Choose Dify when
- Product, knowledge and workflow management should live in one interface.
- The published two-core, 4 GiB minimum fits your infrastructure plan.
- Non-developers need an app-oriented workspace, not only a flow canvas.
Sources checked October 21, 2026 Official docs and repository files
Dify vs Flowise 2026: A Source-Backed Comparison
Choose Dify when you want one workspace for apps, knowledge, workflows and operations. Choose Flowise when a node-based builder and a smaller default deployment shape matter more. Both can build serious RAG systems; the old claim that Flowise RAG is basic is not supported by its current documentation.
The short decision
Choose Flowise when
- Your team thinks in nodes, tools, agents and connected chains.
- You want the smaller default Docker Compose topology.
- You need flexible document loaders and RAG plumbing in the visual builder.
This is a selection guide, not a universal winner. We did not run a controlled performance benchmark, so we do not publish invented RAM usage, migration time or throughput numbers.
Comparison at a glance
Every row below is limited to what the current official documentation or repository files support.
| Decision factor | Dify | Flowise |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | An integrated workspace for AI apps, knowledge, workflows and operations | A visual builder centered on agents, chatflows and composable nodes |
| Official self-host entry point | Docker Compose; minimum two CPU cores and 4 GiB RAM | NPM, Docker image or a one-service default Docker Compose file |
| RAG and document search | Integrated knowledge bases, retrieval settings and app workflows | Document Stores with loaders, splitters, metadata, vector stores and refresh |
| Default Compose topology | Modular stack with many declared service blocks, including optional backends | One Flowise service in the default Compose file |
| Core licensing | Apache 2.0 based license with additional conditions | Apache 2.0 core; enterprise directories have separate terms |
| Managed deployment route | Vendor cloud or third-party managed hosting such as Elestio | Vendor cloud or deployment providers listed in the official docs |
What the deployment files actually show
Repository inspection, October 21, 2026
We inspected Dify commit 972924b and Flowise commit 9291856. Dify's Compose file declares 39 top-level service blocks. Several are alternative or optional databases, vector stores and support services, so 39 is not the number that always runs. Flowise's default Compose file declares one flowise service.
That is useful evidence about deployment shape, not a speed or cost benchmark. Dify also publishes a minimum of two CPU cores and 4 GiB of RAM. Flowise's getting-started guide gives Node, NPM and Docker instructions but no comparable RAM minimum. Any exact memory or cheapest-server claim would need a dated, repeatable benchmark.
RAG and company document search
This is not a Dify-only use case. Dify combines knowledge bases, retrieval configuration and application workflows. Flowise Document Stores can load files, split text, attach metadata, select embeddings and vector stores, manage records and refresh changed sources. Flowise also documents rerankers and multiple retrieval patterns.
A fair proof-of-concept
- Use the same 20 to 50 representative documents.
- Write 30 questions with known source answers.
- Score answer correctness, source traceability and latency.
- Record operator time for ingestion and updates.
Do not decide from a feature count
Retrieval quality depends on the corpus, chunking, embeddings, filters, reranking and evaluation method. A longer feature list does not establish better answers on your data.
Licensing needs a closer look
Calling both products simply "Apache 2.0" hides important detail. Dify uses a license based on Apache 2.0 with additional conditions, including conditions relevant to multi-tenant services and branding. Flowise states that its core code outside named enterprise directories uses Apache 2.0, while enterprise code has separate commercial terms.
This page is not legal advice. Read the current license files before embedding either product in a commercial service.
Self-managed or managed hosting?
Self-managed
Run either stack on your own cloud server
Choose this when your team will own patching, backups, monitoring, TLS and incident response. Start from the vendor requirements and size for your actual database, vector store and traffic.
View DigitalOcean cloud serversAffiliate disclosure: this DigitalOcean link is tracked and may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. It does not affect the comparison.
Managed
Delegate routine platform operations
Choose this when reducing operator work matters more than maximum infrastructure control. Elestio publishes separate installation guides for Dify and Flowise.
Dify on Elestio
Flowise on Elestio
These are direct source links, not tracked affiliate links.
Migration reality
We did not find a vendor-maintained Dify-to-Flowise or Flowise-to-Dify converter in the official documentation checked for this review. Treat migration as a manual rebuild unless a supported tool is documented later. Inventory prompts, credentials, tools, retrieval settings, data sources, API contracts and evaluation cases before moving anything.
Frequently asked questions
Is Flowise easier to self-host than Dify?
Flowise has the smaller default deployment shape: its official Docker Compose file declares one application service. Dify uses a modular Compose stack with many declared services and publishes a minimum of two CPU cores and 4 GiB of RAM. That makes Flowise simpler to start, but it is not a measured runtime benchmark.
Which has better RAG support, Dify or Flowise?
Both can build document search and RAG applications. Dify packages knowledge management and retrieval inside its broader app platform. Flowise Document Stores support loaders, text splitters, metadata, vector stores, record management and refresh workflows. Test both with your own documents and questions before choosing.
Can I migrate from Flowise to Dify?
We did not find a vendor-maintained converter in the official documentation checked on October 21, 2026. Plan for a manual rebuild unless the vendors publish a supported path, then validate prompts, tools, retrieval and output behavior before switching production traffic.
Can I run Dify or Flowise on DigitalOcean?
Yes. Both offer self-hosted Docker paths, and Flowise lists DigitalOcean in its deployment documentation. Size the server for your models, vector database and workload. Dify currently documents a minimum of two CPU cores and 4 GiB of RAM; Flowise does not publish an equivalent RAM minimum in its getting-started guide.
Sources and verification notes
Product behavior changes quickly. These links are the evidence used for this revision. Repository links are pinned to the commits inspected on October 21, 2026.
- Dify README and published minimum requirements
- Dify Docker Compose configuration inspected
- Dify license at the inspected commit
- Flowise default Docker Compose configuration inspected
- Flowise license at the inspected commit
- Flowise getting started and self-host methods
- Flowise Document Stores and RAG pipeline
- Dify knowledge base and retrieval API reference inspected