Dify review

Dify suits Botpress users who want the visual canvas but also want the option to own the stack. The Community Edition is free to self-deploy with Docker, and the same platform runs as Dify Cloud or inside a private VPC. Workflow Studio is the visual builder for agentic workflows, Knowledge Pipeline prepares documents for retrieval, and a marketplace adds tools, models and plugins. Workflows can start from plugins, schedules or webhooks, which makes Dify useful for back-office agents as well as chat. On the cloud, Professional costs $590 per workspace a year with 5,000 message credits a month across OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini and other providers, then you can switch to your own API key. Team is $1,590 a year for up to 50 members. The tradeoff is that Dify is a builder for AI apps rather than a messaging platform, so WhatsApp or helpdesk handoff needs plugins or your own code.

Who it is for

Developers and small teams who want a visual builder they can self-host for free or run on a flat cloud plan.

Price

Free Sandbox and Community Edition; Professional $590 per workspace a year with 5,000 message credits a month; Team $1,590 a year.

$590 per workspace / year
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 9, 2026.

Key features

• Workflow Studio, a visual builder for agentic workflows
• Knowledge Pipeline for preparing searchable knowledge bases
• Marketplace of tools, models and integrations
• Cloud, VPC or self-hosted deployment from the same stack
• Plugin, schedule and webhook triggers that start workflows

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Community Edition is free to self-deploy with Docker
• Strength: Professional includes 3 members, 50 apps and 5,000 message credits a month
• Strength: Switch to your own model API key once credits run out
• Weakness: Best prices on the page are for yearly billing
• Weakness: Self-hosting means you run upgrades, storage and security yourself
• Weakness: Built-in channel connectors are thinner than chat-first builders

Key facts

• Plans: Sandbox free, Professional $590 and Team $1,590 per workspace a year
• Professional limits: 3 members, 50 apps, 500 knowledge documents, 5GB storage
• Open source: Community Edition under the Dify Open Source License
• GitHub: About 161k stars on langgenius/dify

Where it ranks

Dify is No. 1 in our Best Botpress Alternatives verdict.