Dify alternatives: 7 options compared for enterprise RAG (2026)

Dify is an open-source platform for building LLM applications. Its README lists seven building blocks: workflows on a visual canvas, support for hundreds of models, a prompt IDE, a RAG pipeline (text extraction from PDFs, PPTs and other common formats), agents, LLMOps (logs and performance monitoring) and an API for every feature ("Backend-as-a-Service").

Sources: dify.ai/pricing, the README and LICENSE of the langgenius/dify repository, GitHub API. Consulted on 23 October 2026.

Dify's licence allows commercial use, including as a backend for other applications. It adds two conditions under which you need a commercial licence from the vendor.

1. Multi-tenant. Unless Dify authorises it in writing, you may not use the source code to operate a multi-tenant environment. The licence defines one tenant as one workspace.
2. Logo and copyright. If you use Dify's frontend, you may not remove or modify the logo or copyright information in the console or applications.

It also adds two clauses for contributors: the vendor can make the open-source agreement stricter or more relaxed, and contributed code may be used commercially, including in its cloud business.

For an internal team using a single workspace, these conditions change little. For an agency or IT services firm that wants to deliver a platform to several clients, or present it under its own brand, they need checking before you start. The pricing page says the same thing in its own way: the Community Edition is limited to one workspace, and commercial licence authorisation is part of the Enterprise offer.

Source: LICENSE, langgenius/dify repository, consulted on 23 October 2026. This reading is not legal advice.

The table groups tools by family. The price shown is the entry price published by each vendor, with no calculation on our side.

Sources: each tool's official pages and GitHub repository, consulted on 23 October 2026 (full list under "Methodology and sources").

Flowise is no longer listed: its official GitHub repository is archived, with no activity since 13 August 2026 (GitHub API, consulted on 23 October 2026). For an existing project, see our guide to migrating from Flowise.

These three tools give you full control. In return, your team installs, secures and updates them, and chooses the models. The end application (access rights, user interface, authentication) is largely yours to build.

RAGFlow is an open-source RAG engine under the Apache-2.0 licence. Its README highlights template-based document chunking, multi-round "agentic" retrieval and traceable citations. The Docker deployment recommends 4 CPU cores, 16 GB RAM and 50 GB of disk to start, noting that actual needs depend on data volume and tasks. The vendor also offers a cloud service (cloud.ragflow.io). Version 1.0 is at release-candidate stage (v1.0.0-rc2, released on 16 October 2026). The latest stable release is v0.27.3, released on 23 October 2026.

Haystack, by deepset, is an open-source Python framework under the Apache-2.0 licence (installed with pip install haystack-ai). It composes retrieval pipelines and agents with explicit control over retrieval, routing and generation. Hayhooks exposes those pipelines as REST APIs or MCP servers. deepset also sells the Haystack Enterprise Platform, deployable as a managed cloud or self-hosted.

Langflow is an open-source visual builder under the MIT licence. Every workflow can be deployed as an API or as an MCP server. It installs with Python (3.10 to 3.14), with Docker, or through the Langflow Desktop app. Components can be customised in Python.

One thing they share: sovereignty depends entirely on how you run them. Installed on a server in France with a model you choose, they can meet strict requirements, as long as your team operates them over time.

These tools need less development work, but they do not target the same use.

AnythingLLM (MIT licence) is a document chat application. It runs locally on a computer (Mac, Windows, Linux) or as a self-hosted multi-user server. According to its README, multi-user management, white-labeling and the embeddable chat widget are available in the Docker version only. It is MCP-compatible. The vendor's website also mentions a cloud offer.

Dust is a SaaS agent workspace for teams. The Business plan, for teams of up to 100 people, offers a free seat (500 lifetime credits), a Pro seat at €24 per month billed yearly (€30 monthly) and a Max seat at €120 (€150 monthly). It can connect 20+ data sources, with up to 3 connectors on Business, offers SSO from 5 seats on request, and US or EU data residency. Enterprise adds unlimited connectors, SCIM, audit logs and single-tenant deployment.

n8n is an automation tool under the Sustainable Use License, a so-called fair-code licence that is not open source in the strict sense. The Starter (€20) and Pro (€50) plans per month, billed annually, are hosted by n8n, with data stored in the EU, in Frankfurt. The Business plan (€667 per month, billed annually) is self-hosted only and adds SSO, LDAP and queue mode. A self-hosted Community Edition is available on GitHub. For document RAG, you still assemble the vector database, ingestion and chat interface.

IgnitionRAG is an enterprise RAG platform: it answers from a company's documents and cites its sources. It brings together agents, workflows, a widget, an API, a TypeScript SDK and an MCP server.

White-label (name, colour and logo editable in the admin) is sold with the Agency/ESN licence. It is not part of Solo or Team.

On quality, each document collection can be evaluated in the dashboard: 1 to 30 automatically generated questions, or a reference set you provide of up to 50 questions, with metrics on citations and answer faithfulness. The documentation is upfront about the limits: synthetic questions are often too easy, and an LLM judge can be correlated with the system it evaluates.

Look at another tool if your need goes beyond document RAG (general-purpose LLM apps, automations across hundreds of tools) or if you want to install and run an open-source project yourself.

Dify remains a good choice in three cases. Your team already relies on its visual canvas and model catalogue. Your use is internal, in a single workspace, which falls outside the multi-tenant case in the licence. And you self-host it on infrastructure that meets your requirements, or Dify Cloud's published quotas are enough for you. The size of its community, over 159,000 GitHub stars (October 2026), and its release pace are real strengths.

Basis for the grid: the licences and official pages cited in this guide, consulted on 23 October 2026. Matching situations to approaches is our own reading.

Method

Every fact about a third-party tool comes from its official page, its GitHub repository or the GitHub API, consulted on 23 October 2026 around 9:30 (Paris time). No tool was tested for this guide. Prices are those displayed by the vendors, with no currency conversion. Facts about IgnitionRAG are those published by IgnitionAI. A first version of this comparison dates from 15 October 2026; all its facts were re-checked on 23 October 2026.

Dify

• Dify pricing, consulted on 23 October 2026.
• Dify licence and README, consulted on 23 October 2026.
• GitHub API, langgenius/dify repository: version 1.18.0 of 23 October 2026, over 159,000 GitHub stars (October 2026). Checked on 24 October 2026.

Alternatives

• RAGFlow README (Apache-2.0 licence, Docker prerequisites, cloud service); GitHub API (v1.0.0-rc2 of 16 October 2026, v0.27.3 of 23 October 2026). Consulted on 23 October 2026.
• Haystack README (Apache-2.0 licence, Hayhooks). Consulted on 23 October 2026.
• Haystack Enterprise Platform (managed cloud or self-hosted deployment), consulted on 23 October 2026.
• Langflow README (MIT licence, API and MCP server, installation). Consulted on 23 October 2026.
• AnythingLLM README (MIT licence, Docker-only features) and anythingllm.com. Consulted on 23 October 2026.
• n8n pricing (plans, Frankfurt hosting) and n8n licence. Consulted on 23 October 2026.
• Dust pricing, consulted on 24 October 2026.
• GitHub API, FlowiseAI/Flowise repository: archived: true, last activity on 13 August 2026. Checked on 23 October 2026.

IgnitionRAG

• Facts published by IgnitionAI: plans and prices, managed AI on SaaS, OVH France hosting of the SaaS plans, Agency/ESN licence (deployment, BYOK, white-label), collection evaluation. Last checked on 23 October 2026.

IgnitionAI estimates

None.

Limits

Tool prices and features change often. This guide does not compare answer quality, which depends on your documents and models. The licence reading is not legal advice.

Last source review

23 October 2026.