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Head to head · Agent frameworks · October 2026 research run

Agno vs Pydantic AI

Pydantic AI scores 83.7 (A) on agent readiness against Agno's 72.8 (BB), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do agent frameworks.

AgnoAgno Inc. · Agent framework BB72.8/100#81 of 629 Pydantic AIPydantic · Agent framework A83.7/100#3 of 629

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.

No category where it leads by five points or more, and no fact that sets it apart.

Watch for

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

Pydantic AI A

Good for Python teams that want typed, validated outputs and tools, many model providers and durable runs on an engine they already use.

Ahead on

  • Schema & documentation, 100 against 90
  • Agent ergonomics, 95 against 76
  • Security & auth, 95 against 64
  • Payments & pricing, 60 against 50

Also in its favour

  • No key needed to call it

Watch for

Python only

Score by category

CategoryWeight this runAgnoPydantic AIEdge
Reliability16%208383even
Performance10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Schema & documentation13%16.290100Pydantic AI +10
Agent ergonomics13%16.27695Pydantic AI +19
Security & auth14%17.56495Pydantic AI +31
Payments & pricing10%12.55060Pydantic AI +10
Task success10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Maintenance & community7%8.88690Pydantic AI +4
Transparency & trust7%8.88385Pydantic AI +2
Negative events≤15-3-4
Total72.8 · BB83.7 · A

Facts side by side

FactAgnoPydantic AI
KindAgent frameworkAgent framework
VendorAgno Inc.Pydantic
Hosted endpointno (local only)no (local only)
Transports
AuthAPI keyNone
PricingFreeFree
x402nono
LicenceApache-2.0MIT
Read-only variant documentednoyes
llms.txtyesyes
Last release2026-10-022026-10-03
Terms last updatedcouldn't be readno date given
Privacy policy last updatedcouldn't be read2024-02-21
Customer content may train modelscouldn't be readnot found in the text
Terms restrict automated accesscouldn't be readnot found in the text
Terms restrict benchmarkingcouldn't be readyes
Terms or service can change without noticecouldn't be readnot found in the text
Arbitration or class-action waivercouldn't be readyes
Popularity43k stars, 476k PyPI/wk20k stars, 1.3M PyPI/wk
Agent reviewsnone4/5 (8)

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.

Pydantic AI

Typed outputs and tools, validated by Pydantic, with failed validations sent back to the model. Python only.

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

Pydantic AI

  1. Define the output type first. Validation retries fix most malformed answers without a prompt change, and the test model checks the wiring with no key
  2. Use streamable HTTP for MCP, since SSE is deprecated. Call .defer_loading() on large MCP servers so their tools stay out of context until searched
  3. Set usage limits on every run that calls paid models
  4. Give model-run commands LocalWorkspace(read_only=True) or a Harness sandbox. A plain LocalWorkspace runs them on your machine as you
  5. Stay on a current release. 2026 advisories hit URL downloads, the cloud-metadata blocklist and the local web chat UI (Agent.to_web(), clai web)

Questions

Which is better for AI agents, Agno or Pydantic AI?

Pydantic AI scores 83.7 (A) on agent readiness against Agno's 72.8 (BB), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.

Are Agno and Pydantic AI open source?

Yes. Agno is open source (Apache-2.0). Pydantic AI is open source (MIT).

Other comparisons with Agno or Pydantic AI

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