Flowise vs Sim
Short answer
Flowise: Drag-and-drop builder for LLM agents and chatflows (archived August 2026). Sim: Visual builder for AI agent workflows, with knowledge bases, integrations and an API. Both are in our AI app & agent builders category.
Flowise's repository is archived, so it gets no updates or security fixes. For a new deployment, Sim is the maintained option; Flowise only makes sense if you already run it.
Choose Flowise if you want: larger community (55.5k vs 29.9k GitHub stars).
Choose Sim if you want: fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Open core) and an actively maintained project (Flowise is archived).
Flowise publishes no official RAM figure, so we cannot compare hosting cost directly.
Last updated · computed from each project's official docs and live GitHub data · sources
Flowise vs Sim side by side
| Flowise | Sim | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | AI app & agent builders | AI app & agent builders |
| What it is | Drag-and-drop builder for LLM agents and chatflows (archived August 2026). | Visual builder for AI agent workflows, with knowledge bases, integrations and an API. |
| License | Apache-2.0 (enterprise directory under a commercial license) | Apache-2.0 |
| License type | Open core | Permissive |
| License conditions | Most of the code is Apache-2.0. Code under packages/server/src/enterprise and files with explicit copyright notices are under a separate commercial license. | Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep license and notices. The built-in Chat feature is a Sim-managed service that needs a Chat API key from sim.ai. |
| Status | Archived | Active |
| GitHub stars | 55.5k | 29.9k |
| Last commit | Aug 13, 2026 | Oct 22, 2026 |
| Latest release | flowise@3.1.4 | v0.9.31 |
| Minimum hardware | Not published | 2 vCPU · 12 GB RAM · 20 GB disk |
| Recommended hardware | Not published | 4 vCPU · 16 GB RAM · 50 GB disk |
| RAM measured by us | Not tested yet | Not tested yet |
| GPU | Not required / not stated | Not required / not stated |
| Est. server cost | Not estimated | from €69.99/mo |
| Deploy method | npm or Docker Compose | Docker Compose (setup wizard or manual) |
| Known gotchas | 3 listed | 4 listed |
| Telemetry | Not documented | On by default |
| Calls home by default | Not documented | Not documented |
| SSO (OIDC / SAML / LDAP) | Paid / enterprise only (OIDC paid) | Free (OIDC free · SAML free) |
| Audit log | Not documented | Yes, free |
| RBAC | Paid / enterprise only | Yes, free |
| Details | Full Flowise guide → | Full Sim guide → |
Key differences
- License: Flowise: Apache-2.0 (enterprise directory under a commercial license) (Open core). Sim: Apache-2.0 (Permissive).
- Official hardware: Flowise: not published. Sim: minimum 2 vCPU · 12 GB RAM · 20 GB disk (recommended 4 vCPU · 16 GB RAM · 50 GB disk).
- Est. server cost: Flowise: not estimated (no official RAM figure). Sim: from €69.99/mo.
- Deploy: Flowise: npm or Docker Compose · multi-container stack. Sim: Docker Compose (setup wizard or manual) · multi-container stack.
- Status: Flowise: Archived. Sim: Active.
- GitHub stars: Flowise: 55.5k. Sim: 29.9k.
- Last commit: Flowise: Aug 13, 2026. Sim: Oct 22, 2026.
- Latest release: Flowise: flowise@3.1.4 (Jul 29, 2026). Sim: v0.9.31 (Oct 22, 2026).
Same for both: Category: AI app & agent builders; GPU: not required or not stated.
Flowise vs Sim: FAQ
Flowise or Sim: which should a small business choose?
Flowise's repository is archived, so it gets no updates or security fixes. For a new deployment, Sim is the maintained option; Flowise only makes sense if you already run it. Choose Flowise if you want: larger community (55.5k vs 29.9k GitHub stars). Choose Sim if you want: fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Open core) and an actively maintained project (Flowise is archived). Flowise publishes no official RAM figure, so we cannot compare hosting cost directly.
Which is cheaper to self-host, Flowise or Sim?
Flowise: not estimated (no official RAM figure). Sim: from €69.99/mo. Our estimate is the cheapest Hetzner Cloud plan that meets each project's official RAM and vCPU figure; it covers the server only.
How much hardware do Flowise and Sim need?
Flowise: not published. Sim: minimum 2 vCPU · 12 GB RAM · 20 GB disk (recommended 4 vCPU · 16 GB RAM · 50 GB disk).
What is the license difference between Flowise and Sim?
Flowise: Apache-2.0 (enterprise directory under a commercial license) (Open core). Most of the code is Apache-2.0. Code under packages/server/src/enterprise and files with explicit copyright notices are under a separate commercial license. Sim: Apache-2.0 (Permissive). Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep license and notices. The built-in Chat feature is a Sim-managed service that needs a Chat API key from sim.ai. This is a summary, not legal advice.
Is Flowise or Sim more actively maintained?
Flowise: Archived, last commit Aug 13, 2026. Sim: Active, last commit Oct 22, 2026. GitHub data refreshed Oct 22, 2026.
Which is easier to deploy, Flowise or Sim?
Flowise installs via npm or Docker Compose (multi-container stack); Sim via Docker Compose (setup wizard or manual) (multi-container stack). Flowise lists 3 known gotchas and Sim lists 4; see each app page.
Related
Sources
- Flowise GitHub repository: github.com/FlowiseAI/Flowise
- Flowise documentation, Flowise hardware requirements, Flowise deploy instructions: github.com/FlowiseAI/Flowise#readme
- Flowise license: github.com/FlowiseAI/Flowise/blob/main/LICENSE.md
- Sim GitHub repository: github.com/simstudioai/sim
- Sim documentation: docs.sim.ai/platform/self-hosting
- Sim license: github.com/simstudioai/sim/blob/main/LICENSE
- Sim hardware requirements: docs.sim.ai/platform/self-hosting#requirements
- Sim deploy instructions: docs.sim.ai/platform/self-hosting/docker
- Hetzner Cloud pricing used for cost estimates (read 2026-10-22): www.hetzner.com/cloud/regular-performance
- GitHub REST API (stars, commits, releases): docs.github.com/en/rest
Every value is generated from the same verified data as the app pages. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.