Alfera vs Sim
Sim: Open-source AI workspace to build, deploy and govern AI agents and workflows on a visual canvas, hosted or self-hosted. Alfera is the AI coworker your whole team shares: a company brain that syncs your apps, connections shared per person or per team, permissions on every action, and Slack, WhatsApp and email. Open source, in one click on your server or on Alfera Cloud.
In one line: Alfera is a coworker your team talks to, vs a visual workflow builder.
| SimAI agent and workflow builder | Open source, or Alfera Cloud | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Open-source AI workspace to build, deploy and govern AI agents and workflows on a visual canvas, hosted or self-hosted. | The AI coworker your whole team shares, with a company brain that syncs your apps. Open source. | |
| Open source | Yes, Apache-2.0 (code under apps/sim/ee is under the separate Sim Enterprise License) | Yes, AGPL-3.0 | |
| Self-host | Yes | Yes: one click on DigitalOcean or AWS, or one command on any server | |
| Price | Free $0 (1,000 one-time credits); Pro $25 per user/month, 6,000 credits/month | Free to start: open source to self-host, and Alfera Cloud starts with $10 of free AI usage | |
| Where it works | Web app, API, Chat interface, MCP server | Slack, WhatsApp, email from its own address, the web app, a Mac app, the API and MCP | |
| Team use | Shared organization workspaces on Team and Enterprise plans, with Read, Write and Admin permissions per workspace and Owner/Admin/Member org roles. | Multiplayer: one coworker for the whole team. It knows who is asking, and each connection is shared with everyone, one project, or one person | |
| Permissions | Human in the Loop block pauses a run for approval or input; approvers are alerted via Slack, Gmail, Microsoft Teams, SMS or webhook. | Allow, ask first, or never, per connection and per action. Approvals in Slack, email or the app, and every action logged | |
| Starts on its own | Schedules (timer or cron), webhooks, events in connected services (e.g. GitHub push, new email), RSS feeds, table row events. | On a schedule, from a webhook, or on 600+ app events | |
| Models | OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, DeepSeek, xAI, Cerebras and more; bring your own keys on every plan; local models via Ollama or vLLM when self-hosted. | 230+ models: Claude, GPT, Gemini, open models, your ChatGPT plan, or your own |
Where Sim is the better choice
Organizations that want to build and govern many AI agents in one place, with control over access, spend and data.
- Visual canvas to wire agent workflows, then deploy each one as an API, chat interface or MCP server
- 270+ integrations listed on its home page
- Approval requests can be routed to Slack, Gmail, Microsoft Teams, SMS or a webhook
Everything Alfera does
- A company brain that syncs your apps. Connect Google Drive, Notion, Slack and the rest. Documents sync on their own, keep every version, and every answer draws on them.
- One coworker for the whole team. It knows who is asking. Many people, many tasks at once, each with their own chats and connections, and shared chats when you want.
- 3,000+ app connections, shared the way you choose. Each connection is open to everyone, one project, or one person. A personal mailbox stays personal; the support inbox is the team’s.
- Permissions on every action. Allow, ask first, or never, per connection and per action. Approvals land in Slack, email or the app, and every action is logged.
- Where your team already is. Slack, WhatsApp, email from its own address, the web app, a Mac app, and your own code through the API and MCP.
- It starts work by itself. On a schedule, from a webhook, or on 600+ app events in Gmail, HubSpot, Stripe and more.
- Its own computer. Every chat runs in a sandbox with a terminal and a browser, and its files stay from one chat to the next.
- Any model. 230+ models: Claude, GPT, Gemini, open models, your ChatGPT plan, or a model you run yourself.
- Open source, and free to start. AGPL-3.0. Self-host it in one click on DigitalOcean or AWS, or start on Alfera Cloud with $10 of free AI usage.
Sim and Alfera
Yes. Alfera is the AI coworker your whole team shares. It has a company brain that syncs your apps, 3,000+ app connections shared per person or per team, permissions on every action, and it works in Slack, WhatsApp, email and the web app. It starts work by itself, runs on any model, and it is open source: self-host it in one click or start free on Alfera Cloud. Sim is also open source (Apache-2.0 (code under apps/sim/ee is under the separate Sim Enterprise License)).
If you want something like Sim, but open source and free to start, with a company brain that syncs your apps, connections shared per person or per team, and permissions on every action, pick Alfera. It works in Slack, WhatsApp and email, starts work by itself, and runs on any model.
Sim: Free $0 (1,000 one-time credits); Pro $25 per user/month, 6,000 credits/month. Alfera: Free to start: open source to self-host, and Alfera Cloud starts with $10 of free AI usage.
Sim: Yes. Alfera: Yes: one click on DigitalOcean or AWS, or one command on any server.
Organizations that want to build and govern many AI agents in one place, with control over access, spend and data. Visual canvas to wire agent workflows, then deploy each one as an API, chat interface or MCP server. 270+ integrations listed on its home page. Approval requests can be routed to Slack, Gmail, Microsoft Teams, SMS or a webhook.
Sources
Facts about Sim come from its own pages, read on 16 October 2026. Something out of date? Write to hello@alfera.ai and we will fix it.
- LICENSE file (Apache 2.0)
- Sim Enterprise License for the ee directory
- home page (positioning, 270+ integrations, models, self-hosting)
- pricing page
- docs overview (deploy as API/chat/MCP, Ollama/vLLM, self-host)
- docs: triggers
- docs: Human in the Loop block
- docs: roles and permissions
- blog: BYOK available on all plans