Langflow vs Sim
Short answer
Langflow: Visual builder for AI agents and RAG flows that you can deploy as APIs or MCP servers. Sim: Visual builder for AI agent workflows, with knowledge bases, integrations and an API. Both are in our AI app & agent builders category.
Choose Langflow if you want: cheaper to host (from €11.99/mo vs €69.99/mo), lighter official minimum (1.5 GB vs 12 GB RAM), larger community (156k vs 29.9k GitHub stars) and simpler deploy (one container vs a multi-container stack).
Last updated · computed from each project's official docs and live GitHub data · sources
Langflow vs Sim side by side
| Langflow | Sim | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | AI app & agent builders | AI app & agent builders |
| What it is | Visual builder for AI agents and RAG flows that you can deploy as APIs or MCP servers. | Visual builder for AI agent workflows, with knowledge bases, integrations and an API. |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| License type | Permissive | Permissive |
| License conditions | Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep the copyright notice. | 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 | Active | Active |
| GitHub stars | 156k | 29.9k |
| Last commit | Oct 21, 2026 | Oct 22, 2026 |
| Latest release | v1.12.7 | v0.9.31 |
| Minimum hardware | 1 vCPU · 1.5 GB RAM | 2 vCPU · 12 GB RAM · 20 GB disk |
| Recommended hardware | 2 vCPU · 4 GB RAM | 4 vCPU · 16 GB RAM · 50 GB disk |
| RAM measured by us | 1.2 GiB idle, 1.3 GiB working (our test, v1.12.7, Oct 22, 2026) | Not tested yet |
| GPU | Not required / not stated | Not required / not stated |
| Est. server cost | from €11.99/mo (recommended spec: €19.99/mo) | from €69.99/mo |
| Deploy method | Docker | Docker Compose (setup wizard or manual) |
| Known gotchas | 2 listed | 4 listed |
| Telemetry | On by default | On by default |
| Calls home by default | Not documented | Not documented |
| SSO (OIDC / SAML / LDAP) | Free (OIDC free) | Free (OIDC free · SAML free) |
| Audit log | Yes, free | Yes, free |
| RBAC | No | Yes, free |
| Details | Full Langflow guide → | Full Sim guide → |
Key differences
- License: Langflow: MIT (Permissive). Sim: Apache-2.0 (Permissive).
- Official hardware: Langflow: minimum 1 vCPU · 1.5 GB RAM (recommended 2 vCPU · 4 GB RAM). Sim: minimum 2 vCPU · 12 GB RAM · 20 GB disk (recommended 4 vCPU · 16 GB RAM · 50 GB disk).
- Est. server cost: Langflow: from €11.99/mo. Sim: from €69.99/mo.
- Deploy: Langflow: Docker · single container. Sim: Docker Compose (setup wizard or manual) · multi-container stack.
- GitHub stars: Langflow: 156k. Sim: 29.9k.
- Last commit: Langflow: Oct 21, 2026. Sim: Oct 22, 2026.
- Latest release: Langflow: v1.12.7 (Oct 21, 2026). Sim: v0.9.31 (Oct 22, 2026).
Same for both: Category: AI app & agent builders; GPU: not required or not stated; Status: Active.
Langflow vs Sim: FAQ
Langflow or Sim: which should a small business choose?
Choose Langflow if you want: cheaper to host (from €11.99/mo vs €69.99/mo), lighter official minimum (1.5 GB vs 12 GB RAM), larger community (156k vs 29.9k GitHub stars) and simpler deploy (one container vs a multi-container stack).
Which is cheaper to self-host, Langflow or Sim?
Langflow: cheaper to host (from €11.99/mo vs €69.99/mo).
How much hardware do Langflow and Sim need?
Langflow: minimum 1 vCPU · 1.5 GB RAM (recommended 2 vCPU · 4 GB RAM). 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 Langflow and Sim?
Langflow: MIT (Permissive). Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep the copyright notice. 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 Langflow or Sim more actively maintained?
Langflow: Active, last commit Oct 21, 2026. Sim: Active, last commit Oct 22, 2026. GitHub data refreshed Oct 22, 2026.
Which is easier to deploy, Langflow or Sim?
Langflow installs via Docker (single container); Sim via Docker Compose (setup wizard or manual) (multi-container stack). Langflow lists 2 known gotchas and Sim lists 4; see each app page.
Related
- Langflow self-hosting guide · Sim self-hosting guide
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Sources
- Langflow GitHub repository: github.com/langflow-ai/langflow
- Langflow documentation, Langflow deploy instructions: docs.langflow.org/deployment-docker
- Langflow license: github.com/langflow-ai/langflow/blob/main/LICENSE
- Langflow hardware requirements: docs.langflow.org/deployment-prod-best-practices
- 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.