head to head · open source
Dify vs cua
Dify has 160,251 GitHub stars, 25,336 forks, 1,067 open issues and last shipped yesterday. cua has 31,590 stars, 2,340 forks, 926 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Dify leads on adoption by 407% (160,251 vs 31,590 stars). Dify is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence; cua is written in Rust under MIT. Dify has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, cua 7%. cua was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (agent), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
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 | cua | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 160K | ★ 32K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 25K | ⑂ 2.3K |
| 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 cua if
- You want the cua feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and cua 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 cua
Give AI agents computers they can use. Cua provides open source desktop automation, isolated cloud desktops, local macOS VMs, and benchmarks for evaluating computer use agents. Try Cua Fleets now at run.cua.ai Choose your path Cua Fleets: Provision a Linux desktop, run a command, and save a screenshot. Cua Driver: Operate Calculator and verify its result. Lume: Create a Tahoe VM and connect over SSH. Cua Bench: Create and verify a simulated task. You bring the agent and model. Cua provides the computer and automation tools. Computer Use 2.0 describes an agent moving between code, APIs, and graphical interfaces…
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Frequently asked questions
Is Dify or cua more popular?
Dify has 160,251 GitHub stars and cua has 31,590. Dify has the larger community by that measure.
Are Dify and cua free?
Both are open source. Dify has no licence declared in this registry, and cua is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Dify and cua?
Dify is written in Python and cua in Rust. 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 cua?
Choose Dify if you want the larger community (160,251 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose cua if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.