Dify vs n8n
Side-by-side comparison of two AI agent tools
Short answer
- Pick Dify for: production-ready platform for agentic workflow development. Pick n8n for: fair-code workflow automation platform with native AI capabilities.
From GitHub data refreshed daily.
Difyfree
Production-ready platform for agentic workflow development.
n8nfree
Fair-code workflow automation platform with native AI capabilities. Combine visual building with custom code, self-host or cloud, 400+ integrations.
Metrics
| Dify | n8n | |
|---|---|---|
| Stars | 157.8k | 206.5k |
| Star velocity /mo | 3.6k | 4.0k |
| Commits (90d) | 2.4k | 3.7k |
| Releases (6m) | 9 | 10 |
| Downloads (30d, npm + PyPI) | — | 384.9K |
| Overall score | 0.8805791472432994 | 0.9297406531814896 |
Pros
- +生产级稳定性和企业级功能支持，适合大规模部署应用
- +可视化工作流编辑器，大幅降低 AI 应用开发门槛
- +活跃的开源社区和丰富的生态系统，持续更新迭代
- +Hybrid approach combining visual workflow building with full JavaScript/Python coding capabilities when needed
- +AI-native platform with LangChain integration for building sophisticated AI agent workflows using custom data and models
- +Fair-code license ensures source code transparency with self-hosting options, providing data control and deployment flexibility
Cons
- -学习曲线存在，需要时间熟悉平台的各种组件和配置
- -复杂工作流的性能优化需要深入了解平台机制
- -自部署版本需要一定的运维能力和资源投入
- -Requires technical knowledge to fully leverage coding capabilities and advanced features
- -Self-hosting demands infrastructure management and maintenance overhead
- -Fair-code license restricts commercial usage at scale without enterprise licensing
Use Cases
- •企业客服机器人和智能助手的快速开发与部署
- •复杂业务流程的自动化处理，如文档分析、数据处理等
- •知识库问答系统和内容生成应用的构建
- •Building AI agent workflows that process customer data using LangChain and custom language models
- •Automating complex business processes that require both API integrations and custom business logic
- •Creating data synchronization pipelines between multiple SaaS tools while maintaining full control over sensitive data through self-hosting
FAQ
- Which is more popular, Dify or n8n?
- n8n has more GitHub stars (206,548 vs 157,757).
- Which is more actively developed, Dify or n8n?
- n8n had more commits in the last 90 days (3,694 vs 2,369).
- Should I use Dify or n8n?
- Compare their capabilities, limitations and "best for" notes above. Trying each on a small task is the fastest way to decide.