Agentic Index
Dify vs Langflow (2026)
Dify and Langflow are both open source visual builders for LLM apps, and the split is self contained platform versus Python ecosystem flow tool: Dify ships agents, RAG, observability, and a marketplace as one platform, free self hosted or from 59 dollars a month cloud, while Langflow is an MIT licensed visual flow builder with deep Python extensibility, now part of IBM through the DataStax acquisition, free and self hosted. Choose Dify for an all in one production platform, Langflow for Python native flow building with enterprise backing.
| At a glance | Dify | Langflow |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Agent builder | Agent builder |
| Entry price | From $59/mo · Sandbox free demo + free self-host | Free (OSS, self-host) |
| Free / trial | Free | Free (OSS MIT) |
| Pricing confidence | public partial | public partial |
| Feature |
D
Dify
|
L
Langflow
|
|---|---|---|
| Action & orchestration | ||
|
Integrations & Tool Calling Ability to connect agents to real systems through native integrations, OAuth-authenticated actions, custom tools, APIs, webhooks, or MCP-compatible tools. |
Full / Explicit | Full / Explicit |
|
Workflow Orchestration Ability to sequence, branch, retry, route, and combine deterministic workflow nodes with autonomous agent steps. |
Full / Explicit | Full / Explicit |
|
Triggers & Channel Coverage How agents wake up and where they work: schedules, webhooks, message events, CRM events, inbox events, chat, email, voice, and collaboration tools. |
Partial | Partial |
| Knowledge & context | ||
|
Knowledge Grounding & RAG Ability to ground agent behavior in company data through document ingestion, retrieval, external knowledge APIs, semantic search, or RAG layers. |
Full / Explicit | Full / Explicit |
|
Memory & State Persistence Ability to persist context across a run, conversation, workflow, user, team, or longer-term memory layer. |
Partial | No / Not documented |
| Control & trust | ||
|
Human Oversight & Guardrails Approval steps, consent checkpoints, escalation rules, structured guardrails, policy constraints, and pause/resume controls. |
Unknown / Unspecified | No / Not documented |
|
Security, Identity & Governance RBAC, SSO, auditability, encryption, least-privilege tool access, compliance posture, and data handling policy. |
Partial | Partial |
|
Observability & Auditability Traces, logs, execution histories, metrics, audit events, and debugging detail for production agent behavior. |
Full / Explicit | Full / Explicit |
|
Deployment & Data Residency Deployment modes and options, including SaaS, dedicated cloud, VPC, on-prem, hybrid, local runtime, and self-hosting. |
Full / Explicit | Full / Explicit |
| Solution readiness | ||
|
Prebuilt Agents, Templates & Packs Ready-made workflows, packaged employees, templates, blueprints, industry solutions, and role-specific agents that reduce time-to-value. |
Partial | Full / Explicit |
| Platform extensibility | ||
|
Model Flexibility & Routing Ability to work across multiple foundation models, route tasks to different models, or let buyers bring their own providers and keys. |
Full / Explicit | Full / Explicit |
|
APIs, SDKs & MCP Extensibility Composability layer: stable APIs, SDKs, MCP tool consumption/serving, custom tools, and integration into internal systems. |
Full / Explicit | Full / Explicit |
|
Testing, Debugging & Optimization Testing, debugging, scoring, retries, fallbacks, quality gates, and optimization loops for improving agent workflows before and after deployment. |
Partial | Partial |
| Specialist automation | ||
|
Browser & Computer Use Browser, desktop, or remote/local computer control for workflows that cannot be handled through stable APIs alone. |
No / Not documented | Partial |
Pricing snapshot
Sourced from the Index pricing dataset · open each vendor's profile for full detail.
| Pricing |
D
Dify
|
L
Langflow
|
|---|---|---|
|
Entry price Lowest public entry point |
From $59/mo · Sandbox free demo + free self-host | Free (OSS, self-host) |
|
Pricing confidence How public the numbers are |
Public — partial | Public — partial |
|
Billing Primary billing axis |
credits | usage |
|
Variable cost Workload / overage exposure |
Medium variable cost | Medium variable cost |
|
Free tier / trial Try before you buy |
Free tier
|
Free tier
|
|
Buying motion Self-serve vs sales call |
Mixed | Mixed |
Choose Dify if
- One platform covering build, deploy, observe, and improve is what you want.
- Business users participate after launch through Dify's app operations.
- Independent open source without big vendor gravity suits your plans.
Choose Langflow if
- Python extensibility at every node fits your engineering culture.
- MIT licensing with free self hosting keeps costs at zero.
- IBM backing reads as stability rather than risk for your organization.
Langflow was acquired by DataStax in 2024, and DataStax was acquired by IBM in 2025; Langflow continues as an open source project within IBM's portfolio.