# Agno vs Microsoft Agent Framework

> Microsoft Agent Framework scores 82.2 (A) on agent readiness against Agno's 72.8 (BB), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Agno leads on reliability. Both do agent frameworks. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agno-vs-microsoft-agent-framework
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agno-vs-microsoft-agent-framework.md (~2,250 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agno-vs-microsoft-agent-framework.min.md (~630 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agno-vs-microsoft-agent-framework.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-08

Microsoft Agent Framework scores 82.2 (A) on agent readiness against Agno's 72.8 (BB), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Agno leads on reliability. Both do agent frameworks.

- Agno: grade BB, 72.8/100, rank #81 of 629. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/agno.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/agno.json
- Microsoft Agent Framework: grade A, 82.2/100, rank #6 of 629. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/microsoft-agent-framework.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/microsoft-agent-framework.json

## Which one, for what

### Agno (BB)

Good for: Python teams that want agents, teams and workflows plus a self-hosted server with REST, MCP, approvals and scheduling in one package.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 83 against 78

Watch for: Usage telemetry is on by default and sends session, run and agent identifiers unhashed. Prompts and outputs are not sent

### Microsoft Agent Framework (A)

Good for: Teams on Azure or .NET, and for teams moving off AutoGen or Semantic Kernel, that want MCP, approval, checkpointed workflows and OpenTelemetry in one SDK.

Ahead on:
- Schema & documentation, 95 against 90
- Agent ergonomics, 87 against 76
- Security & auth, 93 against 64
- Payments & pricing, 60 against 50
- Maintenance & community, 91 against 86

Also in its favour:
- No key needed to call it
- Free to start without a card

Watch for: Changes marked [BREAKING] shipped in minor releases of released packages, including agent-framework-core in 1.20.0 on 2 October 2026


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Agno | Microsoft Agent Framework | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 83 | 78 | Agno +5 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 90 | 95 | Microsoft Agent Framework +5 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 76 | 87 | Microsoft Agent Framework +11 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 64 | 93 | Microsoft Agent Framework +29 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 50 | 60 | Microsoft Agent Framework +10 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 86 | 91 | Microsoft Agent Framework +5 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 83 | 83 | even |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -3 | -2 | |
| **Total** | | **72.8 · BB** | **82.2 · A** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Agno | Microsoft Agent Framework |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Agent framework | Agent framework |
| Vendor | Agno Inc. | Microsoft |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports |  |  |
| Auth | API key | None |
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| Last release | 2026-10-02 | 2026-10-08 |
| Terms last updated | couldn't be read | no document linked |
| Privacy policy last updated | couldn't be read | no document linked |
| Customer content may train models | couldn't be read |  |
| Terms restrict automated access | couldn't be read |  |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | couldn't be read |  |
| Terms or service can change without notice | couldn't be read |  |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | couldn't be read |  |
| Popularity | 43k stars, 476k PyPI/wk | 14k stars, 48k PyPI/wk |

## Verdicts

**Agno.** An Apache 2.0 Python agent framework at 3.1.1 with an MCP client, tool confirmation and admin approvals, a durable job queue and 25 stable releases in 90 days. Usage telemetry is on by default with unhashed identifiers, and three high or critical advisories were published against it in the last 12 months, all fixed.

**Microsoft Agent Framework.** Python 1.21.0 and .NET 1.24.0 are MIT, past 1.0 and released about weekly, with an MCP client, tool approval, checkpointed graph workflows and OpenTelemetry. Breaking changes ship in minor releases, a version User-Agent and a feature-usage token are sent by default, and a high-severity advisory in the .NET declarative workflows package was published on 7 October 2026.

## Before you call either

### Agno

1. Set AGNO_TELEMETRY=false before the first run, and pass telemetry=False to AgentOS and to each eval, which ignore the variable
2. Configure JWT_VERIFICATION_KEY with AgentOS authorisation switched on, or OS_SECURITY_KEY, before exposing AgentOS. With neither set, REST and MCP routes take no credential
3. Mark tools that write with requires_confirmation, and resume with continue_run once every requirement is resolved
4. Set tool_call_limit on agents. The default is None
5. Install extras for what you use, such as agno[mcp] for MCPTools and agno[os,mcp] for AgentOS with its MCP server

### Microsoft Agent Framework

1. Pin exact versions. Minor releases have carried [BREAKING] changes, so read python/CHANGELOG.md or the upgrade guides before moving up
2. Set `approval_mode="always_require"` on tools and MCP servers that write. The default is `never_require`
3. Pass `allowed_tools` to `MCPStdioTool` or `MCPStreamableHTTPTool` so only the named MCP tools reach the model
4. Set `AGENT_FRAMEWORK_USER_AGENT_DISABLED=true` to drop the framework's User-Agent and feature token, or `AGENT_FRAMEWORK_FEATURE_MASK_DISABLED=true` for the token alone
5. On .NET, use Microsoft.Agents.AI.Workflows.Declarative 1.24.0 or later. Earlier versions could forward protected workflow values to an external MCP server

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Agno or Microsoft Agent Framework?

Microsoft Agent Framework scores 82.2 (A) on agent readiness against Agno's 72.8 (BB), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Agno leads on reliability.

### Are Agno and Microsoft Agent Framework open source?

Yes. Agno is open source (Apache-2.0). Microsoft Agent Framework is open source (MIT).


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agno-vs-microsoft-agent-framework.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agno-vs-microsoft-agent-framework.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "agno", "b": "microsoft-agent-framework"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare agno microsoft-agent-framework`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/agno.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/microsoft-agent-framework.json

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