Head to head · Agent frameworks · October 2026 research run
CrewAI vs Microsoft Agent Framework
Microsoft Agent Framework scores 82.2 (A) on agent readiness against CrewAI's 67 (B), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do agent frameworks.
Which one, for what
CrewAI B
Good for Multi-agent role-and-task workflows and for teams that want Flows for ordered, stateful steps.
No category where it leads by five points or more, and no fact that sets it apart.
Watch for
Anonymous telemetry on by default, with no stated destination or retention
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 74
- Agent ergonomics, 87 against 80
- Security & auth, 93 against 65
- Payments & pricing, 60 against 40
- Transparency & trust, 83 against 72
Also in its favour
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better
- 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 this run | CrewAI | Microsoft Agent Framework | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reliability | 16%20 | 78 | 78 | even |
| Performance | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13%16.2 | 74 | 95 | Microsoft Agent Framework +21 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13%16.2 | 80 | 87 | Microsoft Agent Framework +7 |
| Security & auth | 14%17.5 | 65 | 93 | Microsoft Agent Framework +28 |
| Payments & pricing | 10%12.5 | 40 | 60 | Microsoft Agent Framework +20 |
| Task success | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7%8.8 | 88 | 91 | Microsoft Agent Framework +3 |
| Transparency & trust | 7%8.8 | 72 | 83 | Microsoft Agent Framework +11 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -4 | -2 | |
| Total | 67 · B | 82.2 · A |
Facts side by side
| Fact | CrewAI | Microsoft Agent Framework |
|---|---|---|
| Kind | Agent framework | Agent framework |
| Vendor | CrewAI | Microsoft |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports | ||
| Auth | None | None |
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| Last release | 2026-09-28 | 2026-10-08 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | no document linked |
| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | no document linked |
| Customer content may train models | ||
| Terms restrict automated access | ||
| Terms restrict benchmarking | ||
| Terms or service can change without notice | ||
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | ||
| Popularity | 59k stars, 552k PyPI/wk | 14k stars, 48k PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | 3/5 (2) | none |
Verdicts
CrewAI
The mcps field supports MCP integration with static and dynamic tool filters. Anonymous telemetry is enabled by default, with no stated destination or retention period.
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
CrewAI
- Set CREWAI_DISABLE_TELEMETRY=true before the first run
- Put MCP keys in headers, not in the URL as the docs' Exa example does
- Pin a stable version. Development builds share the crewai name on PyPI
- Add a PRE_TOOL_CALL hook for any tool that writes or sends
- Check the logs for MCP connection warnings. A failed server doesn't stop the agent
Microsoft Agent Framework
- Pin exact versions. Minor releases have carried [BREAKING] changes, so read python/CHANGELOG.md or the upgrade guides before moving up
- Set
approval_mode="always_require"on tools and MCP servers that write. The default isnever_require - Pass
allowed_toolstoMCPStdioToolorMCPStreamableHTTPToolso only the named MCP tools reach the model - Set
AGENT_FRAMEWORK_USER_AGENT_DISABLED=trueto drop the framework's User-Agent and feature token, orAGENT_FRAMEWORK_FEATURE_MASK_DISABLED=truefor the token alone - 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, CrewAI or Microsoft Agent Framework?
Microsoft Agent Framework scores 82.2 (A) on agent readiness against CrewAI's 67 (B), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.
Are CrewAI and Microsoft Agent Framework open source?
Yes. CrewAI is open source (MIT). Microsoft Agent Framework is open source (MIT).
Other comparisons with CrewAI or Microsoft Agent Framework
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- AgentOS vs Microsoft Agent Framework
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- Agno vs Microsoft Agent Framework
- Claude Agent SDK vs CrewAI
- Claude Agent SDK vs Microsoft Agent Framework
- CrewAI vs Docker Agent
- CrewAI vs Agent Development Kit (ADK)
- CrewAI vs LangGraph
- CrewAI vs OpenAI Agents SDK
- CrewAI vs Pydantic AI
- Docker Agent vs Microsoft Agent Framework
- Agent Development Kit (ADK) vs Microsoft Agent Framework
- LangGraph vs Microsoft Agent Framework
- Microsoft Agent Framework vs OpenAI Agents SDK
- Microsoft Agent Framework vs Pydantic AI
Machine-readable
- This page as Markdown
/compare/crewai-vs-microsoft-agent-framework.md· slim.min.md· JSON.json(or sendAccept: text/markdown) - Each listing in full
/api/v1/tools/crewai.json·/api/v1/tools/microsoft-agent-framework.json - From a terminal
anchor compare crewai microsoft-agent-framework(the CLI) - Over MCP
compare_tools {"a": "crewai", "b": "microsoft-agent-framework"}at/mcp, no key