Prefect Cloud vs Open Source
Both options are free to start. Choose based on where you want to host orchestration and how much infrastructure you want to manage.
Self-Hosted
You host and manage the orchestration platform
Best for:
- Teams with dedicated platform engineering resources
- Air-gapped or offline environments
- Strict data residency requirements
Prefect Cloud
Managed orchestration. Your workflows and data stay in your infrastructure.
Best for:
- Teams who want to focus on workflows, not servers
- Organizations needing enterprise security (SSO, RBAC, audit logs)
- Getting started quickly without infrastructure setup
How Prefect Cloud's hybrid model works
Your code and data never leave your infrastructure
Your workers poll our API
No inbound connections to your network. You control firewall rules and security posture.
Your data stays in your infrastructure
Workflows execute in your environment with direct access to your databases and resources.
We store metadata only
Run history, logs, and lineage live in Prefect Cloud. Your actual data never transits our systems.
Self-host and maintain everything yourself
Engineers spend valuable time managing infrastructure rather than building data products
Managed orchestration API and UI
Your workers run in your infrastructure—Kubernetes, ECS, Lambda, or any compute you choose.
See the full feature breakdown
Detailed comparison of every feature across both platforms
| Feature | Prefect OSS | Prefect Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Where orchestration runs | Your infrastructure | Prefect-managed |
| Where workflows execute | Your infrastructure | Your infrastructure |
| Scheduling | ||
| Python & REST API | ||
| Interactive dashboard | ||
| Events and automations | ||
| Webhooks | ||
| System metrics | ||
| Custom authentication (SSO, SCIM) | ||
| Granular permissions (team, project, object levels) | ||
| Managed orchestration server and API | ||
| Support |
Teams scaling with Prefect Cloud
Real-world results from companies who made the switch
Cox Automotive
Cox Automotive chose Prefect Cloud to streamline scenario planning for its 70 U.S. auction sites. With Prefect's robust security and scalability, the Cox team automated hundreds of data pipelines.
EF Education First
Prefect Cloud enabled EF Education First, a 10,000-employee travel learning company, to scale data orchestration. This improved workflow management and observability for data analysts and scientists throughout the organization.
Common questions
Does my data go through Prefect's servers?
No. Your workflows execute in your infrastructure with direct access to your data. Prefect Cloud only stores metadata (run history, logs, scheduling info).
Can I use Prefect Cloud in an air-gapped environment?
No. Prefect Cloud requires your workers to poll our API over the internet. For air-gapped deployments, use self-hosted Prefect OSS.
What's included in the free tier?
Prefect Cloud's Hobby tier is free forever: 2 users, 5 deployed workflows, managed infrastructure. Perfect for small teams and side projects. View full pricing details →
How do I migrate from self-hosted to Cloud?
Update one config line to point your workers at Cloud's API. No code changes needed. You can run both simultaneously during migration.
Start with managed orchestration—keep your data in your infrastructure
Try Prefect Cloud free with the Hobby tier, or install self-hosted if you need full control