head to head · open source
Langflow vs langchain
Langflow has 154,959 GitHub stars, 10,109 forks, 1,056 open issues and last shipped today. langchain has 146,562 stars, 24,508 forks, 492 open issues and last shipped today. Langflow leads on adoption by 6% (154,959 vs 146,562 stars). Langflow is written in Python under MIT; langchain is written in Python under MIT. Langflow has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, langchain 17%. langchain was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (agents, chatgpt, generative-ai), 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
| Langflow | langchain | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 155K | ★ 147K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 10K | ⑂ 25K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Langflow if
- You weight community size — 155K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick langchain if
- You want the langchain feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and langchain fits your workflow better
About Langflow
Langflow is a visual builder platform for designing, testing, and deploying AI agents and retrieval augmented generation (RAG) pipelines. It lives in the Python based generative AI ecosystem and targets developers building intelligent applications. The project provides a low code interface to assemble components—such as LLMs, vector stores, memory modules, and tools—into executable workflows, while also exposing those workflows as APIs or MCP servers for integration into external applications.
read the full Langflow overview →
About langchain
LangChain is an open source framework for building agents and LLM powered applications, written in Python and released under the MIT license. It lives in the AI and machine learning ecosystem, specifically among AI development platforms, and it works by chaining together interoperable components and third party integrations so that AI application development becomes simpler. The project describes itself as the agent engineering platform, and its abstractions are designed to keep applications working as the underlying technology evolves.
read the full langchain overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Langflow or langchain more popular?
Langflow has 154,959 GitHub stars and langchain has 146,562. Langflow has the larger community by that measure.
Are Langflow and langchain free?
Both are open source. Langflow is licensed under MIT and langchain under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Langflow and langchain?
Langflow is written in Python and langchain 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, Langflow or langchain?
Choose Langflow if you want the larger community (154,959 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose langchain if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.