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Automation Integration · head to head

Mage AI vs Orkes

Mage AI logo

Mage AI

Automation Integration

Data pipeline platform with AI-generated workflows and governance

From
$100/month
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

  • Only Orkes has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Mage AI usage-based pricing lacks transparency for cost forecasting; 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: Mage AI covers AI-generated workflows, Orkes covers JSON workflow definitions.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Mage AI and Orkes actually diverge.

Attributes where Mage AI and Orkes differ
AttributeMage AIOrkes
Starting price$100/monthFree
Pricing modelUsage-based cloud platformquote
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsCloud, Hybrid, Private Cloud, On-PremisesLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud

Identical on both: 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 Mage AI

  • AI-generated workflows
  • Pipeline building
  • Data validation
  • Workflow orchestration
  • Automatic recovery
  • Reusable components
  • Governance controls

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.

Mage AI

  • Building and orchestrating data pipelines with visual interfacenot Orkes
  • Automating ETL workflows with AI assistancenot Orkes
  • Validating data quality across transformationsnot Orkes
  • Distributing transformed data to multiple destinationsnot Orkes

Orkes

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

Where each one falls short

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

Mage AI

  • Usage-based pricing lacks transparency for cost forecasting
  • Limited standalone pricing details on website
  • Requires contact for enterprise deployment options
  • Smaller ecosystem compared to established competitors
  • May require significant customization for complex data models

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

Mage AI

$100/month
  • Cloud$100/month
    • 1 development environment
    • Unlimited users
    • Usage-based infrastructure pricing
  • Hybrid Cloud$null/custom
    • Private data processing
    • Custom infrastructure
    • Contact sales
  • Private Cloud$null/custom
    • Complete isolation
    • Full infrastructure control
    • Contact sales
  • On-Premises$null/custom
    • Full local control
    • Enterprise deployment
    • Contact sales

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 Mage AI if

  • You need ai-generated workflows.
  • You work on Cloud, Hybrid, Private Cloud, On-Premises.
  • You also want pipeline building.
Mage AI 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 Mage AI or Orkes better?
Neither clearly leads. Mage AI starts at $100/month and Orkes at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Mage AI or Orkes?
Orkes has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $100/month for Mage AI and Free for Orkes.
Does Mage AI or Orkes run on more platforms?
Mage AI runs on Cloud, Hybrid, Private Cloud, On-Premises. Orkes runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud.
Can I use Orkes for free?
Yes. Orkes has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Mage AI starts at $100/month.
What is Mage AI best used for?
Mage AI is most often used for building and orchestrating data pipelines with visual interface, automating etl workflows with ai assistance, validating data quality across transformations, distributing transformed data to multiple destinations. Of those, building and orchestrating data pipelines with visual interface and automating etl workflows with ai assistance are not what Orkes is typically brought in for.
What can Mage AI do that Orkes cannot?
Mage AI covers AI-generated workflows, Pipeline building, Data validation, Workflow orchestration. Orkes covers JSON workflow definitions, Polyglot workers, Visual workflow builder, AI and LLM tasks.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Mage AI: What is the starting price for Mage Cloud?

Cloud plan starts at $100/month for one development environment with unlimited users, plus usage-based compute charges.

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.

Mage AI: How is compute usage billed on Mage?

CPU is charged at $0.50 per hour and RAM at $0.50 per 4GB per hour of utilization.

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.

Orkes: What does Enterprise cost?

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

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.

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