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AWS Step Functions alternatives: Azure, Google Cloud and open source

Step Functions remembers where a long job got to.

The least glamorous service in my video pipeline and the one that saved the most money.

  • From my own projects
  • Sources linked
  • Updated September 2026

The same job on four platforms

The same task, a different bill and a different console. The layer does not change.

AWS

AWS Step Functions[1]

Step Functions remembers where a long job got to.

AWS documentation →[2]

Microsoft Azure

Azure Logic Apps[3]

Official documentation →

Durable Functions (code-first)[4]

Official documentation →

Google Cloud

Workflows[5]

Official documentation →

Open source / run it yourself

Apache Airflow[6]

Scheduled data and ML pipelines, Apache 2.0.

Temporal[7]

Durable workflows written as code, MIT licence.

Argo Workflows[8]

Workflows on Kubernetes, a CNCF graduated project.

What Step Functions does

You sendA state machine: the steps, the order, and what to do on failure
Step Functions

Step Functions remembers where a long job got to.

You get backAn execution that can run for up to a year
What it costsPer state transition. About a cent per video in my pipeline.
Who operates itAWS keeps the state. The steps themselves are your functions, your containers or your service calls.
When it is the wrong choiceWhen there are three steps and they never fail. Then it is a function with three calls in it.

AWS calls it: “Build and orchestrate distributed applications faster with visual workflows”[1]

How I use it

It orchestrates the parallel analysis in my video pipeline. It is why a failed clip resumes instead of starting again, and why re-runs cost almost nothing.

How I built an AI film crew on AWS →All AWS services in my projects →
Linda Mohamed

Linda Mohamed, AI and cloud consultant and AWS Community Hero in Vienna. I build these pipelines for clients and teach them at FH Burgenland.

Read more on ai-solutions.wiki

My open knowledge base, with longer comparisons and more sources.

Questions

What is the Azure equivalent of AWS Step Functions?

Azure Logic Apps; Durable Functions (code-first).

What is the Google Cloud equivalent of AWS Step Functions?

Workflows.

What is the open-source alternative to AWS Step Functions?

Apache Airflow: Scheduled data and ML pipelines, Apache 2.0. Temporal: Durable workflows written as code, MIT licence. Argo Workflows: Workflows on Kubernetes, a CNCF graduated project.

How is AWS Step Functions billed?

Per state transition. About a cent per video in my pipeline.

When should you not use AWS Step Functions?

When there are three steps and they never fail. Then it is a function with three calls in it.

Sources

  1. AWS Step Functions product page. https://aws.amazon.com/step-functions/
  2. AWS Step Functions documentation. https://docs.aws.amazon.com/step-functions/latest/dg/welcome.html
  3. Azure Logic Apps documentation. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/logic-apps/logic-apps-overview
  4. Durable Functions (code-first) documentation. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-functions/durable/durable-functions-overview
  5. Workflows documentation. https://cloud.google.com/workflows/docs
  6. Apache Airflow. https://airflow.apache.org/
  7. Temporal. https://temporal.io/
  8. Argo Workflows. https://argo-workflows.readthedocs.io/
  9. AWS Step Functions: Workflow Orchestration for AI Pipelines, ai-solutions.wiki. https://ai-solutions.wiki/tools/aws-step-functions/
  10. Temporal vs AWS Step Functions vs Apache Airflow for Durable Agent Orchestration, ai-solutions.wiki. https://ai-solutions.wiki/comparisons/temporal-vs-step-functions-vs-airflow/
  11. Apache Airflow vs AWS Step Functions for ML Pipelines, ai-solutions.wiki. https://ai-solutions.wiki/comparisons/airflow-vs-step-functions/
  12. Azure Logic Apps: Low-Code Workflow Orchestration, ai-solutions.wiki. https://ai-solutions.wiki/tools/azure-logic-apps/
  13. AWS Step Functions vs Lambda Chains for AI Orchestration, ai-solutions.wiki. https://ai-solutions.wiki/comparisons/step-functions-vs-lambda-chains/
  14. Linda Mohamed, course slides “The projects”, MASE-3, FH Burgenland, September 2026.

Links checked September 2026. Product names and availability change: check the linked pages before you decide.

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