# Microsoft Agent Framework vs OpenAI Agents SDK

> 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 & auth. Both do agent frameworks. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/microsoft-agent-framework-vs-openai-agents-sdk
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/microsoft-agent-framework-vs-openai-agents-sdk.md (~2,250 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/microsoft-agent-framework-vs-openai-agents-sdk.min.md (~680 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/microsoft-agent-framework-vs-openai-agents-sdk.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

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 & auth. Both do agent frameworks.

- 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
- 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

## Which one, for what

### 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:
- Security & auth, 93 against 80

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

### 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 78
- Agent ergonomics, 97 against 87
- Maintenance & community, 100 against 91
- Transparency & trust, 89 against 83

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


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Microsoft Agent Framework | OpenAI Agents SDK | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 78 | 85 | OpenAI Agents SDK +7 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 95 | 95 | even |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 87 | 97 | OpenAI Agents SDK +10 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 93 | 80 | Microsoft Agent Framework +13 |
| 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) | 91 | 100 | OpenAI Agents SDK +9 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 83 | 89 | OpenAI Agents SDK +6 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -2 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **82.2 · A** | **86.2 · AA** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Microsoft Agent Framework | OpenAI Agents SDK |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Agent framework | Agent framework |
| Vendor | Microsoft | 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 | no | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-08 | 2026-10-02 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | couldn't be read |
| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | couldn't be read |
| Customer content may train models |  | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict automated access |  | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  | couldn't be read |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  | couldn't be read |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  | couldn't be read |
| Popularity | 14k stars, 48k PyPI/wk | 30k stars, 1.3M npm/wk, 3M PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 3.9/5 (8) |

## 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.

## Before you call either

### 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

### OpenAI Agents SDK

1. 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
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, Microsoft Agent Framework or OpenAI Agents SDK?

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 & auth.

### Are Microsoft Agent Framework and OpenAI Agents SDK open source?

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


## For agents

- 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
- 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`
- 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

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