Dify pricing explained (2026): the real cost
verified 2026-06-02The Professional plan is $59/mo and includes 5,000 monthly message credits. Because credits are consumed unevenly by model (Dify lists ~200 credits as ~200 GPT-3.5 messages or only ~20 GPT-4-class messages), a team running mostly GPT-4-class chats burns roughly 10 credits per exchange, so 5,000 credits covers only ~500 such messages/month before you must upgrade to Team ($159/mo, 10,000 credits) or switch to your own API key. Self-hosting the Community Edition is $0 in license fees (you pay only your model API and infra costs). Prices verified 2026-06-02 against dify.ai. prices change often, verify live
The tiers
Monthly and annual. The unit you pay against, per plan.
| tier | monthly | annual | what's included | unit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sandbox (Free) | $0verify live | n/a | 200 message credits (one-time trial), 1 team member, 5 apps, 50 knowledge docs, 50MB storage, 5,000 API calls/mo | per workspace |
| Professional | $59verify live | $49 | 5,000 message credits/mo, 3 team members, 50 apps, 500 knowledge docs, 5GB storage, 20,000 trigger events/mo, no Dify API rate limit | per workspace/mo |
| Team | $159verify live | $132 | 10,000 message credits/mo, 50 team members, 200 apps, 1,000 knowledge docs, 20GB storage, unlimited triggers, advanced analytics | per workspace/mo |
| Enterprise | Custom (contact sales)verify live | n/a | SSO, SOC 2 Type II, dedicated support, custom limits; AWS Marketplace listing starts ~$150,000/yr | custom |
| Community Edition (self-hosted) | $0verify live | n/a | Open-source core (modified Apache 2.0); free to self-host, you pay your own model/infra costs | self-hosted |
// pools and per-unit rates are volatile · verified 2026-06-02 · cells flagged verify live link to the live vendor page
"Message credits" are not 1 credit per message: premium models like GPT-4 consume roughly 10x the credits of GPT-3.
"Message credits" are not 1 credit per message: premium models like GPT-4 consume roughly 10x the credits of GPT-3.5, so the headline 5,000/10,000 credit allowances run out far faster than they look. Credits only apply to Dify-hosted models; bring your own provider API key and you bypass them entirely (paying the model vendor directly instead).
See live pricing on Dify →Worth it if
- You want to visually build and ship LLM agents, RAG apps and workflows fast, with the option to self-host the open-source core for free or use the managed cloud with hosted model credits.
- Your usage stays inside the included allowance.
- You value LLM app building over raw lowest cost.
Look elsewhere if
- "Message credits" are not 1 credit per message: premium models like GPT-4 consume roughly 10x the credits of GPT-3.5, so the headline 5,000/10,000 credit allowances run out far faster than they look. Credits only apply to Dify-hosted models; bring your own provider API key and you bypass them entirely (paying the model vendor directly instead).
- You're highly cost-sensitive at scale.
- A cheaper tool in the comparison covers your use case.
Ready to try Dify?
Start on the free tier (Sandbox plan: 200 message credits (one-time trial allotment), 1 team member, 5 apps, 50 knowledge docs, 50MB storage. Also a free, self-hostable open-source Community Edition.), then size your plan with the numbers above.
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Questions
How much does Dify really cost?
The Professional plan is $59/mo and includes 5,000 monthly message credits. Because credits are consumed unevenly by model (Dify lists ~200 credits as ~200 GPT-3.5 messages or only ~20 GPT-4-class messages), a team running mostly GPT-4-class chats burns roughly 10 credits per exchange, so 5,000 credits covers only ~500 such messages/month before you must upgrade to Team ($159/mo, 10,000 credits) or switch to your own API key. Self-hosting the Community Edition is $0 in license fees (you pay only your model API and infra costs).
Does Dify have a free tier?
Free tier: Sandbox plan: 200 message credits (one-time trial allotment), 1 team member, 5 apps, 50 knowledge docs, 50MB storage. Also a free, self-hostable open-source Community Edition..
What's the catch with Dify's pricing?
"Message credits" are not 1 credit per message: premium models like GPT-4 consume roughly 10x the credits of GPT-3.5, so the headline 5,000/10,000 credit allowances run out far faster than they look. Credits only apply to Dify-hosted models; bring your own provider API key and you bypass them entirely (paying the model vendor directly instead).
Is Dify worth it?
Dify is worth it if you specifically need LLM app building. That's where it beats the alternatives. The Professional plan is $59/mo and includes 5,000 monthly message credits. Because credits are consumed unevenly by model (Dify lists ~200 credits as ~200 GPT-3.5 messages or only ~20 GPT-4-class messages), a team running mostly GPT-4-class chats burns roughly 10 credits per exchange, so 5,000 credits covers only ~500 such messages/month before you must upgrade to Team ($159/mo, 10,000 credits) or switch to your own API key. Self-hosting the Community Edition is $0 in license fees (you pay only your model API and infra costs). If your usage is high-volume or budget is the priority, a cheaper tool in the comparison will do the same work for less.