Cognee vs Dify
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted self-hosted ai options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Cognee
Memory and knowledge graph engine for AI agents
VS
Dify
Open-source platform for building production LLM apps
| Feature | Cognee | Dify |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Self-Hosted AI | Self-Hosted AI |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Python | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 4,096 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 29,850 | ★ 151,746 |
| First released | 2023 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Mem0, Pinecone | OpenAI Assistants, Vertex AI Agent Builder |
Why pick each one
Choose Cognee if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 29.9k GitHub stars
- Written in Python
Choose Dify if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 151.7k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is Cognee or Dify better?
Neither is universally better. Dify has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Cognee and Dify free and open-source?
Yes. Cognee is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Dify under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Cognee and Dify with Docker?
Cognee: yes. Dify: yes.