# beam vs prefect

> Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | beam | prefect |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 61/100 | 80/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #29 of 125 in AI | #5 of 32 in Workflow Automation |
| GitHub stars | 1 834 | 24 094 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +47 | +182 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 364 ✓ | 17 |
| Latest release | gateway-0.1.837 · 26 Oct 2026 ✓ | 2.20.27 · 23 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Go | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

prefect scores 80/100 against 61/100 for beam, so it is the safer default.

beam ships more often: 364 stable releases in the past year, against 17 for prefect.

If you want the quickest setup, prefect is easier to run; beam needs more configuration.

prefect is growing faster right now (+182 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [beam](https://selfhost.directory/project/beam) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/beam.md)
- [prefect](https://selfhost.directory/project/prefect) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/prefect.md)

## Related comparisons

- [Kestra vs prefect](https://selfhost.directory/compare/kestra-vs-prefect)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/beam-vs-prefect