Dify combines visual AI workflows, agents, knowledge retrieval, plugins, logs, and APIs across cloud and self-hosted editions, but credit rules, licensing, provider data paths, and production governance deserve scrutiny.
Direct verdict
Dify earns a shortlist for teams that need a broad visual AI application layer and can govern it like production software. Use Sandbox for a narrow proof, calculate total provider cost, and threat-model plugins and tools before launch.
What to verify
Build one bounded workflow with a synthetic knowledge base, two models, a failing API tool, prompt-injection cases, and a human approval step. Measure accepted outcomes, retrieval misses, tool errors, retries, credit and API cost, log exposure, permission separation, export portability, and recovery after an upgrade.
Pricing
Freemium
Dify Cloud lists Sandbox free, Professional at $59 per workspace per month on monthly billing, and Team at $159 per workspace per month; annual totals are advertised at $590 and $1,590. Plans differ by credits, members, apps, knowledge storage, triggers, processing, and history. Community self-hosting is free under the Dify Open Source License; Enterprise is custom. Reviewed September 1, 2026.
Free plan: Yes. Sandbox includes limited credits, one member, five apps, and a small knowledge allowance; the Community edition can be self-hosted under its current license.