head to head · open source
Dify vs OpenWork
Dify has 156,167 GitHub stars, 24,658 forks, 1,067 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenWork has 23,614 stars, 2,369 forks, 504 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Dify leads on adoption by 561% (156,167 vs 23,614 stars). Dify is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; OpenWork is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence. Dify has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, OpenWork 10%. OpenWork 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 | OpenWork | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 156K | ★ 24K |
| License | Custom / other | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 25K | ⑂ 2.4K |
| 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 OpenWork if
- You want the OpenWork feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and OpenWork 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 OpenWork
OpenWork is a free, open source desktop app and agent connected workspace for sharing AI workflows. It is described as an open source alternative to Claude Cowork and Codex for macOS, Windows, and Linux. It lives in the AI development platform ecosystem and connects to agents through the Model Context Protocol, including Codex, Claude Code, Cursor, OpenCode, and other compatible MCP clients.
read the full OpenWork overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Dify or OpenWork more popular?
Dify has 156,167 GitHub stars and OpenWork has 23,614. Dify has the larger community by that measure.
Are Dify and OpenWork free?
Neither Dify nor OpenWork declares a licence in this registry, so check each project's own repository before relying on either for a commercial use. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Dify and OpenWork?
Dify is written in TypeScript and OpenWork in TypeScript. 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 OpenWork?
Choose Dify if you want the larger community (156,167 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose OpenWork if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.