Langflow vs Mastra (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Langflow and Mastra share a 2.8 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 the free plan, where Langflow grades higher, or features, where Mastra does.
Checked Oct 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on value for money, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Mastra
TypeScript framework for building and running AI agents
Which one is for you
Pick Langflow if
- Fits if you're a developer sketching out agent or RAG apps on a canvas
- Works for turning a flow into an API endpoint or an MCP tool for another app
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to sign up and build in the cloud, as the docs cover only installs you run yourself
- Not for you if you expect email support, because help comes through GitHub and the community unless you pay IBM
- Tight if you're on an Intel Mac, where the components that depend on PyTorch are limited or unavailable
- Watch out: Langflow Desktop needs macOS 13 or Windows and lacks the Shareable Playground and Voice Mode
- Too light for scheduled runs, triggers or team use, as none are on record
Pick Mastra if
- Fits if you write TypeScript and want to build your own agents
- Works for teams that want to deploy agents on Vercel or Cloudflare
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want no-code, since building an agent means writing TypeScript
- Pricey if you grow, as past the allowance egress is $0.10 a GB and events $10 per 100K
- Watch out: RBAC, SSO and audit logs are Enterprise only, and the SOC 2 report starts at Team at $250
- Watch out: some repository folders (ee/) sit under a separate enterprise licence
How we grade them
| 2.8GPALangflowGood | 2.8GPAMastraGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AIt costs nothing: the whole application is MIT licensed, and the only thing on sale is optional IBM support at a custom price, which buys support and not software. Model access and the machine it runs on are yours to pay for. | AThe framework is open source and the cloud has a free plan. Starter is $25 a workspace a month and Team $250. |
| Free plan and trial | AThe full application is free whichever way you run it, Langflow Desktop, the Docker image or the Python package, with nothing held back for a paid tier. You supply the computer and the model keys. | BFree cloud plan: unlimited agents, users and deployments, 100K observability events and 15-day trace retention. A solo developer can live on that. |
| Features | CIt covers the building job: components dragged onto a canvas, a playground to test in, agents that call whole flows as tools, flows published through an API or as MCP tools, and Python you can edit. That's a smaller job than the category's: nothing on record about schedules, triggers or team use. | BAgents, workflows, memory, evals, MCP servers and deployment to many hosts. Nothing in the listing is missing for code-first agent work. |
| Ease of use | DYou host it yourself: the docs cover only installs you look after, Langflow Desktop, Docker, the Python package or Kubernetes, and you bring your own model keys. Desktop is the shortest route for one person on a Mac or Windows PC, and no rating is on record. | DNo store rating, and building an agent means writing TypeScript and running it yourself. |
| Platforms and integrations | BA desktop app for Mac and Windows, Docker or Python anywhere else, and you work in a browser. It connects to OpenAI, Anthropic, Ollama, Pinecone, Notion and Slack, with an API and MCP in both directions. No phone app is listed. | BWeb with deployment to Vercel, Netlify and Cloudflare, and Next.js, React, Hono and Express listed. |
| Best for | building agents on a free, open-source canvas | TypeScript developers building their own agents |
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: Langflow and Mastra. How we grade
Where they differ
- Langflow also covers templates.
- Mastra also covers workflow automation.
At a glance
| Langflow | Mastra | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | Not published | $25 per workspace / month |
| Free plan | The whole application is open source under the MIT license and free to run with Langflow Desktop, Docker or the Python package. You supply the infrastructure and the model access. | Unlimited agents, users and deployments, 100K observability events, 1 GB egress, 5 connections and 15-day trace retention. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Made by | Langflow (IBM) | Mastra |
| Price read from | langflow.org | mastra.ai |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Langflow
- The docs cover only self-managed installs: Desktop, Docker, the Python package or Kubernetes. The homepage mentions a free cloud account but links no sign-up.
- Langflow Desktop is for macOS 13 or later and Windows, and lacks some features such as the Shareable Playground and Voice Mode.
- On Intel Macs, the ML and AI components that depend on PyTorch are limited or unavailable.
- The team gives no individual support by email: help comes through GitHub and community channels unless you subscribe to IBM Elite Support.
Mastra
- It is a code framework, so building an agent means writing TypeScript; there is no no-code builder.
- Cloud usage past each plan's allowance is billed separately, for example $0.10 per GB of egress and $10 per 100K observability events.
- RBAC, SSO and audit logs are Enterprise only, and the SOC 2 report starts at the Team plan.
- Some directories in the repository are under a separate enterprise license (ee/), so not every file carries the main open-source terms.
Key features
Langflow
- Visual flow editor
- A flow is built by dragging component nodes onto a canvas and connecting them. Each component is one step, with parameters you fix or override at run time.
- Playground
- Test a flow and see its logic and responses in real time without building the rest of the application, or run a single component on its own.
- Agents and tools
- Agent components can call other components and whole flows as tools, running as a single agent or as several working together.
- MCP server and client
- Flows can be exposed as tools through Langflow's MCP server, and Langflow can connect to external MCP servers as a client.
- API and deployment
- Flows run from your own code through the Langflow API or are exported as JSON. The docs cover Docker, Kubernetes, remote servers and cloud providers.
- Custom Python components
- Components are written in Python, so you can edit the ones provided, write your own or install components shared by other users.
Mastra
- Agents
- Typed agents are defined in code with instructions, a model, tools and runtime behavior in one place.
- Workflows
- Typed steps can be chained with retries and branches into workflows that a team can inspect.
- Memory
- Agents can keep durable context through thread-aware storage, semantic recall and an observational memory option.
- Observability and evals
- Traces, metrics and logs sit alongside evaluation tools such as scorers, datasets and experiments.
- MCP servers
- Agents, tools and other resources can be exposed as Model Context Protocol servers that any MCP-capable system can call.
- Deploy anywhere
- A Mastra app runs on any Node.js host or as a standalone server, with optional deployers for Vercel, Netlify and Cloudflare, or on Mastra Cloud.
Plans
Langflow
Langflow OSSFree
The full MIT-licensed application, run with Langflow Desktop on macOS or Windows, a Docker image or the Python package.
IBM Elite Support for LangflowCustom
Optional subscription to IBM technical support for open-source deployments you run yourself. It covers support only and includes no software license.
Mastra
Free$0
Unlimited agents, users and deployments, 100K observability events, 1 GB egress, 5 connections and 15-day trace retention.
Starter$25
per workspace / month
One small dedicated project, usage alerts, 250K observability events, 10 GB egress, 10 connections and 60-day trace retention.
Team$250
per workspace / month
One small and two medium dedicated projects, a SOC 2 report, 10M observability events, 100 GB egress, 50 connections and 180-day trace retention.
EnterpriseCustom
RBAC, SSO, audit logs, custom allowances and connections, and dedicated support.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Langflow or Mastra?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Langflow publishes no starting price, and Mastra starts at $25 per workspace / month.
Which has a free plan, Langflow or Mastra?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Langflow and Mastra have a free plan.
Which platforms do Langflow and Mastra run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Langflow lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps. 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.