head to head · open source
Dify vs PocketFlow
Dify has 160,251 GitHub stars, 25,336 forks, 1,067 open issues and last shipped yesterday. PocketFlow has 11,294 stars, 1,211 forks, 75 open issues and last shipped 3 months ago. Dify leads on adoption by 1,319% (160,251 vs 11,294 stars). Dify is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence; PocketFlow is written in Python under MIT. Dify has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, PocketFlow 11%. Dify was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (agentic-ai, agentic-framework, agentic-workflow), 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 | PocketFlow | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 160K | ★ 11K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-07-26 |
| Forks | ⑂ 25K | ⑂ 1.2K |
| 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 PocketFlow if
- You want the PocketFlow feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and PocketFlow 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 PocketFlow
English 中文 Español 日本語 Deutsch Русский Português Français 한국어 Pocket Flow is a 100 line minimalist LLM framework Lightweight : Just 100 lines. Zero bloat, zero dependencies, zero vendor lock in. Expressive : Everything you love—(Multi )Agents, Workflow, RAG, and more. Agentic Coding : Let AI Agents (e.g., Cursor AI) build Agents—10x productivity boost! Get started with Pocket Flow: To install, or just copy the source code (only 100 lines). To learn more, check out the video tutorial and documentation 🎉 Join our Discord to connect with other developers building with Pocket Flow! 🎉 Pocket Flow now has…
read the full PocketFlow overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Dify or PocketFlow more popular?
Dify has 160,251 GitHub stars and PocketFlow has 11,294. Dify has the larger community by that measure.
Are Dify and PocketFlow free?
Both are open source. Dify has no licence declared in this registry, and PocketFlow is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Dify and PocketFlow?
Dify is written in Python and PocketFlow 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 PocketFlow?
Choose Dify if you want the larger community (160,251 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose PocketFlow if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.