Skip to main content
Langflow logo

Langflow

Langflow is an open-source, low-code visual builder for creating AI agents, RAG applications, and MCP servers

Updated Jun 2026
automation#write-code#automate-workflows
Free plan API Self-hosted Teams

About Langflow

Langflow is an open-source, low-code visual builder for creating AI agents, RAG applications, and MCP servers. Built on Python components with drag-and-drop workflow design, it supports all major LLMs and vector databases while preserving full code-level control. It's available as a free self-hosted project or a managed cloud service, making it well suited to developers and teams who need to prototype and ship AI applications quickly.

Langflow is an open-source, low-code platform for building and deploying AI agents, RAG applications, and MCP servers through a visual, drag-and-drop interface. Built on Python components, it lets developers assemble workflows visually while retaining full code-level control over each node, striking a balance between rapid prototyping and production-grade customization. The platform ships with support for all major LLM providers, vector databases, and a growing library of pre-built components and flows. Users can compare models side by side, tune parameters like temperature and response length, and expose any flow as an API endpoint — making it straightforward to move from an experimental notebook to something real users can interact with. Because Langflow is built around reusable Python components, developers aren't locked into the visual layer. Anyone comfortable with code can drop into Python to customize logic, build bespoke components, or extend the system beyond what the canvas offers. This dual-mode approach is a core reason the project has attracted a large and active open-source community. Langflow is available both as a self-hosted open-source project and as a managed cloud offering, with the same experience across both. That flexibility appeals to teams that want to start free and self-manage, as well as those who prefer an enterprise-grade hosted platform without the DevOps overhead. As an agentic development tool, Langflow is best understood as infrastructure for AI builders rather than a finished end-user product. Teams should verify current cloud pricing and deployment options on the official site, since the hosted tiers and real operating costs can vary significantly with usage.

TL;DR

Langflow is an open-source, low-code visual platform for building AI agents, RAG applications, and MCP servers, built on Python components with support for all major LLMs and vector databases. It's available as a free self-hosted project or a managed cloud service, appealing to developers and teams that want fast prototyping without sacrificing code-level control. It has grown a large open-source community and is positioned as builder infrastructure rather than a turnkey no-code product.

Company overview

Langflow is an open-source visual framework for building retrieval-augmented generation and agentic AI applications. Founded in 2020, it grew as a bootstrapped project and has built a substantial developer following, with a large GitHub presence and an active Discord community around the project.

The project's mission centers on removing boilerplate and infrastructure friction from AI development, letting builders move quickly from idea to deployed application while retaining full Python-level control. It is offered both as a self-hosted open-source tool and a managed cloud platform.

Product features

Langflow's core is a drag-and-drop canvas where developers assemble AI workflows from reusable components such as models, prompts, agents, memory, and data connectors. Every component is backed by Python, so users can configure nodes visually or extend and customize them in code, avoiding the black-box constraints common to no-code tools.

The platform supports all major LLM providers and vector databases, along with a wide range of data sources and tools. Builders can compare and swap models, tune parameters, run single agents or fleets of agents with components exposed as tools, and expose any completed flow as an API. Hundreds of pre-built flows and components accelerate common patterns like RAG and multi-agent orchestration.

Deployment spans self-hosting via a simple pip install through to an enterprise-grade managed cloud, with a consistent experience across both so teams can move from local development to production without rebuilding their work.

Target market

Langflow primarily serves developers, AI/ML engineers, and technical teams building custom AI applications — from solo builders and startups shipping MVPs to enterprise development teams needing a flexible, controllable AI stack. It is best suited to organizations comfortable with some code and infrastructure work, and less aligned with non-technical buyers seeking fully managed, no-code automation.

Buyer personas

End users

Developers and AI/ML engineers who build, test, and iterate on agents and RAG pipelines directly on the visual canvas and in Python.

Buyers

Engineering leads, CTOs, and technical founders who choose Langflow to accelerate AI development while keeping control over data, deployment, and cost.

Key influencers

Senior developers, AI architects, and open-source community members who evaluate tooling and advocate for adoption within their teams.

Ideal customer profile

A technically capable startup or engineering team building custom AI agents or RAG applications that values open-source flexibility, code-level control, and the option to self-host or use a managed cloud.

Funding & performance

Langflow is an open-source, low-code visual builder for RAG and multi-agent AI applications (Python-based, model/API/database-agnostic), with 100,000+ GitHub stars. It was created by a Brazilian team (Logspace, founders Rodrigo Nader and Gabriel Almeida), acquired by DataStax in 2024, and became part of IBM when IBM acquired DataStax in 2025. Langflow now sits within IBM's watsonx AI portfolio while remaining open source — so it's an IBM-owned open-source project, not an independent startup.

Pros & cons

Pros

  • Highly intuitive visual interface for building multi-step AI agents, rated more user-friendly than AutoGen and PromptChainer by reviewers
  • Python-based component system makes it much simpler to create and share custom components across projects compared to alternatives
  • Strong community support with 149k GitHub stars, 25k Discord members, and active development (version 1.9 recently released)
  • Extensive code control capabilities among low-code platforms, allowing developers to customize beyond visual constraints
  • Excellent for rapid prototyping and MVPs with easy integration into existing workflows and ETL pipelines

Cons

  • Lacks advanced scheduling, retries, and observability features needed for production deployments compared to tools like Airflow or n8n
  • Limited workflow breadth for non-AI automations across CRM, email, or chat apps compared to general automation platforms
  • Production readiness concerns raised by users, with questions about scalability and enterprise deployment capabilities

Key features

API
Team collaboration
Self-hosted
Integrations
OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral, Ollama, HuggingFace, Amazon Bedrock, Pinecone, Qdrant, Notion, Slack
Input types
text, code, documents, structured data
Output types
text, code, API responses

Compare key features

View all alternatives →
Feature
Langflow
Zapier
CrewAI
Pricing
Freemium
Freemium
Freemium
Free plan
Yes
Yes
Yes
Free trial
No
No
No
API
Yes
Yes
Yes
Self-hosted
Yes
No
Yes
Team support
Yes
Yes
Yes

Frequently asked questions

Is Langflow free, and what will I actually pay?+

Langflow is free and open-source when you self-host it. The real costs come from the infrastructure and DevOps needed to run it, plus any LLM and vector database usage. A managed cloud option is also available with a free tier and paid plans, so confirm current pricing and limits on the official site before budgeting.

How does Langflow actually work?+

You build AI workflows on a visual canvas by dragging and connecting components such as models, prompts, agents, and data sources. Each node is backed by Python, so you can configure it visually or customize it in code. Once a flow works, you can run it interactively, share it, or expose it as an API endpoint.

Can I self-host Langflow or do I need the cloud?+

Both options are available. You can install and run Langflow yourself via pip for full control over your environment and data, or sign up for the managed cloud to skip infrastructure management. The experience is the same whether you use the open-source version or the cloud.

Which models and integrations does Langflow support?+

Langflow supports all major LLM providers and vector databases, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral, Ollama, HuggingFace, Amazon Bedrock, and NVIDIA. It also connects to data sources and stores like Pinecone, Qdrant, Weaviate, Milvus, MongoDB, Notion, Slack, GitHub, and Google Drive, with a growing library of additional components.

How does Langflow handle data privacy and security?+

Because Langflow can be fully self-hosted, teams can keep their flows and data within their own infrastructure, which is a strong fit for privacy-sensitive use cases. The managed cloud is positioned as an enterprise-grade, secure platform. Review your provider's terms and your own deployment configuration to match your compliance requirements.

What's new in the latest version of Langflow?+

Langflow 1.10 is the most recent release highlighted by the project, continuing its focus on agent building and MCP server support. Because the platform iterates quickly, check the changelog on GitHub for the current feature set and breaking changes before upgrading.

Is Langflow free?+

Yes, Langflow is free and open-source software. However, you'll incur costs for hosting infrastructure (typically $5-500+/month depending on scale), LLM API usage ($10-1,000+/month based on volume), and optionally vector databases like Pinecone (starting around $50/month for production). Langflow Cloud offers a free tier with limited resources for testing.

What does Langflow integrate with?+

Langflow supports all major LLMs and vector databases according to its homepage. It's built on LangChain and can be called from any frontend, backend-for-frontend (BFF), or existing ETL pipeline. Users report integrating it with n8n for broader workflow automation. Specific integration details for individual services were not comprehensively documented in available research.

How does Langflow compare to alternatives?+

Compared to Flowise, Langflow is considered more intuitive for AI-specific workflows, though Flowise offers a greater range of components out of the box. Against n8n and Make, Langflow excels at AI agent prototyping but lacks their advanced scheduling and broader business automation capabilities. Users often combine Langflow for AI workflows with n8n for general automation. It's simpler for creating custom Python components than most alternatives.

Reviews (0)

Write a review

Pick a rating
Loading reviews…
Compare

Compare Langflow with other AI tools

Side-by-side pages for pricing, features, and best-fit use cases.

All comparisons →
Suggested comparison

Langflow vs Zapier

Generate in admin →
Suggested comparison

Langflow vs CrewAI

Generate in admin →
Suggested comparison

Langflow vs Workday AI

Generate in admin →
Suggested comparison

Langflow vs Make

Generate in admin →
Suggested comparison

Langflow vs n8n

Generate in admin →
Suggested comparison

Langflow vs Relevance AI

Generate in admin →

From the blog

All articles →

Similar tools you may like