Dify alternatives
Short answer
We track 8 self-hosted alternatives to Dify: Langflow, Activepieces, Sim, Coze Studio, n8n, RAGFlow, MaxKB and FastGPT.
Langflow (same category): cheaper to host (from €11.99/mo vs €19.99/mo), lighter official minimum (1.5 GB vs 4 GB RAM), fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Custom / conditional) and simpler deploy (one container vs a multi-container stack).
Activepieces (ai agent and workflow automation builders): fewer license conditions (Open core vs Custom / conditional) and simpler deploy (one container vs a multi-container stack).
Sim (same category): fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Custom / conditional).
Last updated · how we rank · sources
Dify alternatives compared
| # | App | Advantages over Dify | Est. server cost | Official hardware | License | Stars | Last commit | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Dify (this app) | Active | from €19.99/mo | minimum 2 vCPU · 4 GB RAM | Dify Open Source License (modified Apache-2.0) | 159k | Oct 22, 2026 | — |
| 1 | Langflow Same category | cheaper to host (from €11.99/mo vs €19.99/mo); lighter official minimum (1.5 GB vs 4 GB RAM); fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Custom / conditional); simpler deploy (one container vs a multi-container stack) | from €11.99/mo | minimum 1 vCPU · 1.5 GB RAM (recommended 2 vCPU · 4 GB RAM) | MIT | 156k | Oct 21, 2026 | Dify vs Langflow |
| 2 | Activepieces AI agent and workflow automation builders | fewer license conditions (Open core vs Custom / conditional); simpler deploy (one container vs a multi-container stack) Trade-off: Dify has larger community (159k vs 25.2k GitHub stars) | not estimated (no official RAM figure) | not published | MIT (core) + Activepieces Enterprise License (ee directories) | 25.2k | Oct 22, 2026 | Dify vs Activepieces |
| 3 | Sim Same category | fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Custom / conditional) Trade-off: Dify has cheaper to host (from €19.99/mo vs €69.99/mo); lighter official minimum (4 GB vs 12 GB RAM); larger community (159k vs 29.9k GitHub stars) | from €69.99/mo | minimum 2 vCPU · 12 GB RAM · 20 GB disk (recommended 4 vCPU · 16 GB RAM · 50 GB disk) | Apache-2.0 | 29.9k | Oct 22, 2026 | Dify vs Sim |
| 4 | Coze Studio Same category | fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Custom / conditional) Trade-off: Dify has larger community (159k vs 21.7k GitHub stars) | from €19.99/mo | minimum 2 vCPU · 4 GB RAM | Apache-2.0 | 21.7k | Jul 29, 2026 | Dify vs Coze Studio |
| 5 | n8n AI agent and workflow automation builders | simpler deploy (one container vs a multi-container stack) Trade-off: Dify has fewer license conditions (Custom / conditional vs Source-available) | not estimated (no official RAM figure) | not published | Sustainable Use License (fair-code) + n8n Enterprise License for .ee files | 208k | Oct 22, 2026 | Dify vs n8n |
| 6 | RAGFlow Visual knowledge-base and workflow platforms | fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Custom / conditional) Trade-off: Dify has cheaper to host (from €19.99/mo vs €69.99/mo); larger community (159k vs 92.6k GitHub stars) | from €69.99/mo | recommended 4 vCPU · 16 GB RAM · 50 GB disk (no separate minimum published) | Apache-2.0 | 92.6k | Oct 22, 2026 | Dify vs RAGFlow |
| 7 | MaxKB Visual knowledge-base and workflow platforms | simpler deploy (one container vs a multi-container stack) Trade-off: Dify has cheaper to host (from €19.99/mo vs €35.99/mo); lighter official minimum (4 GB vs 8 GB RAM); larger community (159k vs 23.0k GitHub stars) | from €35.99/mo | minimum 4 vCPU · 8 GB RAM · 100 GB disk | GPL-3.0 | 23.0k | Oct 21, 2026 | Dify vs MaxKB |
| 8 | FastGPT Visual knowledge-base and workflow platforms | None in our data (differs in features) Trade-off: Dify has larger community (159k vs 29.9k GitHub stars) | from €19.99/mo | minimum 2 vCPU · 4 GB RAM (recommended 2 vCPU · 8 GB RAM) | FastGPT Open Source License (Apache-2.0 with conditions) | 29.9k | Oct 22, 2026 | Dify vs FastGPT |
Ranked by the number of objective advantages each alternative has over the app (cheaper estimated server cost, lighter official RAM figure, no GPU needed, fewer license conditions, better maintenance status, at least 1.5× the GitHub stars, simpler deploy). Ties: same-category apps first, then more GitHub stars. License order used: Permissive (MIT/Apache) → Open core → Copyleft (GPL) or Custom conditions → Network copyleft (AGPL) → Source-available. Archived projects are not listed as alternatives. Not listed because archived: Flowise.
What each alternative is
- Langflow (AI app & agent builders): Visual builder for AI agents and RAG flows that you can deploy as APIs or MCP servers.
- Activepieces (Workflow automation with AI): Open-source Zapier alternative with AI agents, MCP and human-in-the-loop steps. Why it is listed: All of them let you build multi-step workflows or agents that call LLMs and expose or connect to other systems.
- Sim (AI app & agent builders): Visual builder for AI agent workflows, with knowledge bases, integrations and an API.
- Coze Studio (AI app & agent builders): Open-source edition of ByteDance's Coze agent-building platform.
- n8n (Workflow automation with AI): Workflow automation with 1,500+ integrations and built-in AI agent nodes. Why it is listed: All of them let you build multi-step workflows or agents that call LLMs and expose or connect to other systems.
- RAGFlow (Knowledge base & RAG): RAG engine with deep document parsing (OCR, layout and tables) and cited answers. Why it is listed: All of them combine a document knowledge base (RAG) with a visual builder for Q&A, agent or workflow apps.
- MaxKB (Knowledge base & RAG): Enterprise knowledge-base and agent platform with RAG and workflows. Why it is listed: All of them combine a document knowledge base (RAG) with a visual builder for Q&A, agent or workflow apps.
- FastGPT (Knowledge base & RAG): Knowledge-base Q&A and visual AI workflow platform. Why it is listed: All of them combine a document knowledge base (RAG) with a visual builder for Q&A, agent or workflow apps.
Dify alternatives: FAQ
What is the best self-hosted alternative to Dify?
By our objective ranking: 1. Langflow (cheaper to host (from €11.99/mo vs €19.99/mo); lighter official minimum (1.5 GB vs 4 GB RAM); fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Custom / conditional); simpler deploy (one container vs a multi-container stack)) 2. Activepieces (fewer license conditions (Open core vs Custom / conditional); simpler deploy (one container vs a multi-container stack)) 3. Sim (fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Custom / conditional)). "Best" depends on the features you need; the ranking only counts cost, hardware, license, maintenance, community size and deploy complexity.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Dify?
Yes, by estimated server cost: Langflow (from €11.99/mo). Dify: from €19.99/mo.
Which Dify alternative has the most permissive license?
Langflow: MIT (Permissive); Activepieces: MIT (core) + Activepieces Enterprise License (ee directories) (Open core); Sim: Apache-2.0 (Permissive); Coze Studio: Apache-2.0 (Permissive); RAGFlow: Apache-2.0 (Permissive). Dify is Dify Open Source License (modified Apache-2.0) (Custom / conditional). Not legal advice.
Which Dify alternative needs the least hardware?
Langflow: minimum 1 vCPU · 1.5 GB RAM (recommended 2 vCPU · 4 GB RAM). Dify: minimum 2 vCPU · 4 GB RAM.
Which SaaS products does Dify replace?
In our mapping, Dify is a self-hosted alternative to Intercom Fin and Zendesk AI, with gaps listed on each comparison page.
Related
Sources
- Dify GitHub repository: github.com/langgenius/dify
- Dify documentation, Dify hardware requirements: docs.dify.ai/en/self-host/deploy/quick-start/docker-compose
- Dify license: github.com/langgenius/dify/blob/main/LICENSE
- Dify deploy instructions: github.com/langgenius/dify#quick-start
- Langflow GitHub repository: github.com/langflow-ai/langflow
- Activepieces GitHub repository: github.com/activepieces/activepieces
- Sim GitHub repository: github.com/simstudioai/sim
- Coze Studio GitHub repository: github.com/coze-dev/coze-studio
- n8n GitHub repository: github.com/n8n-io/n8n
- RAGFlow GitHub repository: github.com/infiniflow/ragflow
- MaxKB GitHub repository: github.com/1Panel-dev/MaxKB
- FastGPT GitHub repository: github.com/labring/FastGPT
- Hetzner Cloud pricing used for cost estimates (read 2026-10-22): www.hetzner.com/cloud/regular-performance
- GitHub stars and commits: GitHub REST API, refreshed daily