dbt Labs vs Prefect Pricing (2026)

Which one is cheaper?

They both start at the same price — $100/mo. The difference is in what you get at each tier.

Can I use either one for free?

Both offer free plans, so you can try each without paying. Start with whichever fits your workflow better and upgrade when you hit the limits.

How do they charge?

Different approach here. dbt Labs uses per-seat pricing, while Prefect goes with hybrid. That changes the math depending on your team size and usage.

Which one is a better deal?

Depends on what you need. dbt Labs: At $100/seat, they're not cheap — that's squarely mid-to-premium for a data transformation tool, putting them above scrappier open-source-first competitors but below full-stack data platform pricing. They're clearly targeting data-mature teams at growth-stage and enterprise companies, not early-stage shops watching every dollar. Prefect: They're positioned in the mid-market sweet spot — not trying to undercut Airflow's self-hosted free tier, but not as aggressively priced as Dagster Cloud or as enterprise-heavy as Astronomer. The $100/user/mo Team tier targets growing data engineering teams who've outgrown DIY orchestration but aren't ready for a six-figure platform deal.

Still deciding? See the best dbt Labs alternatives or the best Prefect alternatives, ranked with verified pricing.