Langchain-Chatchat vs RAGFlow
Short answer
Langchain-Chatchat: Chinese-first local knowledge-base Q&A and agent app built on LangChain, wired to local model servers. RAGFlow: RAG engine with deep document parsing (OCR, layout and tables) and cited answers. Both are in our Knowledge base & RAG category.
Choose RAGFlow if you want: an actively maintained project (Langchain-Chatchat is stale) and larger community (93.2k vs 38.7k GitHub stars).
Langchain-Chatchat publishes 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
Langchain-Chatchat vs RAGFlow side by side
| Langchain-Chatchat | RAGFlow | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Knowledge base & RAG | Knowledge base & RAG |
| What it is | Chinese-first local knowledge-base Q&A and agent app built on LangChain, wired to local model servers. | RAG engine with deep document parsing (OCR, layout and tables) and cited answers. |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| License type | Permissive | Permissive |
| License conditions | Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed. Models keep their own licenses. | Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep license and notices. |
| Status | Stale (no commit in 180+ days) | Active |
| GitHub stars | 38.7k | 93.2k |
| Last commit | Nov 10, 2025 | Oct 31, 2026 |
| Latest release | v0.3.1 | v1.0.0-rc3 |
| Minimum hardware | Not published | Not published |
| Recommended hardware | Not published | 4 vCPU · 16 GB RAM · 50 GB disk |
| RAM measured by us | Not tested yet | Not tested yet |
| GPU | Not required by the app itself. Since 0.3.0 hardware depends on the model server you connect; the docs say it can run on CPU, GPU, NPU or MPS. The Docker Compose guide pairs it with Xinference and assumes the NVIDIA Container Toolkit. | Not required / not stated |
| Est. server cost | Not estimated | from €69.99/mo |
| Deploy method | pip (or Docker Compose with Xinference) | Docker Compose |
| Known gotchas | 5 listed | 2 listed |
| Telemetry | Not documented | Not documented |
| Calls home by default | Not documented | Not documented |
| SSO (OIDC / SAML / LDAP) | Not documented | Free (OIDC free) |
| Audit log | Not documented | Not documented |
| RBAC | Not documented | Basic free, more in paid plan |
| Details | Full Langchain-Chatchat guide → | Full RAGFlow guide → |
Key differences
- Official hardware: Langchain-Chatchat: not published. RAGFlow: recommended 4 vCPU · 16 GB RAM · 50 GB disk (no separate minimum published).
- GPU: Langchain-Chatchat: optional / see notes. RAGFlow: not required or not stated.
- Est. server cost: Langchain-Chatchat: not estimated (no official RAM figure). RAGFlow: from €69.99/mo.
- Deploy: Langchain-Chatchat: pip (or Docker Compose with Xinference) · multi-container stack. RAGFlow: Docker Compose · multi-container stack.
- Status: Langchain-Chatchat: Stale (no commit in 180+ days). RAGFlow: Active.
- GitHub stars: Langchain-Chatchat: 38.7k. RAGFlow: 93.2k.
- Last commit: Langchain-Chatchat: Nov 10, 2025. RAGFlow: Oct 31, 2026.
- Latest release: Langchain-Chatchat: v0.3.1 (Jul 12, 2024). RAGFlow: v1.0.0-rc3 (Oct 30, 2026).
Same for both: Category: Knowledge base & RAG; License: Apache-2.0 (Permissive).
Langchain-Chatchat vs RAGFlow: FAQ
Langchain-Chatchat or RAGFlow: which should a small business choose?
Choose RAGFlow if you want: an actively maintained project (Langchain-Chatchat is stale) and larger community (93.2k vs 38.7k GitHub stars). Langchain-Chatchat publishes no official RAM figure, so we cannot compare hosting cost directly.
Which is cheaper to self-host, Langchain-Chatchat or RAGFlow?
Langchain-Chatchat: not estimated (no official RAM figure). RAGFlow: from €69.99/mo. 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 Langchain-Chatchat and RAGFlow need?
Langchain-Chatchat: not published. RAGFlow: recommended 4 vCPU · 16 GB RAM · 50 GB disk (no separate minimum published).
What is the license difference between Langchain-Chatchat and RAGFlow?
Langchain-Chatchat: Apache-2.0 (Permissive). Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed. Models keep their own licenses. RAGFlow: Apache-2.0 (Permissive). Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep license and notices. This is a summary, not legal advice.
Is Langchain-Chatchat or RAGFlow more actively maintained?
Langchain-Chatchat: Stale (no commit in 180+ days), last commit Nov 10, 2025. RAGFlow: Active, last commit Oct 31, 2026. GitHub data refreshed Oct 31, 2026.
Which is easier to deploy, Langchain-Chatchat or RAGFlow?
Langchain-Chatchat installs via pip (or Docker Compose with Xinference) (multi-container stack); RAGFlow via Docker Compose (multi-container stack). Langchain-Chatchat lists 5 known gotchas and RAGFlow lists 2; see each app page.
Related
- Langchain-Chatchat self-hosting guide · RAGFlow self-hosting guide
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- All RAGFlow alternatives, ranked
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- Add a third app in the interactive comparison
Sources
- Langchain-Chatchat GitHub repository: github.com/chatchat-space/Langchain-Chatchat
- Langchain-Chatchat documentation: github.com/chatchat-space/Langchain-Chatchat#readme
- Langchain-Chatchat license: github.com/chatchat-space/Langchain-Chatchat/blob/master/LICENSE
- Langchain-Chatchat hardware requirements: github.com/chatchat-space/Langchain-Chatchat#0-软硬件要求
- Langchain-Chatchat deploy instructions: github.com/chatchat-space/Langchain-Chatchat#pip-安装部署
- RAGFlow GitHub repository: github.com/infiniflow/ragflow
- RAGFlow documentation, RAGFlow hardware requirements, RAGFlow deploy instructions: github.com/infiniflow/ragflow#-get-started
- RAGFlow license: github.com/infiniflow/ragflow/blob/main/LICENSE
- 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.