# LlamaIndex Framework vs Microsoft Agent Framework

> Microsoft Agent Framework scores 79.4 (A) to LlamaIndex Framework's 70 (BB) for agent frameworks. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/llamaindex-vs-microsoft-agent-framework
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/llamaindex-vs-microsoft-agent-framework.md (~5,050 tokens)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (the key docs and every listing in one file, at most 16 MB, about 4 million tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (the whole catalogue as tools, no key)
- DNS: dig +short TXT <slug>.grade.anchorterminal.com (the grade as a DNS TXT record, for a sandbox with no HTTP where names still resolve; also top., best.<category>. and <a>.vs.<b>. under the zone, and the same under grade.letme.dev)
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)
- Updated: 2026-11-07

Microsoft Agent Framework scores 79.4 (A) on agent readiness against LlamaIndex Framework's 70 (BB), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do agent frameworks.

- LlamaIndex Framework: grade BB, 70/100, rank #217 of 1510. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/llamaindex.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/llamaindex.json
- Microsoft Agent Framework: grade A, 79.4/100, rank #18 of 1510. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/microsoft-agent-framework.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/microsoft-agent-framework.json
- Best agent frameworks and SDKs: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/frameworks/index.md
- All 171 frameworks comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/frameworks/index.md

## Which one, for what

### LlamaIndex Framework (BB)

Good for: Python teams building retrieval-heavy agents over their own data, with many connectors.

Watch for: Core is 0.14.x, and minor versions such as 0.13 and 0.14 carried breaking changes

### 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:
- Reliability, 78 against 70
- Schema & documentation, 95 against 85
- Agent ergonomics, 87 against 73
- Security & auth, 93 against 74
- Maintenance & community, 91 against 69
- Transparency & trust, 85 against 67

Also in its favour:
- Free to start without a card

Watch for: Changes marked [BREAKING] shipped in minor releases of released packages, including agent-framework-core in 1.22.0 on 15 October and 1.23.0 on 22 October 2026


## Why the edge

### Maintenance & community: Microsoft Agent Framework +22

- LlamaIndex Framework (69): llama-index-core 0.14.25 on 21 September 2026, 46 days before this check (20). Two core changelog entries in the 90 days (19 August and 21 September), with integration packages and Workflows (2.24.1 to 2.26.1) publishing in between, so partial (12). 379 open issues and 1,291 open issues and pull requests on 6 November, with 241 issues opened in the 90 days to 3 November. Of the 50 newest, 28 had a comment and 3 were closed; a stale bot and an issue classifier run on the repository (12). Core, Workflows and integrations are current (15). CI and CodeQL passing on main and a stale-package policy that moves unmaintained integrations out of main (10). 20+12+12+15+10 = 69.
- Microsoft Agent Framework (91): Python 1.24.0 and .NET 1.27.0, both tagged on 2026-10-30 (30). 22 release tags in the 90 days to 1 November, 11 Python and 11 .NET (20). 610 open issues and 229 open pull requests on 1 November, and triage, labelling and stale-ping workflows run on new issues. We couldn't see reply times (17). Python and .NET packages are current, and Go is a public preview line with v0.2.1 tagged on 27 October 2026 (15). CI, CodeQL and Dependabot run, though two of four Dependabot update runs failed on 8 October, per the 8 October check, not re-read on 1 November (9).

### Security & auth: Microsoft Agent Framework +19

- LlamaIndex Framework (74): Framework reading (telemetry defaults, approvals, guardrails, sandboxing). No telemetry found in llama-index-core (25). Human-in-the-loop events in Workflows and agents can wait for a person, but there's no per-tool approval primitive and CodeActAgent's executor is the developer's to supply (12). The threat model puts input validation on the application, with no prompt-injection guidance in the agent pages (5). Instrumentation events and callback handlers for tracing (14). A huntr bug bounty, GitHub private reporting and public advisories with fixed versions (18). 25+12+5+14+18 = 74.
- Microsoft Agent Framework (93): Framework reading, so SOC 2 isn't scored. A package and version User-Agent goes out on client requests by default, with a feature-usage token on Foundry and Azure OpenAI paths. Both are documented with opt-out variables, and the observability module says the framework contacts no external system itself, with message content in traces off by default (25). `approval_mode` on function and MCP tools, an MCP tool allow-list, and Hyperlight and Monty sandboxes for model-written code in beta. Tools run without approval unless set (20). An Agent Safety page treats model-supplied arguments as untrusted, and FIDES labels content and enforces policy before sensitive tools run, though it is experimental and Python only (15). OpenTelemetry traces, metrics and logs to any exporter (15). SECURITY.md routes reports to MSRC with a bounty programme and coordinated disclosure, CodeQL runs in CI and three advisories were published with fixed versions on 7 October 2026. Microsoft's security.txt still carries an Expires of 23 September 2026 on 1 November. On 1 November the repository's advisories list showed none to our reader, while the GHSA-9f26-7mqc-9vc4 page still loads as published on 7 October, so no advisory after 17 October was found (18).

### Transparency & trust: Microsoft Agent Framework +18

- LlamaIndex Framework (67): MIT (30). The library stores nothing itself; OpenAI is the default provider unless changed, which the docs show (20). A stale-package policy and removals noted in the changelog, such as deprecated IPEX integrations removed in 0.14.25, without dated notice (10). No telemetry, though no page states it (12). 30+20+10+12 = 72.
- Microsoft Agent Framework (85): MIT (30). The core README says what the User-Agent and feature token are, and a design spec in the repository says the token goes only to Foundry and Azure OpenAI pipelines and not to third-party providers. That spec is still marked proposed on 1 November, and we found no statement of how long Microsoft keeps the data and no privacy document for the framework (22). Package lifecycle states are published per package, experimental APIs raise warnings, breaking changes are dated in the Python changelog and there are upgrade guides, but we found no written support window (14). Telemetry is disclosed with two opt-out variables (20).

### Agent ergonomics: Microsoft Agent Framework +14

- LlamaIndex Framework (73): Framework reading. MCP tools through a separate llama-index-tools-mcp package, with allowed tools selectable (18). Memory token limits, iteration caps and streaming events (16). Tool errors returned to the agent, with few typed errors (12). Workflow context serialises and resumes, and the DBOS package makes runs durable (16). Few required parameters, but OpenAI is the silent default for LLM and embeddings, Python here with a separate TypeScript edition (11). 18+16+12+16+11 = 73.
- Microsoft Agent Framework (87): The documented Python agent with one MCP server is about 12 lines with `MCPStdioTool` from the core package, and `allowed_tools`, `load_tools` and progressive disclosure limit what reaches the model (25). The function loop stops at 40 iterations by default with a `max_function_calls` option, and compaction has its own docs page (20). A typed exception hierarchy, and the loop stops after three consecutive tool errors by default. We didn't find MCP failures documented (16). Workflows resume from checkpoints and sessions serialise, but we found no retry setting for model calls in the core client (14). An agent needs a client and instructions. Python and .NET are stable, Go is in preview, and the quickstarts assume a Microsoft Foundry project (12).

### Schema & documentation: Microsoft Agent Framework +10

- LlamaIndex Framework (85): Framework reading. A typed Python API with a generated reference (22). llms.txt indexing the framework docs, plus a docs search API and an MCP server for the docs (10). The agents guide says what each agent class is for, and the MCP page lists the three ways to use MCP (15). Tools are typed from function signatures and Pydantic models (13). Many examples and notebooks, few documented error types (10). Dated changelog (15). 22+10+15+13+10+15 = 85.
- Microsoft Agent Framework (95): Typed in both languages, with py.typed markers and API references for Python and .NET on Microsoft Learn (25). Learn returns each docs page as Markdown when asked with an Accept header. No llms.txt was found (10). The overview has a table for when to use an agent or a workflow, and says to write a function instead where one would do (20). Tools are Python functions typed with Annotated and Pydantic Field, or AIFunction in .NET (15). Samples for every area and a typed exception hierarchy in the source, but we found no exception reference in the docs pages we read (12). A dated Python changelog and four upgrade guides. No changelog file was found for .NET (13).

### Reliability: Microsoft Agent Framework +8

- LlamaIndex Framework (70): Local-package reading. Official PyPI packages with Python 3.10 to below 4.0 (20). Public unit-test, type-check, lint, coverage and CodeQL workflows, with the type-check, lint and CodeQL runs on main passing on 3 November (25). 379 open issues and 1,291 open issues and pull requests on 6 November, with 241 issues opened in the 90 days to 3 November. Of the 50 newest, 28 had a comment and 3 were closed; a stale bot and an issue classifier run on the repository (12). A dated, generated changelog per package, but core is 0.x and minors such as 0.13 and 0.14 carried breaking changes (8). Core isn't 1.0; Workflows is at 2.x, so partial (5). 20+25+12+8+5 = 70.
- Microsoft Agent Framework (78): Read with the local-software lines. Official packages on PyPI (Requires-Python >=3.10 in the repository, though 1.24.0 makes Python 3.11 the supported baseline and says the next release drops 3.10) and NuGet (net8.0 to net10.0, netstandard2.0, net472) (20). Of the 15 most recent .NET build and test runs on 1 November 2026, 10 passed, 2 were cancelled and 4 wait for approval on a pull request, with none failed, and the scheduled runs on main passed on 31 October and 1 November (25). 610 open issues and 229 open pull requests on 1 November, up from 575 and 201 on 8 October. Closures and bug labels weren't re-counted (10). The Python changelog follows Keep a Changelog and states semantic versioning, and marks breaking changes, but they keep shipping in minor releases of released packages, such as agent-framework-core in 1.22.0 on 15 October and 1.23.0 on 22 October 2026 (8). Python 1.24.0 and .NET 1.27.0, with the root and core packages classed 5 - Production/Stable (15).

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | LlamaIndex Framework | Microsoft Agent Framework | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 70 | 78 | Microsoft Agent Framework +8 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 85 | 95 | Microsoft Agent Framework +10 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 73 | 87 | Microsoft Agent Framework +14 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 74 | 93 | Microsoft Agent Framework +19 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 60 | even |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 69 | 91 | Microsoft Agent Framework +22 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 67 | 85 | Microsoft Agent Framework +18 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -2 | -5 | |
| **Total** | | **70 · BB** | **79.4 · A** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | LlamaIndex Framework | Microsoft Agent Framework |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Agent framework | Agent framework |
| Vendor | LlamaIndex | 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 | 2026-09-21 | 2026-10-30 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | no document linked |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-08-24 | no document linked |
| Popularity | 53k stars, 1.3M PyPI/wk | 14k stars, 48k PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 3/5 (4) |

## How the scores have moved

### LlamaIndex Framework

No score change since it was listed.

### Microsoft Agent Framework

- -3.0 on 1 November 2026: negative event
- +0.2 on 27 October 2026: checklist

## Verdicts

**LlamaIndex Framework.** An MIT Python framework for retrieval and agents, with three agent types, multi-agent AgentWorkflow, resumable event-driven Workflows, MCP tools and a huntr bug bounty, and no telemetry found. Core is still 0.14 with breaking minors, OpenAI is the silent default, and approval and injection handling are left to the application.

**Microsoft Agent Framework.** Python 1.24.0 and .NET 1.27.0 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

### LlamaIndex Framework

1. Set Settings.llm and Settings.embed_model explicitly so calls don't go to OpenAI by default
2. Install llama-index-tools-mcp for MCP tools and pass only the allowed tools the task needs
3. Use Workflow human-in-the-loop events before tools that write or send
4. Pin llama-index-core to a minor version, since minors have broken APIs
5. Upgrade llama-index-core to 0.13.0 or later to clear the 2025 advisories

### Microsoft Agent Framework

1. Pin exact versions. Minor releases have carried [BREAKING] changes, 1.23.0 moved MCP to the 2.x SDK, and 1.22.0 writes stored state older runtimes can't read, so read python/CHANGELOG.md first
2. Set `approval_mode="always_require"` on tools and MCP servers that write. Tools run without approval unless set, and 1.24.0 warns when the MCP default is left implicit
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, LlamaIndex Framework or Microsoft Agent Framework?

Microsoft Agent Framework scores 79.4 (A) on agent readiness against LlamaIndex Framework's 70 (BB), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.

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

Yes. LlamaIndex Framework is open source (MIT). Microsoft Agent Framework is open source (MIT).


## For agents

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

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