head to head · open source
Dify vs liteflow
Dify has 156,215 GitHub stars, 24,668 forks, 1,067 open issues and last shipped yesterday. liteflow has 3,860 stars, 526 forks, 64 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. Dify leads on adoption by 3,947% (156,215 vs 3,860 stars). Dify is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; liteflow is written in Java under Apache-2.0. Dify has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, liteflow 14%. 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 | liteflow | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 156K | ★ 3.9K |
| License | Custom / other | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-07-31 |
| Forks | ⑂ 25K | ⑂ 526 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Dify if
- You weight community size — 156K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick liteflow if
- You want the liteflow feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and liteflow fits your workflow better
About Dify
Dify is an open source LLM application development platform built in TypeScript. It provides a visual interface for designing, testing, and deploying AI workflows, RAG pipelines, and agentic systems without writing extensive code. The platform lives in the generative AI development ecosystem and targets teams needing to move from prototype to production using consistent tooling across environments.
About liteflow
LiteFlow is an Apache 2.0 licensed, Java based component rule engine that drives complex business orchestration from a small DSL rule file — and, since v2.16.0, treats an AI Agent as a first class citizen that can be orchestrated shoulder to shoulder with ordinary business nodes.
read the full liteflow overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Dify or liteflow more popular?
Dify has 156,215 GitHub stars and liteflow has 3,860. Dify has the larger community by that measure.
Are Dify and liteflow free?
Both are open source. Dify has no licence declared in this registry, and liteflow is licensed under Apache-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Dify and liteflow?
Dify is written in TypeScript and liteflow in Java. 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 liteflow?
Choose Dify if you want the larger community (156,215 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose liteflow if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.