CowAgent vs Flowise
Short answer
CowAgent: Self-hosted AI agent (formerly chatgpt-on-wechat) that answers in WeChat, WeCom, Feishu, DingTalk, Slack and a web console. Flowise: Drag-and-drop builder for LLM agents and chatflows (archived August 2026). Both are in our AI app & agent builders category.
Flowise's repository is archived, so it gets no updates or security fixes. For a new deployment, CowAgent is the maintained option; Flowise only makes sense if you already run it.
Choose CowAgent if you want: fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Open core) and an actively maintained project (Flowise is archived).
CowAgent and Flowise publish no official RAM figure, so we cannot compare hosting cost directly.
Last updated · computed from each project's official docs and live GitHub data · sources
CowAgent vs Flowise side by side
| CowAgent | Flowise | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | AI app & agent builders | AI app & agent builders |
| What it is | Self-hosted AI agent (formerly chatgpt-on-wechat) that answers in WeChat, WeCom, Feishu, DingTalk, Slack and a web console. | Drag-and-drop builder for LLM agents and chatflows (archived August 2026). |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 (enterprise directory under a commercial license) |
| License type | Permissive | Open core |
| License conditions | Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep the copyright notice. | Most of the code is Apache-2.0. Code under packages/server/src/enterprise and files with explicit copyright notices are under a separate commercial license. |
| Status | Active | Archived |
| GitHub stars | 47.7k | 55.5k |
| Last commit | Oct 30, 2026 | Aug 13, 2026 |
| Latest release | 2.2.2 | [email protected] |
| Minimum hardware | Not published | Not published |
| Recommended hardware | Not published | Not published |
| RAM measured by us | Not tested yet | Not tested yet |
| GPU | No. It calls the model providers you configure. | Not required / not stated |
| Est. server cost | Not estimated | Not estimated |
| Deploy method | Docker Compose (official compose file) | npm or Docker Compose |
| Known gotchas | 3 listed | 3 listed |
| Telemetry | Not documented | Not documented |
| Calls home by default | Not documented | Not documented |
| SSO (OIDC / SAML / LDAP) | Not documented | Paid / enterprise only (OIDC paid) |
| Audit log | Not documented | Not documented |
| RBAC | Not documented | Paid / enterprise only |
| Details | Full CowAgent guide → | Full Flowise guide → |
Key differences
- License: CowAgent: MIT (Permissive). Flowise: Apache-2.0 (enterprise directory under a commercial license) (Open core).
- GPU: CowAgent: optional / see notes. Flowise: not required or not stated.
- Deploy: CowAgent: Docker Compose (official compose file) · multi-container stack. Flowise: npm or Docker Compose · multi-container stack.
- Status: CowAgent: Active. Flowise: Archived.
- GitHub stars: CowAgent: 47.7k. Flowise: 55.5k.
- Last commit: CowAgent: Oct 30, 2026. Flowise: Aug 13, 2026.
- Latest release: CowAgent: 2.2.2 (Oct 30, 2026). Flowise: [email protected] (Jul 29, 2026).
Same for both: Category: AI app & agent builders; Official hardware: not published; Est. server cost: not estimated (no official RAM figure).
CowAgent vs Flowise: FAQ
CowAgent or Flowise: which should a small business choose?
Flowise's repository is archived, so it gets no updates or security fixes. For a new deployment, CowAgent is the maintained option; Flowise only makes sense if you already run it. Choose CowAgent if you want: fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Open core) and an actively maintained project (Flowise is archived). CowAgent and Flowise publish no official RAM figure, so we cannot compare hosting cost directly.
Which is cheaper to self-host, CowAgent or Flowise?
CowAgent: not estimated (no official RAM figure). Flowise: not estimated (no official RAM figure). Our estimate is the cheapest Hetzner Cloud plan that meets each project's official RAM and vCPU figure; it covers the server only.
How much hardware do CowAgent and Flowise need?
CowAgent: not published. Flowise: not published.
What is the license difference between CowAgent and Flowise?
CowAgent: MIT (Permissive). Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep the copyright notice. Flowise: Apache-2.0 (enterprise directory under a commercial license) (Open core). Most of the code is Apache-2.0. Code under packages/server/src/enterprise and files with explicit copyright notices are under a separate commercial license. This is a summary, not legal advice.
Is CowAgent or Flowise more actively maintained?
CowAgent: Active, last commit Oct 30, 2026. Flowise: Archived, last commit Aug 13, 2026. GitHub data refreshed Oct 30, 2026.
Which is easier to deploy, CowAgent or Flowise?
CowAgent installs via Docker Compose (official compose file) (multi-container stack); Flowise via npm or Docker Compose (multi-container stack). CowAgent lists 3 known gotchas and Flowise lists 3; see each app page.
Related
- CowAgent self-hosting guide · Flowise self-hosting guide
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Sources
- CowAgent GitHub repository: github.com/zhayujie/CowAgent
- CowAgent documentation, CowAgent hardware requirements: docs.cowagent.ai/guide/quick-start
- CowAgent license: github.com/zhayujie/CowAgent/blob/master/LICENSE
- CowAgent deploy instructions: github.com/zhayujie/CowAgent#readme
- Flowise GitHub repository: github.com/FlowiseAI/Flowise
- Flowise documentation, Flowise hardware requirements, Flowise deploy instructions: github.com/FlowiseAI/Flowise#readme
- Flowise license: github.com/FlowiseAI/Flowise/blob/main/LICENSE.md
- Hetzner Cloud pricing used for cost estimates (read 2026-10-25): www.hetzner.com/cloud/regular-performance
- GitHub REST API (stars, commits, releases): docs.github.com/en/rest
Every value is generated from the same verified data as the app pages. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.