Comparison
dify vs SurfSense
Verdict
Pick dify if dify is a platform for creating agentic workflows and RAG pipelines, supporting various AI models and tools, deployable on cloud, VPC, or self-hosted environments; pick SurfSense if surfSense is a self-hosted platform offering AI agents that can be used for competitive intelligence research. Here are some critical facts to consider when evaluating it.
Markdown twin · dify alternatives · SurfSense alternatives
GraphCanon updated Oct 4, 2026
10views this month
Trust & integrity
| Signal | dify | SurfSense |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance | Very active (0d since push) As of Sep 18, 2026 · github_public_v1 | Very active (0d since push) As of Aug 18, 2026 · github_public_v1 |
| Provenance | Not a fork · Organization account As of Sep 18, 2026 · github_public_v1 | Not a fork · Personal account As of Aug 18, 2026 · github_public_v1 |
| OSV dependency advisories | No lockfile (source not queried) As of Oct 4, 2026 · osv@v1 | No published findings from this source as of 2026-07-11 As of Jul 11, 2026 · osv@v1 |
| deps.dev advisories | Not queried deps.dev@v1 | Not queried deps.dev@v1 |
| OpenSSF Scorecard | Not queried openssf-scorecard@v1 | Not queried openssf-scorecard@v1 |
Tagline
- dify
- Build Agentic workflows and RAG pipelines with rich AI model and tool support on one collaborative workspace.
- SurfSense
- NotebookLM for Competitive Intelligence Research
Stars
- dify
- 156k
- SurfSense
- 16k
Forks
- dify
- 25k
- SurfSense
- 1.5k
Open issues
- dify
- 1.1k
- SurfSense
- 119
Language
- dify
- TypeScript
- SurfSense
- Python
Adopt for
- dify
- Dify is a platform for creating agentic workflows and RAG pipelines, supporting various AI models and tools, deployable on cloud, VPC, or self-hosted environments.
- SurfSense
- SurfSense is a self-hosted platform offering AI agents that can be used for competitive intelligence research. Here are some critical facts to consider when evaluating it.
Persona
- dify
- -
- SurfSense
- -
Runtime
- dify
- -
- SurfSense
- -
License
- dify
- Other
- SurfSense
- Other
Last pushed
- dify
- Sep 18, 2026
- SurfSense
- Aug 17, 2026
Categories
- dify
- AI Agents, Data & Retrieval, Developer Tools
- SurfSense
- AI Agents, Data & Retrieval
Trust and health
Open issues (now)
- dify
- 1.1k
- SurfSense
- 119
Stars delta
- dify
- +4.5k (30d)
- SurfSense
- +673 (30d)
Open issues delta
- dify
- +172 (30d)
- SurfSense
- +12 (30d)
Owner type
- dify
- Organization
- SurfSense
- User
OSV dependency advisories
- dify
- No lockfile (source not queried)
- SurfSense
- No published findings from this source as of 2026-07-11
Full report
- dify
- Trust report
- SurfSense
- Trust report
Typed relationship
dify integrates SurfSenseDify is a production-ready platform that can integrate with SurfSense to enhance agentic workflow development, using the competitive data provided by SurfSense for more informed decision-making.
Choose dify if…
- dify is primarily TypeScript; SurfSense is Python.
- Dify is a production-ready platform that can integrate with SurfSense to enhance agentic workflow development, using the competitive data provided by SurfSense for more informed decision-making.
- Tags unique to dify: agentic-ai, agentic-framework, agentic-workflow, automation.
- Also covers Developer Tools.
- When you need a collaborative workspace that supports rich AI model and tool integration for agentic workflows and RAG pipelines.
When NOT to use dify
- If your project does not require agentic workflows or RAG pipelines, and you are looking for a more general-purpose AI development tool.
- When you need a platform that does not require Docker and Docker Compose for setup, as Dify's quick start guide assumes these prerequisites.
- If your team prefers a platform with a different licensing model, as Dify uses a modified Apache 2.0 license with additional conditions.
Choose SurfSense if…
- SurfSense is primarily Python; dify is TypeScript.
- Pricing: SurfSense is distributed under a license labeled 'Other' which includes no specified pricing. It supports self-hosting with built-in billing off, making scraping and crawling capabilities only limited.
- Requirements: Requires Docker.
- Dify is a production-ready platform that can integrate with SurfSense to enhance agentic workflow development, using the competitive data provided by SurfSense for more informed decision-making.
- Tags unique to SurfSense: agents, chrome-extension, extension, fastapi.
- - **Specific Use Cases:** If you need advanced capabilities for competitive intelligence analysis and want the flexibility of connecting various data sources through its connectors, SurfSense might be
When NOT to use SurfSense
- - **Limited Free Tier Capabilities:** Since scraping and crawling are limited only by your hardware when self-hosted without billing enabled, if you have strict limitations on hardware capacity or don
Explore
Sources
Every stat on this page traces to a dated GitHub sync, license file, enrichment field, or trust scan.
- GitHub stars (langgenius/dify) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- GitHub forks (langgenius/dify) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- Last push (langgenius/dify) · observed Sep 18, 2026
- License file (Other) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Sep 18, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Oct 4, 2026
- GitHub stars (MODSetter/SurfSense) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- GitHub forks (MODSetter/SurfSense) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- Last push (MODSetter/SurfSense) · observed Aug 17, 2026
- License file (Other) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Jul 11, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Jul 11, 2026
GitHub stars on cards: dify 156k · SurfSense 16k (synced Sep 20, 2026).
Common questions
- What is the difference between dify and SurfSense?
- dify: Build Agentic workflows and RAG pipelines with rich AI model and tool support on one collaborative workspace.. SurfSense: NotebookLM for Competitive Intelligence Research. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories.
- When should I choose dify over SurfSense?
- Choose dify over SurfSense when dify is primarily TypeScript; SurfSense is Python; Dify is a production-ready platform that can integrate with SurfSense to enhance agentic workflow development, using the competitive data provided by SurfSense for more informed decision-making; Tags unique to dify: agentic-ai, agentic-framework, agentic-workflow, automation; Also covers Developer Tools; When you need a collaborative workspace that supports rich AI model and tool integration for agentic workflows and RAG pipelines.
- When should I choose SurfSense over dify?
- Choose SurfSense over dify when SurfSense is primarily Python; dify is TypeScript; Pricing: SurfSense is distributed under a license labeled 'Other' which includes no specified pricing. It supports self-hosting with built-in billing off, making scraping and crawling capabilities only limited; Requirements: Requires Docker; Dify is a production-ready platform that can integrate with SurfSense to enhance agentic workflow development, using the competitive data provided by SurfSense for more informed decision-making; Tags unique to SurfSense: agents, chrome-extension, extension, fastapi; - **Specific Use Cases:** If you need advanced capabilities for competitive intelligence analysis and want the flexibility of connecting various data sources through its connectors, SurfSense might be.
- When should I avoid dify?
- If your project does not require agentic workflows or RAG pipelines, and you are looking for a more general-purpose AI development tool. When you need a platform that does not require Docker and Docker Compose for setup, as Dify's quick start guide assumes these prerequisites. If your team prefers a platform with a different licensing model, as Dify uses a modified Apache 2.0 license with additional conditions.
- When should I avoid SurfSense?
- - **Limited Free Tier Capabilities:** Since scraping and crawling are limited only by your hardware when self-hosted without billing enabled, if you have strict limitations on hardware capacity or don
- Is dify or SurfSense more popular on GitHub?
- dify has more GitHub stars (156,243 vs 15,949). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints.
- Are dify and SurfSense open source?
- Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (dify: Other, SurfSense: Other).
- Where can I find alternatives to dify or SurfSense?
- GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at dify alternatives and SurfSense alternatives (dify markdown twin, SurfSense markdown twin), ranked by typed relationship edges rather than popularity votes.
- Is there a machine-readable version of this comparison?
- Yes. The markdown twin at this comparison mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers.
- Which is better maintained, dify or SurfSense?
- dify: Very active. SurfSense: Very active. Compare maintenance labels, days since push, and release cadence in the trust section below - stars alone do not measure maintenance.
- Where are the full trust reports for dify and SurfSense?
- GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: dify trust report; SurfSense trust report.