CrewAI alternatives (2026)
CrewAI is a frameworks tool: Framework for role-based multi-agent crews. Pricing, as the maker states it: Open source + paid cloud. Its GitHub repo has 59,675 stars. We found 127 tools in the directory that do overlapping work (building AI agents, building multi-agent systems); 122 of them are open source and 1 list a free or freemium plan. Below are the 10 closest, ranked by how many tasks and sub-tasks they share with CrewAI, then by GitHub stars.
- Ruflo (Open source): Open-source multi-agent meta-harness for Claude Code, Codex, and MCP clients; Oct 13 release adds Mods (mission workflows) and a single control plane with human approval. Consider it because it also covers running many agents in parallel and workflow automation; it has more GitHub stars (74,609 vs 59,675).
- MetaGPT (Open source): Multi-agent framework that assigns roles like product manager and engineer to LLM agents to build software. Consider it because it has more GitHub stars (70,885 vs 59,675).
- AutoGen (Open source): Microsoft's framework for multi-agent conversations, now archived and no longer maintained; Microsoft points new users to Microsoft Agent Framework. Consider it because it has more GitHub stars (61,395 vs 59,675). CrewAI vs AutoGen →
- Agno (Open source + cloud): Python framework and runtime for building, running and managing multi-agent systems with memory, knowledge and tools. Consider it because it also covers memory. CrewAI vs Agno →
- AgentScope (Open source): Framework for building and running transparent multi-agent applications with visual debugging. Consider it because it also covers images and design.
- LangChain Deep Agents (Open source): Library for long-running agents with subagents and skills; 0.7.23 (Oct 7) adds pinned_skills. Consider it because it also covers rules, skills and config.
- OpenAI Agents SDK (Python) (Open source): OpenAI's Python SDK for building multi-agent workflows; v0.23.0/0.23.1 released Oct 1-2. Consider it because it also covers workflow automation.
- Haystack (Open source + cloud): Open-source orchestration framework for building production LLM apps, RAG and agents. Consider it because it also covers RAG and documents.
- CAMEL (Open source): CAMEL, one of the first multi-agent frameworks, for building role-playing agents and large agent societies. Consider it because it does the same job with a different approach (open source).
- Microsoft Agent Framework (Open source): Microsoft's framework for building and orchestrating agents and multi-agent workflows in Python and .NET. Consider it because it also covers workflow automation.
CrewAI vs alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Pricing | Open source / licence | GitHub stars | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CrewAI | Open source + cloud | MIT | 59,675 | building AI agents, building multi-agent systems |
| Ruflo | Open source | MIT | 74,609 | automating workflows, building AI agents |
| MetaGPT | Open source | MIT | 70,885 | building AI agents, building multi-agent systems |
| AutoGen | Open source | MIT for code (LICENSE-CODE); CC-BY-4.0 for documentation | 61,395 | building AI agents, building multi-agent systems |
| Agno | Open source + cloud | Apache License 2.0 | 42,769 | building AI agents, building multi-agent systems |
| AgentScope | Open source | Apache License 2.0 | 33,376 | building AI agents, building multi-agent systems |
| LangChain Deep Agents | Open source | MIT | 30,236 | building AI agents, building multi-agent systems |
| OpenAI Agents SDK (Python) | Open source | MIT | 30,023 | automating workflows, building AI agents |
| Haystack | Open source + cloud | Apache License 2.0 | 26,748 | automating workflows, building AI agents |
| CAMEL | Open source | Apache License 2.0 | 17,911 | building AI agents, building multi-agent systems |
| Microsoft Agent Framework | Open source | MIT | 14,169 | automating workflows, building AI agents |
Written comparisons: Agno vs CrewAI · CrewAI vs AutoGen · LangGraph vs CrewAI
More: CrewAI listing · All frameworks tools · All alternatives pages
Related searches: Multi-agent frameworks · Open-source AI agent frameworks
Alternatives are picked from directory data only: same category plus shared tasks and sub-tasks. Pricing is as each maker states it; GitHub stars as recorded on each listing.