Dify vs Stack AI (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Dify and Stack AI share a 2.2 GPA, both have a free plan and their prices can't be set side by side, so the choice depends on whether you care more about features, where Dify grades higher, or value for money, where Stack AI does.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Dify
Open-source platform for building AI agents and agentic workflows
Which one is for you
Pick Dify if
- Fits if your team wants agents and chatbots that answer from your own documents
- Works for teams that have to self-host or keep everything in a private cloud
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you work alone: the first paid step is $59 a month for a 3-member workspace, and Team is $159
- Tight if you're staying on Sandbox, with 1 member, 5 apps and 200 message credits that don't refill
- Not for you if you need SSO or more than one workspace, which are Enterprise only, at a price not published
- Watch out: the free Community Edition means hosting it on Docker yourself, with one workspace and Dify's own license
- Skip it if you want a phone or desktop app, as Dify is a web app
Pick Stack AI if
- Fits if you want to build one or two agents and try them free
- Makes sense if you plan to ask for an enterprise deployment later
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you work in a team, as Free is 1 seat and 2 projects
- Not for you if you want a self-serve paid plan, because none is published
- Watch out: SSO, access control, VPC and on-prem are Enterprise only
- Watch out: the homepage says Asana acquires StackAI, so ownership and plans may change
How we grade them
| 2.2GPADifyFair | 2.2GPAStack AIFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DThe first paid step is $59 a month per workspace, or $590 for the year, which is in the dearest tenth for this category. Three members share it, so split three ways it's bearable; on your own it's dear. Team is $159 a month. | COnly Free and a custom Enterprise plan are listed, so there is no published paid price to set against the category. |
| Free plan and trial | CSandbox is free but you'll hit the end of it fast: 1 member, 5 apps, 50 knowledge documents and 200 message credits that never refill, after which you bring your own model keys. The real free option is the Community Edition, hosted by you on Docker. | CFree allows 500 runs a month, 2 projects and 1 seat, with community support on Discord. You will hit those caps. |
| Features | BIt covers the job: a visual canvas for workflows, agents set up by chatting or by hand, pipelines that turn files, websites and drives into a searchable knowledge base with retrieval testing, and apps published as web apps, embeds, APIs or MCP tools with logs to review. | CA flow builder, knowledge bases and data loaders, and several ways to ship an agent. SSO, VPC, on-prem and BAA sit on Enterprise only. |
| Ease of use | CNo code, but it is a builder: a canvas to learn, a Marketplace to install from, and your own model keys to add once the 200 credits are gone. No rating on record to go by. | CNo store rating on record, and building an agent means setting up flows and data. |
| Platforms and integrations | BA web app, and what you build goes out as an API endpoint, an embed or an MCP tool. The Marketplace adds model providers, tools and data sources. No phone or desktop app on the listing. | BWeb plus a browser extension, with Slack, Google Drive and Notion listed. |
| Best for | building your own AI apps on your own data | building a first AI agent on a free plan |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Dify and Stack AI. How we grade
Where they differ
- Dify is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Dify also covers no-code.
At a glance
| Dify | Stack AI | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $590 per workspace / year (Professional); $59 billed monthly | Not published |
| Free plan | Sandbox plan: 1 member, 5 apps, 50 knowledge documents, 50 MB of knowledge storage and 200 one-time message credits. The self-hosted Community Edition is also free. | 500 runs per month, 2 projects, 1 seat and community support on Discord. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | LangGenius, Inc. | StackAI |
| Price read from | dify.ai | stackai.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Dify
- The Sandbox plan's 200 message credits are a one-time grant; after that you supply your own model API keys.
- Cloud plans are priced per workspace with member caps: 1 on Sandbox, 3 on Professional and 50 on Team.
- SSO, multiple workspaces and a commercial license are part of the Enterprise edition only.
- The free Community Edition is limited to a single workspace and uses Dify's own Apache-2.0-derived license.
Stack AI
- Only a Free plan and a custom Enterprise plan are listed; there is no published self-serve paid tier.
- The free plan has 1 seat, 2 projects and 500 runs a month.
- SSO, access control, VPC, on-prem and BAA are Enterprise features.
- Its homepage says Asana acquires StackAI, so plans and ownership may change.
Key features
Dify
- Workflow Studio
- A visual canvas for workflows and chatflows, where blocks define how an app retrieves data, makes decisions, calls tools, asks for human input and completes a task.
- Agents
- Agents are built by chatting or by manual configuration with skills, tools and knowledge, then used as an app, embedded in a website or reused as a node inside a workflow.
- Knowledge pipeline
- Repeatable pipelines extract, clean, chunk and index files, websites, online documents and drives into a knowledge base, with retrieval testing before it is connected to an app.
- Marketplace and plugins
- Model providers, tools, data sources and MCP integrations are installed from the Marketplace or defined yourself, and reused across the apps in a workspace.
- Publishing and monitoring
- Apps ship as hosted web apps, API endpoints, embeds or MCP-compatible tools, with logs, feedback, annotations, latency and usage data to review.
- Cloud, enterprise or self-hosted
- Use Dify Cloud, deploy the Enterprise edition in your own VPC or on Kubernetes with a Helm chart, or self-host the Community Edition with Docker.
Stack AI
- Agent and flow builder
- The comparison table lists Agents and Flow modules, with Python and JavaScript code steps for custom logic.
- Multi-modal inputs
- Agents take text, image, audio and video inputs and return text, image or audio, with vision and speech modules.
- Knowledge bases and data loaders
- Load documents (PDF, Word, PowerPoint), web scrapes, Google Drive and Notion content into a knowledge base.
- Ways to ship an agent
- Deploy through a REST API, a Chrome extension or a Slack bot; custom domains and analytics are listed.
- Security and deployment options
- Enterprise offers SSO, access control, VPC and on-premise deployment, and the page claims SOC 2, HIPAA and GDPR compliance.
Plans
Dify
SandboxFree
1 member, 5 apps, 50 knowledge documents, 50 MB of knowledge storage, 200 one-time message credits and 30 days of log history.
CommunityFree
Open-source edition you self-host with Docker: all core features in the public repository, a single workspace and community support.
Professional$59
per workspace / month ($590 per year billed annually)
3 team members, 50 apps, 5,000 message credits a month, 500 knowledge documents, 5 GB of storage and 20,000 trigger events a month.
Team$159
per workspace / month ($1,590 per year billed annually)
50 team members, 200 apps, 10,000 message credits a month, 1,000 knowledge documents, 20 GB of storage and unlimited trigger events.
EnterpriseCustom
Self-hosted or VPC deployment with a commercial license, multiple workspaces, SSO, advanced security controls and professional support.
Stack AI
Free plan$0
500 runs per month, 2 projects, 1 seat and community support on Discord.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom runs and seats, unlimited projects, dedicated infrastructure, SSO, VPC or on-prem deployment.
Ways to pay less
Dify
- Annual discount
Save 17% with annual billing
Dify's pricing page lists a 17% saving for annual billing: Professional is $590 a year instead of $59 a month, and Team is $1,590 a year instead of $159 a month.
- Education
Free Professional plan for students and educators
Verified students, teachers and school staff aged 18 or over can use the Yearly Professional plan at no cost, re-verified each year. Message credits stay at the Sandbox level of 200.
Stack AI
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Dify or Stack AI?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Dify starts at $590 per workspace / year (Professional); $59 billed monthly, and Stack AI publishes no starting price.
Which has a free plan, Dify or Stack AI?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Dify and Stack AI have a free plan.
Which platforms do Dify and Stack AI run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Stack AI lists a browser extension. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.