Langflow vs Xinference
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?
Langflow
Visual framework for building AI agents and RAG pipelines
VS
Xinference
Distributed inference framework for LLMs and embeddings
| Feature | Langflow | Xinference |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Self-Hosted AI | Self-Hosted AI |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Python | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 8,192 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal | docker, kubernetes, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 152,941 | ★ 9,483 |
| First released | 2023 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Vertex AI Agent Builder | OpenAI API, Hugging Face Inference Endpoints |
Why pick each one
Choose Langflow if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 152.9k GitHub stars
Choose Xinference if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 9.5k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is Langflow or Xinference better?
Neither is universally better. Langflow has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Langflow and Xinference free and open-source?
Yes. Langflow is licensed under MIT and Xinference under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Langflow and Xinference with Docker?
Langflow: yes. Xinference: yes.