Pyyan / Compare / LightRAG vs Haystack vs RAGFlow
LightRAG vs Haystack vs RAGFlow
3 of 5RAG & Knowledge Graphs · verified 13 Aug 2026
| Specification | LightRAG | Haystack | RAGFlow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summary | Graph retrieval at a fraction of GraphRAG's cost. | A strict pipeline abstraction, built for regulated work. | Visual pipeline builder, deep document understanding. |
| Kind | Library | Framework | Platform |
| Graph | Yes, core | Via integrations | Yes |
| Language | Python | Python | Python |
| Licence | MIT | Apache 2.0 | Apache 2.0 |
| GitHub stars | ~18k | ~20k | ~35k |
| Category | RAG & Knowledge Graphs | RAG & Knowledge Graphs | RAG & Knowledge Graphs |
| Official | HKU Data Science ↗ | deepset ↗ | InfiniFlow ↗ |
Highlighted rows are where these differ.
LightRAG
- Dual-level retrieval over a lighter graph
- Runs on CPU, which GraphRAG does not comfortably
Best for graph RAG on modest hardware.
Haystack
- Every step is declared, which is what audits need
- Cleanest option where a wrong answer has consequences
Best for finance, health, legal and government.
RAGFlow
- Strong document parsing built in
- The usual entry point for non-developers
Best for teams without a Python engineer.