# 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. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crewai-vs-microsoft-agent-framework
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crewai-vs-microsoft-agent-framework.md (~2,100 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crewai-vs-microsoft-agent-framework.min.md (~530 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crewai-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 CrewAI's 67 (B), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do agent frameworks.

- CrewAI: grade B, 67/100, rank #220 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/crewai.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/crewai.json
- Microsoft Agent Framework: grade A, 82.2/100, rank #6 of 722. 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

### CrewAI (B)

Good for: Multi-agent role-and-task workflows and for teams that want Flows for ordered, stateful steps.

Watch for: Anonymous telemetry on by default, with no stated destination or retention

### 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 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 | CrewAI | Microsoft Agent Framework | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 78 | 78 | even |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 74 | 95 | Microsoft Agent Framework +21 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 80 | 87 | Microsoft Agent Framework +7 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 65 | 93 | Microsoft Agent Framework +28 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 40 | 60 | Microsoft Agent Framework +20 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 88 | 91 | Microsoft Agent Framework +3 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 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

1. Set CREWAI_DISABLE_TELEMETRY=true before the first run
2. Put MCP keys in headers, not in the URL as the docs' Exa example does
3. Pin a stable version. Development builds share the crewai name on PyPI
4. Add a PRE_TOOL_CALL hook for any tool that writes or sends
5. Check the logs for MCP connection warnings. A failed server doesn't stop the agent

### 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, 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).


## For agents

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

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