head to head · open source
Dify vs apm
Dify has 160,251 GitHub stars, 25,336 forks, 1,067 open issues and last shipped yesterday. apm has 4,175 stars, 413 forks, 215 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Dify leads on adoption by 3,738% (160,251 vs 4,175 stars). Dify is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence; apm is written in Python under MIT. Dify has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, apm 10%. Dify was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Dify | apm | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 160K | ★ 4.2K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 25K | ⑂ 413 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Dify if
- You weight community size — 160K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick apm if
- You want the apm feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and apm fits your workflow better
About Dify
Dify Cloud · Self hosting · Documentation · Dify edition overview Dify is an open source LLM app development platform. Its intuitive interface combines AI workflow, RAG pipeline, agent capabilities, model management, observability features (including Opik, Langfuse, and Arize Phoenix) and more, letting you quickly go from prototype to production. Here's a list of the core features: Quick start Before installing Dify, make sure your machine meets the following minimum system requirements: CPU = 2 Core RAM = 4 GiB The easiest way to start the Dify server is through Docker Compose. Before running Dify with the…
About apm
APM – Agent Package Manager An open source, community driven dependency manager for AI agents. Think package.json , requirements.txt , or Cargo.toml — but for AI agent configuration. GitHub Copilot Claude Code Grok Build Cursor OpenCode Codex Gemini Windsurf Kiro Documentation · Quick Start · CLI Reference · Roadmap Portable by manifest. Secure by default. Governed by policy. One file describes every agent's context; one command reproduces it everywhere; one policy controls what an org will allow. Why APM AI coding agents need context to be useful — standards, prompts, skills, plugins — but today every developer…
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Frequently asked questions
Is Dify or apm more popular?
Dify has 160,251 GitHub stars and apm has 4,175. Dify has the larger community by that measure.
Are Dify and apm free?
Both are open source. Dify has no licence declared in this registry, and apm is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Dify and apm?
Dify is written in Python and apm in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Dify or apm?
Choose Dify if you want the larger community (160,251 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose apm if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.