SelfHostMap

Sim alternatives

Short answer

We track 5 self-hosted alternatives to Sim: Langflow, Dify, Coze Studio, n8n and Activepieces.

Langflow (same category): cheaper to host (from €11.99/mo vs €69.99/mo), lighter official minimum (1.5 GB vs 12 GB RAM), larger community (156k vs 29.9k GitHub stars) and simpler deploy (one container vs a multi-container stack).

Dify (same category): cheaper to host (from €19.99/mo vs €69.99/mo), lighter official minimum (4 GB vs 12 GB RAM) and larger community (159k vs 29.9k GitHub stars).

Coze Studio (same category): cheaper to host (from €19.99/mo vs €69.99/mo) and lighter official minimum (4 GB vs 12 GB RAM).

Last updated · how we rank · sources

Sim alternatives compared

Self-hosted alternatives to Sim, ranked
#AppAdvantages over SimEst. server costOfficial hardwareLicenseStarsLast commitCompare
—Sim (this app)Activefrom €69.99/mominimum 2 vCPU · 12 GB RAM · 20 GB disk (recommended 4 vCPU · 16 GB RAM · 50 GB disk)Apache-2.029.9kOct 22, 2026—
1 Langflow
Same category		 cheaper to host (from €11.99/mo vs €69.99/mo); lighter official minimum (1.5 GB vs 12 GB RAM); larger community (156k vs 29.9k GitHub stars); 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 Sim vs Langflow
2 Dify
Same category		 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)
Trade-off: Sim has fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Custom / conditional)		 from €19.99/mo minimum 2 vCPU · 4 GB RAM Dify Open Source License (modified Apache-2.0) 159k Oct 22, 2026 Sim vs Dify
3 Coze Studio
Same category		 cheaper to host (from €19.99/mo vs €69.99/mo); lighter official minimum (4 GB vs 12 GB RAM) from €19.99/mo minimum 2 vCPU · 4 GB RAM Apache-2.0 21.7k Jul 29, 2026 Sim vs Coze Studio
4 n8n
AI agent and workflow automation builders		 larger community (208k vs 29.9k GitHub stars); simpler deploy (one container vs a multi-container stack)
Trade-off: Sim has fewer license conditions (Permissive 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 Sim vs n8n
5 Activepieces
AI agent and workflow automation builders		 simpler deploy (one container vs a multi-container stack)
Trade-off: Sim has fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Open core)		 not estimated (no official RAM figure) not published MIT (core) + Activepieces Enterprise License (ee directories) 25.2k Oct 22, 2026 Sim vs Activepieces

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.
  • Dify (AI app & agent builders): Visual platform for building LLM apps, RAG chatbots, agents and workflows.
  • 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.
  • 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 alternatives: FAQ

What is the best self-hosted alternative to Sim?

By our objective ranking: 1. Langflow (cheaper to host (from €11.99/mo vs €69.99/mo); lighter official minimum (1.5 GB vs 12 GB RAM); larger community (156k vs 29.9k GitHub stars); simpler deploy (one container vs a multi-container stack)) 2. Dify (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)) 3. Coze Studio (cheaper to host (from €19.99/mo vs €69.99/mo); lighter official minimum (4 GB vs 12 GB RAM)). "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 Sim?

Yes, by estimated server cost: Langflow (from €11.99/mo), Dify (from €19.99/mo), Coze Studio (from €19.99/mo). Sim: from €69.99/mo.

Which Sim alternative has the most permissive license?

None has fewer conditions than Sim (Apache-2.0 (Permissive)). Alternatives: Langflow: MIT (Permissive); Dify: Dify Open Source License (modified Apache-2.0) (Custom / conditional); Coze Studio: Apache-2.0 (Permissive); n8n: Sustainable Use License (fair-code) + n8n Enterprise License for .ee files (Source-available); Activepieces: MIT (core) + Activepieces Enterprise License (ee directories) (Open core). Not legal advice.

Which Sim 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; Coze Studio: minimum 2 vCPU · 4 GB RAM. Sim: minimum 2 vCPU · 12 GB RAM · 20 GB disk (recommended 4 vCPU · 16 GB RAM · 50 GB disk).

Related

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