspaces, no row filtering or encryption, and no monitoring integrations; Orkes netflix archived the Conductor repository in December 2023 and Orkes took over maintenance, so the large-company backing that justified many original adoptions no longer exists.
  • They diverge on capability: Airbyte covers Data replication, Orkes covers JSON workflow definitions.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Airbyte and Orkes actually diverge.

Attributes where Airbyte and Orkes differ
AttributeAirbyteOrkes
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsWeb, Self-hostedLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud
Founded2020Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Automation Integration).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Airbyte

  • Data replication
  • Schema detection
  • ELT pipelines
  • Real-time sync
  • Data transformation
  • Monitoring
  • Custom connectors
  • 300+ connectors

Only in Orkes

  • JSON workflow definitions
  • Polyglot workers
  • Visual workflow builder
  • AI and LLM tasks
  • Human tasks
  • Event handlers
  • RBAC and secrets
  • Hosted or self-hosted

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Airbyte

  • Data integrationnot Orkes
  • ETL operationsnot Orkes
  • API data synchronizationnot Orkes
  • Data warehouse populationnot Orkes
  • Real-time data replicationnot Orkes

Orkes

  • A microservices estate that needs orchestration across services written in different languages without a shared SDKnot Airbyte
  • A team already running Conductor OSS that wants a supported distribution now that Netflix has stopped maintaining itnot Airbyte
  • An AI platform composing agent steps, model calls and vector lookups as versioned workflow definitionsnot Airbyte
  • A business process needing human approval steps interleaved with automated service callsnot Airbyte

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Airbyte

  • The self-managed open source Core edition has no SSO or RBAC, no multiple workspaces, no row filtering or encryption, and no monitoring integrations
  • Sync frequency on Core is limited compared with the managed tiers, which offer 15 minute syncs
  • Support on the free tier is community and AI only; premium support requires Pro or Enterprise
  • The free Agents plan stops at 1,000 agent operations a month and pauses capacity until the next month once hit
  • Agent overages are billed per operation at $0.004 to $0.005 once past the plan allowance

Orkes

  • Netflix archived the Conductor repository in December 2023 and Orkes took over maintenance, so the large-company backing that justified many original adoptions no longer exists.
  • Enterprise pricing is entirely unpublished, and the only free option is explicitly a prototyping sandbox whose limits can change at any time, so there is no supported low-cost entry point.
  • Self-hosting Conductor OSS in production means operating the engine plus its persistence and indexing dependencies, typically Postgres or Cassandra with Elasticsearch, which is a substantial platform commitment.
  • JSON workflow definitions are language agnostic but verbose and awkward to test, and teams accustomed to defining workflows in code find them a step backwards in developer experience.
  • Orkes is a small company whose commercial future is tied to a single open source project it also maintains, which concentrates both vendor and project risk in the same place.

Pricing, plan by plan

Airbyte

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1,000 Agent Operations monthly
    • Single user access
    • API and MCP access
  • Individual$29/month
    • 5,000 Agent Operations monthly
    • Hourly Context Store refresh
    • Standard and AI support
  • Team$299/month
    • 10,000 Agent Operations monthly
    • Parallel workflow execution
    • Multiple users

Orkes

Free
  • Developer EditionFree
    • All Conductor OSS features plus enterprise capabilities
    • Sandbox for prototyping only
    • Rate limits and resources may change without notice
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Availability SLA up to 99.99%
    • Orkes-hosted or customer-hosted deployment
    • Dedicated technical account manager

Which should you pick?

Choose Airbyte if

  • You need data replication.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Self-hosted.
  • You also want schema detection.
Airbyte review

Choose Orkes if

  • You need json workflow definitions.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud.
  • You also want polyglot workers.
Orkes review

Questions people ask

Is Airbyte or Orkes better?
Neither clearly leads. Airbyte starts at Free and Orkes at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Airbyte or Orkes?
Airbyte starts at Free and Orkes at Free.
Does Airbyte or Orkes run on more platforms?
Airbyte runs on Web, Self-hosted. Orkes runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud.
Can I use Airbyte for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Airbyte best used for?
Airbyte is most often used for data integration, etl operations, api data synchronization, data warehouse population. Of those, data integration and etl operations are not what Orkes is typically brought in for.
What can Airbyte do that Orkes cannot?
Airbyte covers Data replication, Schema detection, ELT pipelines, Real-time sync. Orkes covers JSON workflow definitions, Polyglot workers, Visual workflow builder, AI and LLM tasks.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Airbyte: Is Airbyte free to use?

Yes, Airbyte offers a free tier with 1,000 Agent Operations monthly, single user access, API and MCP support, and community/AI assistance.

Source
Orkes: Does Netflix still maintain Conductor?

No. Netflix archived its repository in December 2023. The open source project continues at conductor-oss under Apache 2.0, maintained by Orkes.

Airbyte: What does the Team plan include?

The Team plan costs $299/month and includes 10,000 Agent Operations monthly, parallel workflow execution, multiple users, standard and AI support, with overages charged at $0.005 per AO.

Source
Orkes: Is there a free production tier?

No. The Developer Edition is a sandbox that the vendor states is unsuitable for production. Self-hosting Conductor OSS is the free production route.

Airbyte: What happens if I exceed my monthly Agent Operations limit?

Overages are charged at $0.004 per AO on the Individual plan and $0.005 per AO on the Team plan, allowing you to exceed your quota as needed.

Source
Orkes: What does Enterprise cost?

Nothing is published; it is quoted by deployment and support requirements.

Airbyte: Does Airbyte offer data replication pricing?

Yes. Airbyte Data Replication starts at $10/month on the Standard plan with 600+ connectors. Pro and Enterprise plans use custom capacity-based pricing with Data Workers and dedicated support.

Source
Orkes: How does it compare with Temporal?

Conductor uses declarative JSON workflow definitions and external workers; Temporal defines workflows in code. Temporal has the larger community.

Share

Related pages

More on Airbyte

More on Orkes

Keep looking

Other head to heads