Airflow 3 vs Airflow 2: Upgrade, or Migrate?

Airflow 3, released in April 2025, offers significant architectural improvements over its predecessor, including a modern React-based UI, a more efficient FastAPI-based REST API, a new Task SDK, and data-aware scheduling capabilities. However, the transition from Airflow 2 to Airflow 3 is not straightforward, as it involves breaking changes that may require substantial refactoring and rewriting of existing DAG libraries, making it a significant engineering challenge. Teams must consider whether these updates address their specific pain points and if they are willing to undertake the migration effort. Moreover, if Airflow's Python-centric nature and other limitations present ongoing challenges, teams might explore alternatives like Kestra, an event-driven orchestration platform that supports language-agnostic execution and event-driven workflows, offering a more flexible approach to orchestration. The decision to upgrade or switch should be made with consideration for future orchestration needs, especially given Airflow 2's limited support ending in April 2026.

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