Comparison

LightRAG vs RAGFlow

On the evidence we track, LightRAG leads this comparison with a composite score of 62/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
★LightRAG62
RAGFlow54
Score
vioscaleAI score
LightRAG62 / 100medium · 53%
RAGFlow54 / 100low · 9%
Pricing
Free tier
LightRAG–
RAGFlow✓
Model
LightRAGopen_source
Price level
LightRAGfree
RAGFlowfree
Transparent
LightRAG–
RAGFlow✓
Integrations
Count
LightRAG9
RAGFlow12
Adoption
Dependent repos
LightRAG0
RAGFlow–
Github stars
LightRAG40,136
RAGFlow–
Activity
Commits last 30d
LightRAG100
RAGFlow–
Release
Cadence days
LightRAG7
RAGFlow–
History
LightRAG20 items
RAGFlow–
License
Spdx
LightRAGMIT
RAGFlow–
Language
Primary
LightRAGPython
RAGFlow–
Content
Faq
LightRAG4 items
RAGFlow5 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for rag tools. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Capabilities
Hybrid retrieval
LightRAG✓
RAGFlow-
Reranking integration
LightRAG✓
RAGFlow-
Multi hop agentic retrieval
LightRAG✗
RAGFlow✓
Embedding provider agnostic
LightRAG✓
RAGFlow✓
LLM provider agnostic
LightRAG✓
RAGFlow✓
Built in rag eval metrics
LightRAG-
RAGFlow-
Citation attribution
LightRAG✓
RAGFlow✓
Multimodal rag
LightRAG✓
RAGFlow✓
Managed ingestion pipeline
LightRAG✓
RAGFlow✓
Open source
LightRAG✓
RAGFlow✓

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

LightRAG

Leader

An open-source RAG system designed for high scalability that uses both knowledge graphs and vector search to retrieve information from large datasets with reduced computational overhead and faster response times.

Independently observed

RAGFlow

RAGFlow is an open-source RAG engine that streamlines data processing and integration for building production-ready AI systems. It supports multiple data formats and provides configurable LLM and embedding options with agent-based workflows.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

LightRAG

Leader
Open source
as of verify ↗

RAGFlow

Open sourceFree tier
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
Web
LightRAG✓
RAGFlow✓
macOS
LightRAG✓
RAGFlow✗
Linux
LightRAG✓
RAGFlow✓
CLI
LightRAG✓
RAGFlow✗
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
LightRAG✗
RAGFlow✓
Self-hosted
LightRAG✓
RAGFlow✓
On-premise
LightRAG✓
RAGFlow✗

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

LightRAG

Leader
9 total
  • PostgreSQL
  • Neo4j
  • MongoDB
  • Milvus
  • Qdrant
  • Redis
  • Memgraph
  • MinerU
  • Docling
Independently observed

RAGFlow

16 total
  • Discord
  • Feishu
  • Telegram
  • Line
  • Confluence
  • S3
  • Notion
  • Google Drive
  • OpenAI
  • DeepSeek
  • Gemini
  • OpenClaw
  • OpenAI GPT-5
  • Google Gemini 3 Pro
  • DeepSeek v4
  • MCP
Independently observed
Still deciding?

LightRAG or RAGFlow: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.