{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "microsoft-agent-framework", "name": "Microsoft Agent Framework", "vendor": "Microsoft", "vendorUrl": "https://www.microsoft.com", "kind": "framework", "category": "frameworks", "summary": "Microsoft Agent Framework is an open-source SDK for building AI agents and multi-agent workflows in Python and .NET, with a Go version in public preview. Microsoft names it the successor to AutoGen and Semantic Kernel.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/microsoft-agent-framework", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/microsoft-agent-framework.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/microsoft-agent-framework.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/microsoft-agent-framework.json", "repo": "https://github.com/microsoft/agent-framework", "license": "MIT", "transports": [], "packages": [ { "registry": "pypi", "name": "agent-framework" }, { "registry": "nuget", "name": "Microsoft.Agents.AI" } ], "auth": "none", "authNotes": "A library with no account of its own. Credentials are for the model provider and the tools used. The quickstarts sign in to Microsoft Foundry with an Azure credential, and the OpenAI, Anthropic and other clients take their own keys from the environment.", "pricing": "free", "pricingNotes": "Free under MIT, with model calls paid to the provider. Foundry hosted agents, the managed hosting option, is a separate Azure service at $0.0994 a vCPU-hour and $0.0118 an hour for memory in East US, per Azure's retail price API on 8 October 2026.", "priceSummary": "Free · OSS", "where": "library", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 found in the repository or the docs (checked 2026-10-08).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 14015, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": 47507, "asOf": "2026-10-08" }, "docsUrl": "https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/agent-framework/overview/", "capabilities": [ "agent.framework", "agent.multi-agent", "agent.durable", "agent.mcp-client" ], "tags": [ "official", "framework", "python", "dotnet", "go", "open-source", "durable", "free", "no-card" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-08", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 82.2, "grade": "A", "agentReady": true, "rank": 6, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 722, "categoryRank": 3, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 87, "maintenance": 91, "payments": 60, "reliability": 78, "schema": 95, "security": 93, "transparency": 83 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "high", "date": "2026-10-08" }, "negative": -2, "negativeNotes": [ "2026-10-07. High-severity advisory GHSA-9f26-7mqc-9vc4 (CVSS 7.5). Microsoft.Agents.AI.Workflows.Declarative before 1.24.0 could forward values marked sensitive, including environment-scoped secrets, to an external MCP server from an InvokeMcpTool action. Fixed in 1.24.0 and published the same day, so 2 points. Two medium advisories published the same day (GHSA-q7g7-7c7x-frcq, approval not bound to transport headers, and GHSA-r2mq-wgc9-vgh3, Foundry toolbox bearer token sent to an unintended origin) weren't deducted. https://github.com/microsoft/agent-framework/security/advisories/GHSA-9f26-7mqc-9vc4" ], "verdict": "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.", "bestFor": "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.", "strengths": [ "MIT, with Python 1.21.0 on PyPI (8 October 2026) and .NET 1.24.0 on NuGet (7 October 2026), both past 1.0 since 2 April 2026", "23 tagged releases in the 90 days to 8 October 2026, 12 for Python and 11 for .NET", "MCP client in the core package over stdio and streamable HTTP, with a tool allow-list, per-tool approval and optional progressive disclosure", "Graph workflows with checkpoints, in-memory and file storage in core, and five orchestration patterns (sequential, concurrent, handoff, group chat, Magentic)", "A safety page and FIDES, an information-flow control middleware for prompt injection, which is experimental and Python only" ], "weaknesses": [ "Changes marked [BREAKING] shipped in minor releases of released packages, including agent-framework-core in 1.20.0 on 2 October 2026", "A package and version User-Agent goes out on client requests by default, with a feature-usage token on Foundry and Azure OpenAI paths. Two environment variables turn them off", "Three advisories were published on 7 October 2026 against .NET packages, one high (CVSS 7.5), all with fixed versions", "Tools run without approval unless approval is set on each tool, per the safety page", "575 open issues and 201 open pull requests on 8 October 2026, and 26 of 44 Python packages are alpha or beta" ], "agentNotes": [ "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 is `never_require`", "Pass `allowed_tools` to `MCPStdioTool` or `MCPStreamableHTTPTool` so only the named MCP tools reach the model", "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", "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" ], "metrics": { "kind": "library", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "high", "grade": "A", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 82.2 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 87, "maintenance": 91, "payments": 60, "reliability": 78, "schema": 95, "security": 93, "transparency": 86 }, "provenanceScore": 80 }, "connect": { "install": "pip install agent-framework # or: dotnet add package Microsoft.Agents.AI" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/agent.framework", "tool": "https://letme.dev/microsoft-agent-framework" }, "sameCompany": [ "azure-foundry-fine-tuning", "azure-ai-content-safety", "azure-speech-to-text", "azure-text-to-speech", "microsoft-execution-containers", "microsoft-entra-agent-id", "azure-key-vault", "azure-devops-mcp", "microsoft-learn-mcp", "playwright-mcp", "azure-mcp", "azure-maps", "azure-translator", "microsoft-graph-calendar", "microsoft-teams", "dynamics-365-sales", "power-automate", "microsoft-advertising-api", "microsoft-excel-graph", "outlook-mail-graph" ], "area": "frameworks", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Foundry hosted agents", "unit": "vcpu-hour", "usd": 0.0994, "note": "East US, plus $0.0118 an hour for memory. A separate Azure service" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Microsoft Corporation", "domain": "microsoft.com", "domainRegistered": "1991-05-02", "endpointOnVendorDomain": null, "terms": "", "privacy": "", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://github.com/microsoft/agent-framework/blob/main/python/CHANGELOG.md", "securityTxt": "expired", "checked": "2026-10-08", "notes": [ "The repository is under GitHub's microsoft organisation and its licence file reads Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.", "No terms or privacy document for the framework itself was found. The MIT licence is the only document that governs the packages, and neither the repository README nor the core package README links a privacy statement, so both fields are left out.", "www.microsoft.com/.well-known/security.txt loads and points to the MSRC researcher portal, but its Expires field is 2026-09-23T16:00:00.000Z, which had passed on 8 October 2026. learn.microsoft.com has none.", "RDAP gives microsoft.com a registration date of 1991-05-02.", "The changelog link is the Python one. No changelog file was found for .NET in the repository." ], "score": 80 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/microsoft-agent-framework.json", "live": { "slug": "microsoft-agent-framework", "pages": [ { "url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/microsoft/agent-framework/main/python/CHANGELOG.md", "kind": "changelog", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:24:25.773080027Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "de3967467c68" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-08T18:24:25.773080027Z" } }, "answer": "OpenAI Agents SDK scores 86.2 (AA) on agent readiness against Microsoft Agent Framework's 82.2 (A), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Microsoft Agent Framework leads on security \u0026 auth.", "b": { "slug": "openai-agents-sdk", "name": "OpenAI Agents SDK", "vendor": "OpenAI", "vendorUrl": "https://openai.com", "kind": "framework", "category": "frameworks", "summary": "Multi-agent framework built on agents, hand-offs and guardrails, with sessions, tracing and human approval.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openai-agents-sdk", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openai-agents-sdk.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openai-agents-sdk.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openai-agents-sdk.json", "repo": "https://github.com/openai/openai-agents-python", "license": "MIT", "transports": [], "packages": [ { "registry": "pypi", "name": "openai-agents" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@openai/agents" } ], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "OpenAI key by default. Other providers through LiteLLM or any-llm.", "pricing": "free", "pricingNotes": "Free and open source. You pay for the model calls it makes.", "priceSummary": "Free · OSS", "where": "library", "x402": { "level": "no", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 29709, "npmWeekly": 1291899, "pypiWeekly": 3018052, "asOf": "2026-09-26" }, "docsUrl": "https://openai.github.io/openai-agents-python/", "llmsTxt": "https://openai.github.io/openai-agents-python/llms.txt", "capabilities": [ "agent.framework", "agent.multi-agent", "agent.durable", "agent.mcp-client" ], "tags": [ "official", "framework", "python", "typescript", "open-source", "telemetry-default-on" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-02", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 86.2, "grade": "AA", "agentReady": true, "rank": 1, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 722, "categoryRank": 1, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 97, "maintenance": 100, "payments": 60, "reliability": 85, "schema": 95, "security": 80, "transparency": 89 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "high", "date": "2026-10-04" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "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.", "bestFor": "Teams that want hand-offs, guardrails and approvals with little code, and are happy with OpenAI's tracing or will turn it off.", "strengths": [ "MCP in about 11 lines, with static and dynamic tool filters and require_approval", "Input and output guardrails, built-in human approval and sandbox agents", "Typed exceptions plus error_handlers, and RunState to resume a paused run", "9 open issues and 2 open pull requests on 2026-10-04", "A written 0.Y.Z versioning policy with breaking changes listed per minor" ], "weaknesses": [ "Tracing on by default, with model and tool content, sent to OpenAI", "Tracing isn't available to zero-data-retention organisations", "Pre-1.0, and minor releases can carry breaking changes, as 0.20.0, 0.21.0 and 0.22.0 did", "0.20.0 changed the default model", "Through 0.23.1, RunConfig(tracing_disabled=True) doesn't stop spans inside a caller's trace. Fixed on main on 4 October, not yet released" ], "agentNotes": [ "Set OPENAI_AGENTS_DISABLE_TRACING=1 or OPENAI_AGENTS_TRACE_INCLUDE_SENSITIVE_DATA=0. Through 0.23.1, RunConfig(tracing_disabled=True) doesn't stop spans inside your own trace() block", "Pin to a minor version. Each 0.Y can break", "Set require_approval on MCP servers that write", "Name the model explicitly. The default changed in 0.20.0", "Use an error handler for max_turns instead of catching MaxTurnsExceeded" ], "metrics": { "kind": "library", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 8, "avgRating": 3.9, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "high", "grade": "AA", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 86.2 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 97, "maintenance": 100, "payments": 60, "reliability": 85, "schema": 95, "security": 80, "transparency": 84 }, "provenanceScore": 93 }, "connect": { "install": "pip install openai-agents # or: npm i @openai/agents" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/agent.framework", "tool": "https://letme.dev/openai-agents-sdk" }, "sameCompany": [ "openai-api", "openai-embeddings", "openai-moderation", "openai-image-api", "openai-sora", "openai-decisions-api", "openai-codex" ], "area": "frameworks", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "OpenAI OpCo, LLC", "domain": "openai.com", "domainRegistered": "2007-01-19", "endpointOnVendorDomain": null, "terms": "https://openai.com/policies/services-agreement/", "privacy": "https://openai.com/policies/privacy-policy/", "statusPage": "https://status.openai.com", "changelog": "https://openai.github.io/openai-agents-python/release/", "securityTxt": "valid", "checked": "2026-09-26", "score": 93 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openai-agents-sdk.json", "live": { "slug": "openai-agents-sdk", "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.openai.com", "indicator": "none", "summary": "All Systems Operational", "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T19:50:50.157987656Z" }, "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "openai/openai-agents-python", "version": "v0.23.1", "released": "2026-10-02", "seenAt": "2026-10-08T16:23:28.152984657Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@openai/agents", "version": "0.19.0", "seenAt": "2026-10-08T16:23:27.255077296Z" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "openai-agents", "version": "0.23.1", "released": "2026-10-02", "seenAt": "2026-10-08T16:23:27.118318157Z" } ], "githubStars": 29912, "npmWeekly": 2504358, "pypiWeekly": 2982110, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://openai.com/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "valid", "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T15:38:50.073851341Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://openai.github.io/openai-agents-python/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T14:00:43.011429912Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "openai.com", "registered": "2007-01-19", "source": "https://rdap.verisign.com/com/v1/domain/openai.com", "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T13:05:02.32020521Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://openai.github.io/openai-agents-python/release/", "kind": "changelog", "status": 304, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:22:35.174891514Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "7523bd6f3514" }, { "url": "https://openai.com/policies/privacy-policy/", "kind": "privacy", "status": 403, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:22:34.560119334Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-02T15:22:38.858492571Z", "fingerprint": "1313fe838818" }, { "url": "https://openai.com/policies/services-agreement/", "kind": "terms", "status": 403, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:22:36.581063967Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-04T15:46:24.458479472Z", "fingerprint": "46a4b30744ca" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-08T19:50:50.157987656Z" } }, "facts": [ { "a": "Agent framework", "b": "Agent framework", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Microsoft", "b": "OpenAI", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "no (local only)", "b": "no (local only)", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "", "b": "", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "None", "b": "API key", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Free", "b": "Free", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "MIT", "b": "MIT", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "no", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-10-08", "b": "2026-10-02", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "no document linked", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "no document linked", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "14k stars, 48k PyPI/wk", "b": "30k stars, 1.3M npm/wk, 3M PyPI/wk", "name": "Popularity" }, { "a": "none", "b": "3.9/5 (8)", "name": "Agent reviews" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "OpenAI Agents SDK scores 86.2 (AA) on agent readiness against Microsoft Agent Framework's 82.2 (A), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Microsoft Agent Framework leads on security \u0026 auth.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Microsoft Agent Framework or OpenAI Agents SDK?" }, { "answer": "Yes. Microsoft Agent Framework is open source (MIT). OpenAI Agents SDK is open source (MIT).", "question": "Are Microsoft Agent Framework and OpenAI Agents SDK open source?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Security \u0026 auth, 93 against 80" ], "also": [ "No key needed to call it", "Free to start without a card" ], "goodFor": "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.", "slug": "microsoft-agent-framework", "watchFor": "Changes marked [BREAKING] shipped in minor releases of released packages, including agent-framework-core in 1.20.0 on 2 October 2026" }, { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 85 against 78", "Agent ergonomics, 97 against 87", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 100 against 91", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 89 against 83" ], "also": null, "goodFor": "Teams that want hand-offs, guardrails and approvals with little code, and are happy with OpenAI's tracing or will turn it off.", "slug": "openai-agents-sdk", "watchFor": "Tracing on by default, with model and tool content, sent to OpenAI" } ], "job": { "capability": "agent.framework", "name": "Agent frameworks" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agentos-vs-microsoft-agent-framework.json", "title": "AgentOS vs Microsoft Agent Framework", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agentos-vs-microsoft-agent-framework" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agentos-vs-openai-agents-sdk.json", "title": "AgentOS vs OpenAI Agents SDK", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agentos-vs-openai-agents-sdk" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agno-vs-microsoft-agent-framework.json", "title": "Agno vs Microsoft Agent Framework", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agno-vs-microsoft-agent-framework" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agno-vs-openai-agents-sdk.json", "title": "Agno vs OpenAI Agents SDK", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agno-vs-openai-agents-sdk" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-agent-sdk-vs-microsoft-agent-framework.json", "title": "Claude Agent SDK vs Microsoft Agent Framework", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-agent-sdk-vs-microsoft-agent-framework" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-agent-sdk-vs-openai-agents-sdk.json", "title": "Claude Agent SDK vs OpenAI Agents SDK", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-agent-sdk-vs-openai-agents-sdk" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crewai-vs-microsoft-agent-framework.json", "title": "CrewAI vs Microsoft Agent Framework", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crewai-vs-microsoft-agent-framework" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crewai-vs-openai-agents-sdk.json", "title": "CrewAI vs OpenAI Agents SDK", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crewai-vs-openai-agents-sdk" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-agent-vs-microsoft-agent-framework.json", "title": "Docker Agent vs Microsoft Agent Framework", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-agent-vs-microsoft-agent-framework" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-agent-vs-openai-agents-sdk.json", "title": "Docker Agent vs OpenAI Agents SDK", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-agent-vs-openai-agents-sdk" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-adk-vs-microsoft-agent-framework.json", "title": "Agent Development Kit (ADK) vs Microsoft Agent Framework", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-adk-vs-microsoft-agent-framework" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-adk-vs-openai-agents-sdk.json", "title": "Agent Development Kit (ADK) vs OpenAI Agents SDK", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-adk-vs-openai-agents-sdk" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/langgraph-vs-microsoft-agent-framework.json", "title": "LangGraph vs Microsoft Agent Framework", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/langgraph-vs-microsoft-agent-framework" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/langgraph-vs-openai-agents-sdk.json", "title": "LangGraph vs OpenAI Agents SDK", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/langgraph-vs-openai-agents-sdk" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/microsoft-agent-framework-vs-pydantic-ai.json", "title": "Microsoft Agent Framework vs Pydantic AI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/microsoft-agent-framework-vs-pydantic-ai" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-agents-sdk-vs-pydantic-ai.json", "title": "OpenAI Agents SDK vs Pydantic AI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-agents-sdk-vs-pydantic-ai" } ], "scores": [ { "by": 7, "edge": "openai-agents-sdk", "key": "reliability", "microsoft-agent-framework": 78, "name": "Reliability", "openai-agents-sdk": 85, "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 0, "edge": "", "key": "schema", "microsoft-agent-framework": 95, "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "openai-agents-sdk": 95, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 10, "edge": "openai-agents-sdk", "key": "ergonomics", "microsoft-agent-framework": 87, "name": "Agent ergonomics", "openai-agents-sdk": 97, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 13, "edge": "microsoft-agent-framework", "key": "security", "microsoft-agent-framework": 93, "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "openai-agents-sdk": 80, "weight": 14 }, { "by": 0, "edge": "", "key": "payments", "microsoft-agent-framework": 60, "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "openai-agents-sdk": 60, "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 9, "edge": "openai-agents-sdk", "key": "maintenance", "microsoft-agent-framework": 91, "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "openai-agents-sdk": 100, "weight": 7 }, { "by": 6, "edge": "openai-agents-sdk", "key": "transparency", "microsoft-agent-framework": 83, "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "openai-agents-sdk": 89, "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "OpenAI Agents SDK scores 86.2 (AA) on agent readiness against Microsoft Agent Framework's 82.2 (A), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Microsoft Agent Framework leads on security \u0026 auth. Both do agent frameworks.", "verdicts": { "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.", "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." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/microsoft-agent-framework-vs-openai-agents-sdk", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/microsoft-agent-framework-vs-openai-agents-sdk.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/microsoft-agent-framework-vs-openai-agents-sdk.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/microsoft-agent-framework-vs-openai-agents-sdk.min.md" }, "markdown": "OpenAI Agents SDK scores 86.2 (AA) on agent readiness against Microsoft Agent Framework's 82.2 (A), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Microsoft Agent Framework leads on security \u0026 auth. Both do agent frameworks.\n\n- 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\n- OpenAI Agents SDK: grade AA, 86.2/100, rank #1 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openai-agents-sdk.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openai-agents-sdk.json\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### Microsoft Agent Framework (A)\n\nGood 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.\n\nAhead on:\n- Security \u0026 auth, 93 against 80\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- No key needed to call it\n- Free to start without a card\n\nWatch for: Changes marked [BREAKING] shipped in minor releases of released packages, including agent-framework-core in 1.20.0 on 2 October 2026\n\n### OpenAI Agents SDK (AA)\n\nGood for: Teams that want hand-offs, guardrails and approvals with little code, and are happy with OpenAI's tracing or will turn it off.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 85 against 78\n- Agent ergonomics, 97 against 87\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 100 against 91\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 89 against 83\n\nWatch for: Tracing on by default, with model and tool content, sent to OpenAI\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Microsoft Agent Framework | OpenAI Agents SDK | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 78 | 85 | OpenAI Agents SDK +7 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 95 | 95 | even |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 87 | 97 | OpenAI Agents SDK +10 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 93 | 80 | Microsoft Agent Framework +13 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 60 | even |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 91 | 100 | OpenAI Agents SDK +9 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 83 | 89 | OpenAI Agents SDK +6 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | -2 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **82.2 · A** | **86.2 · AA** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Microsoft Agent Framework | OpenAI Agents SDK |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | Agent framework | Agent framework |\n| Vendor | Microsoft | OpenAI |\n| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |\n| Transports | | |\n| Auth | None | API key |\n| Pricing | Free | Free |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | MIT | MIT |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | no | yes |\n| Last release | 2026-10-08 | 2026-10-02 |\n| Terms last updated | no document linked | couldn't be read |\n| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | couldn't be read |\n| Customer content may train models | | couldn't be read |\n| Terms restrict automated access | | couldn't be read |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | | couldn't be read |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | | couldn't be read |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | | couldn't be read |\n| Popularity | 14k stars, 48k PyPI/wk | 30k stars, 1.3M npm/wk, 3M PyPI/wk |\n| Agent reviews | none | 3.9/5 (8) |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**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.\n\n**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.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### Microsoft Agent Framework\n\n1. Pin exact versions. Minor releases have carried [BREAKING] changes, so read python/CHANGELOG.md or the upgrade guides before moving up\n2. Set `approval_mode=\"always_require\"` on tools and MCP servers that write. The default is `never_require`\n3. Pass `allowed_tools` to `MCPStdioTool` or `MCPStreamableHTTPTool` so only the named MCP tools reach the model\n4. 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\n5. 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\n\n### OpenAI Agents SDK\n\n1. Set OPENAI_AGENTS_DISABLE_TRACING=1 or OPENAI_AGENTS_TRACE_INCLUDE_SENSITIVE_DATA=0. Through 0.23.1, RunConfig(tracing_disabled=True) doesn't stop spans inside your own trace() block\n2. Pin to a minor version. Each 0.Y can break\n3. Set require_approval on MCP servers that write\n4. Name the model explicitly. The default changed in 0.20.0\n5. Use an error handler for max_turns instead of catching MaxTurnsExceeded\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Microsoft Agent Framework or OpenAI Agents SDK?\n\nOpenAI Agents SDK scores 86.2 (AA) on agent readiness against Microsoft Agent Framework's 82.2 (A), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Microsoft Agent Framework leads on security \u0026 auth.\n\n### Are Microsoft Agent Framework and OpenAI Agents SDK open source?\n\nYes. Microsoft Agent Framework is open source (MIT). OpenAI Agents SDK is open source (MIT).\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/microsoft-agent-framework-vs-openai-agents-sdk.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/microsoft-agent-framework-vs-openai-agents-sdk.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"microsoft-agent-framework\", \"b\": \"openai-agents-sdk\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare microsoft-agent-framework openai-agents-sdk`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/microsoft-agent-framework.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openai-agents-sdk.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Microsoft Agent Framework or OpenAI Agents SDK\n\n- [AgentOS vs Microsoft Agent Framework](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agentos-vs-microsoft-agent-framework.md)\n- [AgentOS vs OpenAI Agents SDK](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agentos-vs-openai-agents-sdk.md)\n- [Agno vs Microsoft Agent Framework](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agno-vs-microsoft-agent-framework.md)\n- [Agno vs OpenAI Agents SDK](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agno-vs-openai-agents-sdk.md)\n- [Claude Agent SDK vs Microsoft Agent Framework](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-agent-sdk-vs-microsoft-agent-framework.md)\n- [Claude Agent SDK vs OpenAI Agents SDK](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-agent-sdk-vs-openai-agents-sdk.md)\n- [CrewAI vs Microsoft Agent Framework](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crewai-vs-microsoft-agent-framework.md)\n- [CrewAI vs OpenAI Agents SDK](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crewai-vs-openai-agents-sdk.md)\n- [Docker Agent vs Microsoft Agent Framework](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-agent-vs-microsoft-agent-framework.md)\n- [Docker Agent vs OpenAI Agents SDK](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-agent-vs-openai-agents-sdk.md)\n- [Agent Development Kit (ADK) vs Microsoft Agent Framework](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-adk-vs-microsoft-agent-framework.md)\n- [Agent Development Kit (ADK) vs OpenAI Agents SDK](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-adk-vs-openai-agents-sdk.md)\n- [LangGraph vs Microsoft Agent Framework](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/langgraph-vs-microsoft-agent-framework.md)\n- [LangGraph vs OpenAI Agents SDK](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/langgraph-vs-openai-agents-sdk.md)\n- [Microsoft Agent Framework vs Pydantic AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/microsoft-agent-framework-vs-pydantic-ai.md)\n- [OpenAI Agents SDK vs Pydantic AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-agents-sdk-vs-pydantic-ai.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-10-08", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.4", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "Microsoft Agent Framework vs OpenAI Agents SDK", "url": "" } ], "description": "OpenAI Agents SDK scores 86.2 (AA) on agent readiness against Microsoft Agent Framework's 82.2 (A), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Microsoft Agent Framework leads on security \u0026 auth. Both do agent frameworks. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "Microsoft Agent Framework A 82.2", "OpenAI Agents SDK AA 86.2", "scores" ], "h1": "Microsoft Agent Framework vs OpenAI Agents SDK", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-microsoft-agent-framework-vs-openai-agents-sdk.png", "path": "/compare/microsoft-agent-framework-vs-openai-agents-sdk", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "Microsoft Agent Framework vs OpenAI Agents SDK for AI agents", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-08", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/microsoft-agent-framework-vs-openai-agents-sdk" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2250, "slim": 680 }, "version": 1 }