# LlamaIndex Framework vs OpenAI Agents SDK

> OpenAI Agents SDK scores 86.2 (AA) 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-openai-agents-sdk
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/llamaindex-vs-openai-agents-sdk.md (~4,650 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

OpenAI Agents SDK scores 86.2 (AA) 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
- OpenAI Agents SDK: grade AA, 86.2/100, rank #3 of 1510. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openai-agents-sdk.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openai-agents-sdk.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.

Also in its favour:
- No key needed to call it

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

### OpenAI Agents SDK (AA)

Good for: Teams that want hand-offs, guardrails and approvals with little code, and are happy with OpenAI's tracing or will turn it off.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 85 against 70
- Schema & documentation, 95 against 85
- Agent ergonomics, 97 against 73
- Security & auth, 80 against 74
- Maintenance & community, 100 against 69
- Transparency & trust, 89 against 67

Watch for: Tracing on by default, with model and tool content, sent to OpenAI


## Why the edge

### Maintenance & community: OpenAI Agents SDK +31

- 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.
- OpenAI Agents SDK (100): 0.24.0 on PyPI on 2026-10-15, 17 days before 1 November (30). 11 PyPI releases in the 90 days to 1 November, from 0.19.3 on 4 August to 0.24.0 (20). 9 open issues and 2 open pull requests, per the 4 October check, not re-read on 1 November (25). Python 0.24.0 and @openai/agents 0.21.0 (tagged 20 October) both current (15). Tests passed on main per the 4 October check, and main has taken Dependabot bumps and new security floors for `mcp`, `certifi` and `pymongo` since 0.24.0 (10).

### Agent ergonomics: OpenAI Agents SDK +24

- 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.
- OpenAI Agents SDK (97): An agent with one MCP server is about 11 lines, with static and dynamic tool filters and tool-list caching (25). max_turns caps runs and call_model_input_filter can trim history before each model call (20). Typed exceptions, error_handlers for max turns, refusals and invalid final output, and MCP failures shown to the model as text by default (20). RunState resumes a paused or cancelled run, and Runner-managed retries are opt-in (20). An agent needs a name and instructions, but 0.20.0 changed the default model (7). Python and JavaScript (5).

### Transparency & trust: OpenAI Agents SDK +22

- 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.
- OpenAI Agents SDK (89): MIT (30). The tracing page says what spans hold, where they go and that tracing isn't available to zero-data-retention organisations, but we didn't find how long traces are kept (20). Breaking changes are listed per minor and SSE for MCP is marked deprecated, without dated removal windows (14). Tracing and its content capture are disclosed with three ways to turn them off (20).

### Reliability: OpenAI Agents SDK +15

- 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.
- OpenAI Agents SDK (85): Official packages on PyPI (Python 3.10 or newer, `requires-python` re-read on 1 November) and npm (20). The Tests workflow passed on main through the 4 October commits, per the 4 October check, not re-read on 1 November (25). 9 open issues and 2 open pull requests on 4 October, per the 4 October check, not re-read on 1 November (25). A written policy for 0.Y.Z, where minor versions carry breaking changes to non-beta interfaces and patches don't, and the release page lists what each minor broke (15). 0.23.0 and 0.24.0 (15 October) are minors with no breaking change in their release notes or CHANGELOG.md, and the release page still has no entry for either on 1 November. 0.24.0, still pre-1.0 and still the newest on PyPI on 1 November (0).

### Schema & documentation: OpenAI Agents SDK +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.
- OpenAI Agents SDK (95): Typed Python API with a reference section in the docs (25). llms.txt with an API Reference Highlights section, re-read on 1 November (10). Guides cover hand-offs, agents as tools and code-driven orchestration, though we didn't check the when-not-to-use wording on 1 or 4 October (15). Function tools get their schemas from typed Python signatures (15). Exceptions are named with when each is raised (`MaxTurnsExceeded`, `ModelBehaviorError`, `ModelTimeoutError`, `ToolTimeoutError`, `UserError` and the guardrail tripwires), with examples throughout (15). Versioning policy and release notes per minor, and from 0.23.0 a release-please CHANGELOG.md in the repository (15).

### Security & auth: OpenAI Agents SDK +6

- 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.
- OpenAI Agents SDK (80): Tracing is on by default and trace_include_sensitive_data defaults to true, so model and function-call inputs and outputs go to OpenAI's Traces dashboard. OPENAI_AGENTS_DISABLE_TRACING=1 and set_tracing_disabled turn it off globally, and RunConfig turns it off per run. Through 0.23.1 the per-run opt-out didn't apply inside the caller's own trace. The fix shipped in 0.24.0 on 15 October (10). Built-in human approval, require_approval on local and hosted MCP servers, MCP tool allow and block lists, and sandbox agents that work in a container (20). Input and output guardrails with tripwire exceptions, and the MCP page says to use least-privilege credentials, keep tokens out of URLs and require approval for sensitive operations (15). Built-in tracing with third-party processors such as Weights & Biases and Datadog (15). SECURITY.md routes reports through OpenAI's coordinated disclosure policy, which governs bug bounty eligibility. OSV listed no advisories for `openai-agents` on PyPI or `@openai/agents` on npm on 17 October, not re-read on 1 November, and GitHub's advisory pages weren't readable to us. On main, unreleased on 1 November, pyproject.toml raises the `mcp` floor to 1.30.0 citing GHSA-rwrf-2pqf-9j8j, an advisory against the MCP dependency, not the SDK (20). Framework reading, so SOC 2 isn't scored.

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | LlamaIndex Framework | OpenAI Agents SDK | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 70 | 85 | OpenAI Agents SDK +15 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 85 | 95 | OpenAI Agents SDK +10 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 73 | 97 | OpenAI Agents SDK +24 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 74 | 80 | OpenAI Agents SDK +6 |
| 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 | 100 | OpenAI Agents SDK +31 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 67 | 89 | OpenAI Agents SDK +22 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -2 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **70 · BB** | **86.2 · AA** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | LlamaIndex Framework | OpenAI Agents SDK |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Agent framework | Agent framework |
| Vendor | LlamaIndex | OpenAI |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports |  |  |
| Auth | None | API key |
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-09-21 | 2026-10-15 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | couldn't be read |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-08-24 | couldn't be read |
| Customer content may train models | not read yet | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict automated access | not read yet | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not read yet | couldn't be read |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not read yet | couldn't be read |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not read yet | couldn't be read |
| Popularity | 53k stars, 1.3M PyPI/wk | 30k stars, 1.3M npm/wk, 3M PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 3.9/5 (8) |

## How the scores have moved

### LlamaIndex Framework

No score change since it was listed.

### OpenAI Agents SDK

- -0.3 on 8 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.

**OpenAI Agents SDK.** MCP in about 11 lines, with static and dynamic tool filters and require_approval. Tracing on by default, with model and tool content, sent to OpenAI.

## 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

### OpenAI Agents SDK

1. Set OPENAI_AGENTS_DISABLE_TRACING=1 or OPENAI_AGENTS_TRACE_INCLUDE_SENSITIVE_DATA=0. On versions before 0.24.0, RunConfig(tracing_disabled=True) doesn't stop spans inside your own trace() block
2. Pin to a minor version. Each 0.Y can break
3. Set require_approval on MCP servers that write
4. Name the model explicitly. The default changed in 0.20.0
5. Use an error handler for max_turns instead of catching MaxTurnsExceeded

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, LlamaIndex Framework or OpenAI Agents SDK?

OpenAI Agents SDK scores 86.2 (AA) on agent readiness against LlamaIndex Framework's 70 (BB), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.

### Are LlamaIndex Framework and OpenAI Agents SDK open source?

Yes. LlamaIndex Framework is open source (MIT). OpenAI Agents SDK is open source (MIT).


## For agents

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

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