{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "pydantic-ai", "name": "Pydantic AI", "vendor": "Pydantic", "vendorUrl": "https://pydantic.dev", "kind": "framework", "category": "frameworks", "summary": "Typed Python agent framework for 25+ model providers, with MCP, A2A and durable execution.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/pydantic-ai", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/pydantic-ai.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/pydantic-ai.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/pydantic-ai.json", "dns": "pydantic-ai.grade.anchorterminal.com", "repo": "https://github.com/pydantic/pydantic-ai", "license": "MIT", "transports": [], "packages": [ { "registry": "pypi", "name": "pydantic-ai" } ], "auth": "none", "authNotes": "A library. Credentials are for the models and tools you use.", "pricing": "free", "pricingNotes": "Free and open source. You pay for the model calls it makes. Logfire for tracing is free for personal use, $49 a month for teams.", "priceSummary": "Free · OSS", "where": "library", "x402": { "level": "no", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 20192, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": 1276452, "asOf": "2026-09-26" }, "docsUrl": "https://pydantic.dev/docs/ai/overview/", "llmsTxt": "https://pydantic.dev/docs/ai/llms.txt", "capabilities": [ "agent.framework", "agent.multi-agent", "agent.durable", "agent.mcp-client" ], "tags": [ "framework", "python", "open-source", "typed", "no-telemetry" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-30", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 81.9, "grade": "A", "agentReady": true, "rank": 7, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 1510, "categoryRank": 3, "methodology": "0.7", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 95, "maintenance": 90, "payments": 60, "reliability": 83, "schema": 100, "security": 95, "transparency": 87 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "high", "date": "2026-11-01" }, "negative": -6, "negativeNotes": [ "2026-02-06. Two high-severity advisories, server-side request forgery in URL download handling (GHSA-2jrp-274c-jhv3, CVE-2026-25580) and stored XSS through path traversal in the web UI's CDN URL (GHSA-wjp5-868j-wqv7). Both fixed and published, and more than eight months old, so 1 point each. Nine moderate and two low advisories from May to October 2026, three of them bypasses of its cloud-metadata blocklist, weren't deducted. https://github.com/pydantic/pydantic-ai/security", "2026-08-12. High-severity advisory GHSA-h4xc-3qfq-jf93 (CVSS 7.6). A website the developer visited could trigger agent runs and server-side tool execution through the local web chat UI (`Agent.to_web()`, `clai web`). Fixed in 2.28.0 and 1.107.4 and published, under two months old, so 2 points. It wasn't in the 1 October dossier. https://github.com/pydantic/pydantic-ai/security/advisories/GHSA-h4xc-3qfq-jf93", "2026-10-08. High-severity advisory GHSA-6fqq-452j-qhrp (CVE-2026-107286, CVSS 7.5, availability only). With `ConcurrencyLimitedModel` or `limit_model_concurrency`, a streamed request that ended early could keep its slot, so a network client could exhaust a shared limiter by starting streams and disconnecting. Fixed in 2.53.0 on 2 October and added to the GitHub Advisory Database on 8 October, after the 4 October check, so 2 points as for the other fixed High under two months old. https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-6fqq-452j-qhrp" ], "verdict": "Typed outputs and tools, validated by Pydantic, with failed validations sent back to the model. Python only.", "bestFor": "Python teams that want typed, validated outputs and tools, many model providers and durable runs on an engine they already use.", "strengths": [ "Typed outputs and tools, validated by Pydantic, with failed validations sent back to the model", "No telemetry until you configure OpenTelemetry or Logfire, and the docs say nothing is sent otherwise", "Durable execution on nine engines, including Temporal, DBOS, Prefect, Restate and AWS Lambda", "Read-only workspaces in core, and Harness sandboxes for commands and model-written code", "A written version policy, with deprecations kept until the next major and V1 security releases still shipping" ], "weaknesses": [ "Python only, and 3.11 or newer since 2.55.0", "1.1k open issues and 469 open pull requests on 1 November 2026, roughly double the 1 October counts", "Fifteen advisories in 2026, four high, including SSRF, three cloud-metadata blocklist bypasses and a cross-site flaw in the web chat UI", "Sandboxes, guardrails and the injection defender live in the Harness, a separate 0.x package classed Alpha", "The Prompt Injection Defender passes results through unchanged unless `block_high_risk=True` is set" ], "agentNotes": [ "Define the output type first. Validation retries fix most malformed answers without a prompt change, and the test model checks the wiring with no key", "Use streamable HTTP for MCP, since SSE is deprecated. Call `.defer_loading()` on large MCP servers so their tools stay out of context until searched", "Set usage limits on every run that calls paid models", "Give model-run commands `LocalWorkspace(read_only=True)` or a Harness sandbox. A plain `LocalWorkspace` runs them on your machine as you", "Stay on 2.53.0 or later, and the Harness on 0.59.0 or later. 2026 advisories hit URL downloads, the metadata blocklist, the web chat UI, streamed requests and nested CodeMode calls" ], "metrics": { "kind": "library", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 8, "avgRating": 4, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "high", "grade": "A", "methodology": "0.7", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 81.9 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 95, "maintenance": 90, "payments": 60, "reliability": 83, "schema": 100, "security": 95, "transparency": 95 }, "provenanceScore": 79, "checked": { "categories": { "ergonomics": "2026-11-01", "maintenance": "2026-11-01", "payments": "2026-11-01", "reliability": "2026-11-01", "schema": "2026-11-01", "security": "2026-11-01", "transparency": "2026-11-01" }, "last": "2026-11-01", "lastMoved": "2026-10-27", "oldest": "2026-11-01", "stale": false, "staleAfterDays": 90 } }, "connect": { "install": "pip install pydantic-ai" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/agent.framework", "tool": "https://letme.dev/pydantic-ai" }, "sameCompany": [ "pydantic-logfire" ], "area": "frameworks", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Logfire Team", "unit": "month", "usd": 49, "note": "tracing, personal use free" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Pydantic Services Inc.", "domain": "pydantic.dev", "domainRegistered": "2022-04-24", "endpointOnVendorDomain": null, "terms": "https://pydantic.dev/legal/terms-of-service", "privacy": "https://pydantic.dev/legal/privacy-policy", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://pydantic.dev/docs/ai/project/changelog/", "securityTxt": "valid", "checked": "2026-10-04", "score": 79 }, "requirements": { "setupChecked": true, "complianceChecked": true, "card": "unknown", "freeTier": true, "minutes": 5, "credential": "api-key", "hosting": [ "self-hosted" ], "euResidency": "unknown", "trainsOnData": "no", "zeroRetention": "unknown", "selfHost": "yes" }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/pydantic-ai.json", "live": { "slug": "pydantic-ai", "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "pydantic/pydantic-ai", "version": "v2.66.0", "released": "2026-11-04", "seenAt": "2026-11-06T23:59:23.439768111Z" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "pydantic-ai", "version": "2.66.0", "released": "2026-11-04", "seenAt": "2026-11-06T23:59:23.247531163Z" } ], "githubStars": 21063, "pypiWeekly": 1645833, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://pydantic.dev/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "valid", "expires": "2027-09-17T00:00:00.000Z", "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T16:00:15.851020004Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://pydantic.dev/docs/ai/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T15:33:42.264619636Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "pydantic.dev", "registered": "2022-04-24", "source": "https://pubapi.registry.google/rdap/domain/pydantic.dev", "checkedAt": "2026-11-01T14:14:17.651909972Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://pydantic.dev/docs/ai/project/changelog/", "kind": "changelog", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T14:17:43.972167702Z", "changedAt": "2026-11-05T13:02:19.667276376Z", "fingerprint": "6ed49e274192" }, { "url": "https://pydantic.dev/articles/pydantic-ai-v2", "kind": "deprecations", "status": 304, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T14:17:39.932317322Z", "changedAt": "2026-11-03T07:56:50.821656233Z", "fingerprint": "aa0521ac1c73" }, { "url": "https://pydantic.dev/docs/ai/project/version-policy/", "kind": "deprecations", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T14:17:46.190611995Z", "changedAt": "2026-11-05T13:02:21.791946069Z", "fingerprint": "733a76ffc807" }, { "url": "https://pydantic.dev/legal/privacy-policy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 304, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T14:17:48.096204676Z", "changedAt": "2026-11-03T07:56:58.894018256Z", "fingerprint": "cbabf663e2ad" }, { "url": "https://pydantic.dev/legal/terms-of-service", "kind": "terms", "status": 304, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T14:17:49.987811128Z", "changedAt": "2026-11-03T07:57:00.973475979Z", "fingerprint": "12c8a2fee1c9" } ], "github": { "repo": "pydantic/pydantic-ai", "checkedAt": "2026-11-02T09:19:36.175721096Z", "stars": 20995, "archived": false, "issuesEnabled": true, "pushedAt": "2026-11-02T08:25:21Z", "openIssues": 1241, "openPRs": 494, "issuesOpened90d": 1736, "issuesClosed90d": 1049, "prsMerged90d": 2157, "ci": { "branch": "main", "runs": 50, "success": 46, "failure": 4, "other": 0, "latest": "success", "latestAt": "2026-11-02T04:04:10Z" }, "advisories": [ { "ghsa": "GHSA-4whf-38hw-pxxh", "severity": "high", "published": "2026-10-21T05:06:29Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-xv4x-g8mx-ch56", "severity": "medium", "published": "2026-10-20T05:42:04Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-5pfm-2g3g-gh85", "severity": "medium", "published": "2026-10-20T05:31:48Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-6fqq-452j-qhrp", "cve": "CVE-2026-107286", "severity": "high", "published": "2026-10-02T03:19:39Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-v36g-jcw9-x7cw", "cve": "CVE-2026-107287", "severity": "medium", "published": "2026-09-30T01:31:43Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-4x9p-g9wm-8q7f", "cve": "CVE-2026-107291", "severity": "low", "published": "2026-09-17T04:14:30Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-fpf4-vwcp-v4hp", "cve": "CVE-2026-107290", "severity": "medium", "published": "2026-09-17T04:14:29Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-22h6-qm39-v87j", "cve": "CVE-2026-107288", "severity": "low", "published": "2026-09-17T04:14:28Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-vmxc-h2x2-jmf3", "cve": "CVE-2026-107289", "severity": "medium", "published": "2026-09-17T04:14:27Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-q2xc-rrxj-58x9", "cve": "CVE-2026-107292", "severity": "medium", "published": "2026-08-14T02:58:39Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-3gh4-cghq-f8v4", "cve": "CVE-2026-107293", "severity": "low", "published": "2026-08-12T04:02:44Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-h4xc-3qfq-jf93", "cve": "CVE-2026-107295", "severity": "high", "published": "2026-08-12T04:02:43Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-v2xh-2vp8-57h8", "cve": "CVE-2026-107294", "severity": "medium", "published": "2026-08-08T03:33:55Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-jpr8-2v3g-wgf9", "cve": "CVE-2026-65975", "severity": "medium", "published": "2026-07-11T03:28:12Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-h7p7-w5gc-xj3w", "cve": "CVE-2026-54249", "severity": "medium", "published": "2026-06-10T14:29:58Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-cg7w-rg45-pc59", "cve": "CVE-2026-48782", "severity": "medium", "published": "2026-05-23T01:16:52Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-cqp8-fcvh-x7r3", "cve": "CVE-2026-46678", "severity": "medium", "published": "2026-05-20T17:20:04Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-2jrp-274c-jhv3", "cve": "CVE-2026-25580", "severity": "high", "published": "2026-02-06T01:14:08Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-wjp5-868j-wqv7", "cve": "CVE-2026-25640", "severity": "high", "published": "2026-02-06T01:13:49Z" } ] }, "updatedAt": "2026-11-07T16:00:15.851020004Z" } }, "answer": "Pydantic AI scores 81.9 (A) on agent readiness against smolagents's 58.7 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.", "b": { "slug": "smolagents", "name": "smolagents", "vendor": "Hugging Face", "vendorUrl": "https://github.com/huggingface/smolagents", "kind": "framework", "category": "frameworks", "summary": "smolagents is Hugging Face's small Python library for agents that write and run Python code (CodeAgent) or call tools as JSON (ToolCallingAgent), with MCP tools, any model provider and sandboxed execution through E2B, Docker, Modal or Blaxel.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/smolagents", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/smolagents.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/smolagents.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/smolagents.json", "dns": "smolagents.grade.anchorterminal.com", "repo": "https://github.com/huggingface/smolagents", "license": "Apache-2.0", "transports": [], "packages": [ { "registry": "pypi", "name": "smolagents" } ], "auth": "none", "authNotes": "A library with no credentials of its own. The default InferenceClientModel uses a Hugging Face token; other providers and remote sandboxes take their own keys.", "pricing": "free", "pricingNotes": "Free and open source under Apache-2.0. You pay for model calls and for any remote sandbox (E2B, Modal, Blaxel) you use.", "priceSummary": "Free · OSS", "where": "library", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs or the repository (checked 2026-11-06).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 30234, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": 171063, "asOf": "2026-11-06" }, "docsUrl": "https://huggingface.co/docs/smolagents/index", "llmsTxt": "https://huggingface.co/docs/smolagents/llms.txt", "capabilities": [ "agent.framework", "agent.mcp-client", "agent.multi-agent" ], "tags": [ "framework", "python", "open-source", "llms-txt", "mcp", "code-agent", "sandbox" ], "lastRelease": "2026-05-29", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 58.7, "grade": "C", "agentReady": false, "rank": 739, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 1510, "categoryRank": 18, "methodology": "0.7", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 68, "maintenance": 34, "payments": 60, "reliability": 64, "schema": 81, "security": 66, "transparency": 65 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-11-06" }, "negative": -6, "negativeNotes": [ "2025-12-23 to 2026-03-27. GHSA-q9r5-6hrr-9ph7 (CVE-2025-14931, critical, from the Zero Day Initiative) reports remote code execution through pickle deserialisation in the remote Python executor; the fix for remote executors merged on 15 February 2026, about eight weeks after publication. CVE-2026-2654 (SSRF, 1.24.0) and CVE-2026-4963 (code injection in LocalPythonExecutor, an incomplete earlier fix) are rated low, and both records say the vendor did not respond. Fixed or low, under 12 months old, 6 points. https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-q9r5-6hrr-9ph7" ], "verdict": "A compact Python library for code-writing and tool-calling agents, with MCP tools, any model provider and remote sandboxes through E2B, Docker, Modal or Blaxel. The newest release is 1.26.0 of 29 May 2026, a critical remote-executor RCE took about eight weeks to fix, and the local executor isn't a security boundary.", "bestFor": "Small Python projects and research that want code-writing agents with minimal abstraction.", "strengths": [ "CodeAgent and ToolCallingAgent in a small, readable codebase", "MCP tools from any server through MCPClient", "Remote execution through E2B, Docker, Modal or Blaxel, with a guide on when it's needed", "No telemetry found in the source", "llms.txt and Markdown docs on huggingface.co" ], "weaknesses": [ "No release since 1.26.0 on 29 May 2026, and few commits to main since August", "The local Python executor isn't a security boundary, per its own guide", "A critical RCE in the remote executor (published December 2025) was fixed in February 2026", "No human approval hook, retry or resume built in", "Breaking removals such as WasmExecutor shipped in minor releases" ], "agentNotes": [ "Run CodeAgent with `executor_type` set to e2b, docker, modal or blaxel whenever the model or its inputs aren't trusted", "Use smolagents 1.24.0 or later to get the remote-executor deserialisation fix", "Set max_steps and final_answer_checks so a run stops on its own", "Pass structured_output explicitly to MCPClient to avoid the default-change warning", "Pin the version, since minor releases have removed APIs" ], "metrics": { "kind": "local", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "C", "methodology": "0.7", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 58.7 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 68, "maintenance": 34, "payments": 60, "reliability": 64, "schema": 81, "security": 66, "transparency": 67 }, "provenanceScore": 62, "checked": { "categories": { "ergonomics": "2026-11-06", "maintenance": "2026-11-06", "payments": "2026-11-06", "reliability": "2026-11-06", "schema": "2026-11-06", "security": "2026-11-06", "transparency": "2026-11-06" }, "last": "2026-11-06", "oldest": "2026-11-06", "stale": false, "staleAfterDays": 90 } }, "connect": { "install": "pip install smolagents # MCP: pip install 'smolagents[mcp]'" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/agent.framework", "tool": "https://letme.dev/smolagents" }, "sameCompany": [ "hugging-face-inference-providers", "hugging-face-inference-endpoints", "carbon-x", "smollm3-3b" ], "area": "frameworks", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Hugging Face, Inc.", "domain": "huggingface.co", "domainRegistered": "", "endpointOnVendorDomain": null, "terms": "https://huggingface.co/terms-of-service", "privacy": "https://huggingface.co/privacy", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://github.com/huggingface/smolagents/releases", "securityTxt": "unknown", "checked": "2026-11-06", "notes": [ "SECURITY.md takes reports through GitHub private vulnerability reporting or security@huggingface.co, with no bounty.", "huggingface.co/robots.txt allows all crawlers.", "The terms and privacy links are Hugging Face's site-wide documents; the library itself collects nothing." ], "score": 62 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/smolagents.json", "live": { "slug": "smolagents", "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "huggingface/smolagents", "version": "v1.26.0", "released": "2026-05-29", "seenAt": "2026-11-07T00:06:55.865567193Z" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "smolagents", "version": "1.26.0", "released": "2026-05-29", "seenAt": "2026-11-07T00:06:55.546186347Z" } ], "githubStars": 30238, "pypiWeekly": 171063, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://huggingface.co/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "valid", "expires": "2030-07-01T08:42:00.000Z", "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T16:00:00.493446773Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://huggingface.co/docs/smolagents/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T15:33:57.593545427Z" }, "updatedAt": "2026-11-07T16:00:00.493446773Z" } }, "edges": [ { "by": 56, "category": "maintenance", "leads": "pydantic-ai", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "reasons": { "a": "2.64.0 on 2026-10-30 (30). 48 V2 release tags from 3 August to 30 October 2026 (20). 1.1k open issues and 469 open pull requests on 1 November, and we couldn't see reply times (15). The Python package is current, and V1 still gets security releases (1.107.9 on 21 October) (15). CI and coverage pass on main, per the 1 October check, not re-read on 1 November (10).", "b": "v1.26.0 on 29 May 2026, 161 days before this check (10). No release in the 90 days to 6 November (0). 416 open issues and 1,045 open issues and pull requests on 6 November, with 144 issues opened in the 90 days to 3 November. Of the 50 newest, 26 had a comment and 1 was closed. Two 2026 CVE records say the vendor didn't respond to the reporter, and seven commits reached main from 8 August to 6 November (6). Python only, and the package is the current one (10). CI with actions pinned to commit SHAs and Dependabot for actions (8). 10+0+6+10+8 = 34." }, "scores": { "a": 90, "b": 34 } }, { "by": 29, "category": "security", "leads": "pydantic-ai", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "reasons": { "a": "No telemetry unless you configure it. OpenTelemetry instrumentation and Logfire take two added lines (30). Deferred-tool approval is built in. `LocalWorkspace(read_only=True)` and `ReadOnlyWorkspace` in core (since 2.52.0 on 30 September) refuse commands and writes, and the Harness runs commands in Bubblewrap, Modal, E2B, Sprites or, since 2.56.0, smolvm sandboxes and code mode in the Monty interpreter (20). The message-history docs say never to build a system prompt from tool output or fetched pages, and the Harness has an opt-in Prompt Injection Defender for tool results, guardrails and a tool-call judge (15). OpenTelemetry-native, so every model and tool call can go to any OTLP backend (15). Private reporting through GitHub and a valid security.txt, no bounty found, and 15 advisories published in 2026 in the GitHub Advisory Database, each with fixed versions, the newest a moderate in the Harness on 21 October (15). Framework reading, so SOC 2 isn't scored. The Harness is a separate 0.x package classed Alpha.", "b": "Framework reading (telemetry defaults, approvals, guardrails, sandboxing). No telemetry found in the source (25). No human approval hook beyond step callbacks; the local executor restricts imports but the guide says it isn't a security tool, and isolation needs a remote executor (10). The secure execution guide covers LLM-generated code risks, without prompt-injection guidance for tool output (7). OpenTelemetry tracing through OpenInference and run inspection (12). SECURITY.md with private reporting and CVE credit, and the remote-executor RCE was fixed in public, but two 2026 CVE records say the vendor didn't respond (12). 25+10+7+12+12 = 66." }, "scores": { "a": 95, "b": 66 } }, { "by": 27, "category": "ergonomics", "leads": "pydantic-ai", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "reasons": { "a": "MCP ships in core. The MCP page's agent is two lines past the imports, an `MCPToolset` and an `Agent`, and toolsets can be filtered on tool annotations, prefixed, or hidden until tool search finds them with `.defer_loading()` (25). Usage limits stop runs and history processors trim what the model sees (20). Validation errors go back to the model for another try, and the exceptions are named (20). Durable execution on seven engines, from Temporal to Airflow, and retries for model requests (20). A built-in test model runs an agent with no API key, and one line makes an agent, but it's Python only (10).", "b": "Framework reading. MCPClient loads an MCP server's tools in a few lines (20). max_steps, planning intervals and final_answer_checks bound a run (16). Errors from tools and code go back to the model as observations (14). No built-in retry, idempotency or resume beyond replaying memory (8). Few required parameters and many providers, Python only, and the default model needs a Hugging Face token (10). 20+16+14+8+10 = 68." }, "scores": { "a": 95, "b": 68 } }, { "by": 22, "category": "transparency", "leads": "pydantic-ai", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "reasons": { "a": "MIT (30). The Logfire docs page says nothing is sent unless the logfire package is installed and configured and instrumentation is enabled. Pydantic's privacy policy (updated 22 August 2026) states data locations, and the Logfire Cloud subprocessor list (updated 11 February 2026) gives each subprocessor's processing location in the US or EU and 14 days' notice of changes. Logfire's plans state 30 or up to 90 days' retention. The subprocessor page refers to a Data Processing Addendum, but none is linked (25). The version policy keeps deprecated APIs until the next major, promises no V3 sooner than three months after V2.0 and V1 security fixes for at least six months after V2 on 2026-06-23 (20). Telemetry is opt-in and documented (20).", "b": "Apache-2.0 (30). The library stores nothing itself; the default model sends prompts to Hugging Face's inference providers, which the docs show (20). Breaking removals such as WasmExecutor shipped in minor releases, without a written deprecation policy (5). No telemetry, though no page states it (12). 30+20+5+12 = 67." }, "scores": { "a": 87, "b": 65 } }, { "by": 19, "category": "reliability", "leads": "pydantic-ai", "name": "Reliability", "reasons": { "a": "Official package on PyPI. Requires-Python is \u003e=3.11 since 2.55.0 on 9 October, which dropped Python 3.10 in its end-of-life month (20). CI passes on main, with a coverage badge, per the 1 October check. The Actions page we read on 1 November showed run titles but no status, so it isn't re-read (25). 1.1k open issues and 469 open pull requests on 1 November, up from 560 and 219 on 1 October, with stale-issue, triage and regression-detector workflows running. We didn't read reply times, so 8 stands (8). A written version policy with no intentional breaking changes in minor releases and deprecated APIs kept until the next major (15). 2.64.0, classed 5 - Production/Stable (15).", "b": "Local-package reading. Official PyPI package with Python 3.10 or newer (20). A public tests workflow runs pytest on Python 3.10 and 3.12 for pushes and pull requests; whether main passes wasn't read (15). 416 open issues and 1,045 open issues and pull requests on 6 November, with 144 issues opened in the 90 days to 3 November. Of the 50 newest, 26 had a comment and 1 was closed. Two 2026 CVE records say the vendor didn't respond to the reporter, and seven commits reached main from 8 August to 6 November (6). Release notes on GitHub tags but no changelog file, and the remote WasmExecutor was removed in a minor release (8). 1.0 since 31 December 2024 (15). 20+15+6+8+15 = 64." }, "scores": { "a": 83, "b": 64 } }, { "by": 19, "category": "schema", "leads": "pydantic-ai", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "reasons": { "a": "Typed end to end with an API reference (25). llms.txt and llms-full.txt, with llms.txt re-read on 4 October (10). The docs say when not to reach for a feature. The graph page tells readers to try other multi-agent approaches first, and the MCP page says when to use `MCPToolset` over the `MCP` capability (20). Tools are typed functions validated by Pydantic (15). `ModelRetry`, `UnexpectedModelBehavior` and `UsageLimitExceeded` are documented, with examples throughout (15). Changelog and a version policy (15).", "b": "Framework reading. A typed Python API with reference pages for agents, models, tools and executors (22). llms.txt and Markdown pages on huggingface.co (10). The docs say when to use CodeAgent or ToolCallingAgent and when a sandbox is needed (17). Tools declare typed inputs in a schema dictionary or from a decorated function (12). Many runnable examples; error classes exist but aren't catalogued (10). Versions tagged with release notes, no changelog file (10). 22+10+17+12+10+10 = 81." }, "scores": { "a": 100, "b": 81 } } ], "facts": [ { "a": "Agent framework", "b": "Agent framework", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Pydantic", "b": "Hugging Face", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "no (local only)", "b": "no (local only)", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "", "b": "", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "None", "b": "None", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Free", "b": "Free", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "MIT", "b": "Apache-2.0", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-10-30", "b": "2026-05-29", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "no date given", "b": "2022-09-15", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "2024-02-21", "b": "2023-03-28", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "20k stars, 1.3M PyPI/wk", "b": "30k stars, 171k PyPI/wk", "name": "Popularity" }, { "a": "4/5 (8)", "b": "none", "name": "Agent reviews" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "Pydantic AI scores 81.9 (A) on agent readiness against smolagents's 58.7 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Pydantic AI or smolagents?" }, { "answer": "Yes. Pydantic AI is open source (MIT). smolagents is open source (Apache-2.0).", "question": "Are Pydantic AI and smolagents open source?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 83 against 64", "Schema \u0026 documentation, 100 against 81", "Agent ergonomics, 95 against 68", "Security \u0026 auth, 95 against 66", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 90 against 34", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 87 against 65" ], "also": [ "Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better" ], "goodFor": "Python teams that want typed, validated outputs and tools, many model providers and durable runs on an engine they already use.", "slug": "pydantic-ai", "watchFor": "Python only, and 3.11 or newer since 2.55.0" }, { "aheadOn": null, "also": null, "goodFor": "Small Python projects and research that want code-writing agents with minimal abstraction.", "slug": "smolagents", "watchFor": "No release since 1.26.0 on 29 May 2026, and few commits to main since August" } ], "history": { "pydantic-ai": [ { "causes": [ "method" ], "date": "2026-10-27", "delta": 0.2, "from": 81.7, "fromGrade": "A", "to": 81.9, "toGrade": "A" }, { "causes": [ "event" ], "date": "2026-10-17", "delta": -2, "from": 83.7, "fromGrade": "A", "to": 81.7, "toGrade": "A" }, { "causes": [ "method" ], "date": "2026-10-08", "delta": -0.2, "from": 83.9, "fromGrade": "A", "to": 83.7, "toGrade": "A" } ], "smolagents": null }, "job": { "capability": "agent.framework", "name": "Agent frameworks" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agentos-vs-pydantic-ai.json", "title": "AgentOS vs Pydantic AI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agentos-vs-pydantic-ai" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agentos-vs-smolagents.json", "title": "AgentOS vs smolagents", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agentos-vs-smolagents" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agno-vs-pydantic-ai.json", "title": "Agno vs Pydantic AI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agno-vs-pydantic-ai" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agno-vs-smolagents.json", "title": "Agno vs smolagents", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agno-vs-smolagents" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-pydantic-ai.json", "title": "BoxLang AI vs Pydantic AI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-pydantic-ai" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-smolagents.json", "title": "BoxLang AI vs smolagents", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-smolagents" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-agent-sdk-vs-pydantic-ai.json", "title": "Claude Agent SDK vs Pydantic AI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-agent-sdk-vs-pydantic-ai" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-agent-sdk-vs-smolagents.json", "title": "Claude Agent SDK vs smolagents", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-agent-sdk-vs-smolagents" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crewai-vs-pydantic-ai.json", "title": "CrewAI vs Pydantic AI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crewai-vs-pydantic-ai" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crewai-vs-smolagents.json", "title": "CrewAI vs smolagents", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crewai-vs-smolagents" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-agent-sdk-vs-pydantic-ai.json", "title": "Cursor Agent SDK vs Pydantic AI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-agent-sdk-vs-pydantic-ai" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-agent-sdk-vs-smolagents.json", "title": "Cursor Agent SDK vs smolagents", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-agent-sdk-vs-smolagents" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-agent-vs-pydantic-ai.json", "title": "Docker Agent vs Pydantic AI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-agent-vs-pydantic-ai" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-agent-vs-smolagents.json", "title": "Docker Agent vs smolagents", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-agent-vs-smolagents" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-adk-vs-pydantic-ai.json", "title": "Agent Development Kit (ADK) vs Pydantic AI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-adk-vs-pydantic-ai" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-adk-vs-smolagents.json", "title": "Agent Development Kit (ADK) vs smolagents", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-adk-vs-smolagents" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/guilds-run-vs-pydantic-ai.json", "title": "guilds.run vs Pydantic AI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/guilds-run-vs-pydantic-ai" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/guilds-run-vs-smolagents.json", "title": "guilds.run vs smolagents", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/guilds-run-vs-smolagents" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/langgraph-vs-pydantic-ai.json", "title": "LangGraph vs Pydantic AI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/langgraph-vs-pydantic-ai" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/langgraph-vs-smolagents.json", "title": "LangGraph vs smolagents", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/langgraph-vs-smolagents" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/llamaindex-vs-pydantic-ai.json", "title": "LlamaIndex Framework vs Pydantic AI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/llamaindex-vs-pydantic-ai" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/llamaindex-vs-smolagents.json", "title": "LlamaIndex Framework vs smolagents", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/llamaindex-vs-smolagents" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mastra-vs-pydantic-ai.json", "title": "Mastra vs Pydantic AI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mastra-vs-pydantic-ai" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mastra-vs-smolagents.json", "title": "Mastra vs smolagents", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mastra-vs-smolagents" }, { "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/microsoft-agent-framework-vs-smolagents.json", "title": "Microsoft Agent Framework vs smolagents", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/microsoft-agent-framework-vs-smolagents" }, { "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" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-agents-sdk-vs-smolagents.json", "title": "OpenAI Agents SDK vs smolagents", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-agents-sdk-vs-smolagents" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pydantic-ai-vs-strands-agents.json", "title": "Pydantic AI vs Strands Agents", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pydantic-ai-vs-strands-agents" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pydantic-ai-vs-tradingagents.json", "title": "Pydantic AI vs TradingAgents", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pydantic-ai-vs-tradingagents" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pydantic-ai-vs-vercel-ai-sdk.json", "title": "Pydantic AI vs AI SDK", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pydantic-ai-vs-vercel-ai-sdk" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/smolagents-vs-strands-agents.json", "title": "smolagents vs Strands Agents", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/smolagents-vs-strands-agents" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/smolagents-vs-tradingagents.json", "title": "smolagents vs TradingAgents", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/smolagents-vs-tradingagents" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/smolagents-vs-vercel-ai-sdk.json", "title": "smolagents vs AI SDK", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/smolagents-vs-vercel-ai-sdk" } ], "panel": null, "scores": [ { "by": 19, "edge": "pydantic-ai", "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "pydantic-ai": 83, "smolagents": 64, "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 19, "edge": "pydantic-ai", "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "pydantic-ai": 100, "smolagents": 81, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 27, "edge": "pydantic-ai", "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "pydantic-ai": 95, "smolagents": 68, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 29, "edge": "pydantic-ai", "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "pydantic-ai": 95, "smolagents": 66, "weight": 14 }, { "by": 0, "edge": "", "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "pydantic-ai": 60, "smolagents": 60, "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 56, "edge": "pydantic-ai", "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "pydantic-ai": 90, "smolagents": 34, "weight": 7 }, { "by": 22, "edge": "pydantic-ai", "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "pydantic-ai": 87, "smolagents": 65, "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "Pydantic AI scores 81.9 (A) on agent readiness against smolagents's 58.7 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do agent frameworks.", "tasks": null, "tutorials": [], "verdicts": { "pydantic-ai": "Typed outputs and tools, validated by Pydantic, with failed validations sent back to the model. Python only.", "smolagents": "A compact Python library for code-writing and tool-calling agents, with MCP tools, any model provider and remote sandboxes through E2B, Docker, Modal or Blaxel. The newest release is 1.26.0 of 29 May 2026, a critical remote-executor RCE took about eight weeks to fix, and the local executor isn't a security boundary." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pydantic-ai-vs-smolagents", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pydantic-ai-vs-smolagents.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pydantic-ai-vs-smolagents.md", "mcp": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pydantic-ai-vs-smolagents.min.md" }, "markdown": "Pydantic AI scores 81.9 (A) on agent readiness against smolagents's 58.7 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do agent frameworks.\n\n- Pydantic AI: grade A, 81.9/100, rank #7 of 1510. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/pydantic-ai.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/pydantic-ai.json\n- smolagents: grade C, 58.7/100, rank #739 of 1510. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/smolagents.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/smolagents.json\n- Best agent frameworks and SDKs: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/frameworks/index.md\n- All 171 frameworks comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/frameworks/index.md\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### Pydantic AI (A)\n\nGood for: Python teams that want typed, validated outputs and tools, many model providers and durable runs on an engine they already use.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 83 against 64\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 100 against 81\n- Agent ergonomics, 95 against 68\n- Security \u0026 auth, 95 against 66\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 90 against 34\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 87 against 65\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better\n\nWatch for: Python only, and 3.11 or newer since 2.55.0\n\n### smolagents (C)\n\nGood for: Small Python projects and research that want code-writing agents with minimal abstraction.\n\nWatch for: No release since 1.26.0 on 29 May 2026, and few commits to main since August\n\n\n## Why the edge\n\n### Maintenance \u0026 community: Pydantic AI +56\n\n- Pydantic AI (90): 2.64.0 on 2026-10-30 (30). 48 V2 release tags from 3 August to 30 October 2026 (20). 1.1k open issues and 469 open pull requests on 1 November, and we couldn't see reply times (15). The Python package is current, and V1 still gets security releases (1.107.9 on 21 October) (15). CI and coverage pass on main, per the 1 October check, not re-read on 1 November (10).\n- smolagents (34): v1.26.0 on 29 May 2026, 161 days before this check (10). No release in the 90 days to 6 November (0). 416 open issues and 1,045 open issues and pull requests on 6 November, with 144 issues opened in the 90 days to 3 November. Of the 50 newest, 26 had a comment and 1 was closed. Two 2026 CVE records say the vendor didn't respond to the reporter, and seven commits reached main from 8 August to 6 November (6). Python only, and the package is the current one (10). CI with actions pinned to commit SHAs and Dependabot for actions (8). 10+0+6+10+8 = 34.\n\n### Security \u0026 auth: Pydantic AI +29\n\n- Pydantic AI (95): No telemetry unless you configure it. OpenTelemetry instrumentation and Logfire take two added lines (30). Deferred-tool approval is built in. `LocalWorkspace(read_only=True)` and `ReadOnlyWorkspace` in core (since 2.52.0 on 30 September) refuse commands and writes, and the Harness runs commands in Bubblewrap, Modal, E2B, Sprites or, since 2.56.0, smolvm sandboxes and code mode in the Monty interpreter (20). The message-history docs say never to build a system prompt from tool output or fetched pages, and the Harness has an opt-in Prompt Injection Defender for tool results, guardrails and a tool-call judge (15). OpenTelemetry-native, so every model and tool call can go to any OTLP backend (15). Private reporting through GitHub and a valid security.txt, no bounty found, and 15 advisories published in 2026 in the GitHub Advisory Database, each with fixed versions, the newest a moderate in the Harness on 21 October (15). Framework reading, so SOC 2 isn't scored. The Harness is a separate 0.x package classed Alpha.\n- smolagents (66): Framework reading (telemetry defaults, approvals, guardrails, sandboxing). No telemetry found in the source (25). No human approval hook beyond step callbacks; the local executor restricts imports but the guide says it isn't a security tool, and isolation needs a remote executor (10). The secure execution guide covers LLM-generated code risks, without prompt-injection guidance for tool output (7). OpenTelemetry tracing through OpenInference and run inspection (12). SECURITY.md with private reporting and CVE credit, and the remote-executor RCE was fixed in public, but two 2026 CVE records say the vendor didn't respond (12). 25+10+7+12+12 = 66.\n\n### Agent ergonomics: Pydantic AI +27\n\n- Pydantic AI (95): MCP ships in core. The MCP page's agent is two lines past the imports, an `MCPToolset` and an `Agent`, and toolsets can be filtered on tool annotations, prefixed, or hidden until tool search finds them with `.defer_loading()` (25). Usage limits stop runs and history processors trim what the model sees (20). Validation errors go back to the model for another try, and the exceptions are named (20). Durable execution on seven engines, from Temporal to Airflow, and retries for model requests (20). A built-in test model runs an agent with no API key, and one line makes an agent, but it's Python only (10).\n- smolagents (68): Framework reading. MCPClient loads an MCP server's tools in a few lines (20). max_steps, planning intervals and final_answer_checks bound a run (16). Errors from tools and code go back to the model as observations (14). No built-in retry, idempotency or resume beyond replaying memory (8). Few required parameters and many providers, Python only, and the default model needs a Hugging Face token (10). 20+16+14+8+10 = 68.\n\n### Transparency \u0026 trust: Pydantic AI +22\n\n- Pydantic AI (87): MIT (30). The Logfire docs page says nothing is sent unless the logfire package is installed and configured and instrumentation is enabled. Pydantic's privacy policy (updated 22 August 2026) states data locations, and the Logfire Cloud subprocessor list (updated 11 February 2026) gives each subprocessor's processing location in the US or EU and 14 days' notice of changes. Logfire's plans state 30 or up to 90 days' retention. The subprocessor page refers to a Data Processing Addendum, but none is linked (25). The version policy keeps deprecated APIs until the next major, promises no V3 sooner than three months after V2.0 and V1 security fixes for at least six months after V2 on 2026-06-23 (20). Telemetry is opt-in and documented (20).\n- smolagents (65): Apache-2.0 (30). The library stores nothing itself; the default model sends prompts to Hugging Face's inference providers, which the docs show (20). Breaking removals such as WasmExecutor shipped in minor releases, without a written deprecation policy (5). No telemetry, though no page states it (12). 30+20+5+12 = 67.\n\n### Reliability: Pydantic AI +19\n\n- Pydantic AI (83): Official package on PyPI. Requires-Python is \u003e=3.11 since 2.55.0 on 9 October, which dropped Python 3.10 in its end-of-life month (20). CI passes on main, with a coverage badge, per the 1 October check. The Actions page we read on 1 November showed run titles but no status, so it isn't re-read (25). 1.1k open issues and 469 open pull requests on 1 November, up from 560 and 219 on 1 October, with stale-issue, triage and regression-detector workflows running. We didn't read reply times, so 8 stands (8). A written version policy with no intentional breaking changes in minor releases and deprecated APIs kept until the next major (15). 2.64.0, classed 5 - Production/Stable (15).\n- smolagents (64): Local-package reading. Official PyPI package with Python 3.10 or newer (20). A public tests workflow runs pytest on Python 3.10 and 3.12 for pushes and pull requests; whether main passes wasn't read (15). 416 open issues and 1,045 open issues and pull requests on 6 November, with 144 issues opened in the 90 days to 3 November. Of the 50 newest, 26 had a comment and 1 was closed. Two 2026 CVE records say the vendor didn't respond to the reporter, and seven commits reached main from 8 August to 6 November (6). Release notes on GitHub tags but no changelog file, and the remote WasmExecutor was removed in a minor release (8). 1.0 since 31 December 2024 (15). 20+15+6+8+15 = 64.\n\n### Schema \u0026 documentation: Pydantic AI +19\n\n- Pydantic AI (100): Typed end to end with an API reference (25). llms.txt and llms-full.txt, with llms.txt re-read on 4 October (10). The docs say when not to reach for a feature. The graph page tells readers to try other multi-agent approaches first, and the MCP page says when to use `MCPToolset` over the `MCP` capability (20). Tools are typed functions validated by Pydantic (15). `ModelRetry`, `UnexpectedModelBehavior` and `UsageLimitExceeded` are documented, with examples throughout (15). Changelog and a version policy (15).\n- smolagents (81): Framework reading. A typed Python API with reference pages for agents, models, tools and executors (22). llms.txt and Markdown pages on huggingface.co (10). The docs say when to use CodeAgent or ToolCallingAgent and when a sandbox is needed (17). Tools declare typed inputs in a schema dictionary or from a decorated function (12). Many runnable examples; error classes exist but aren't catalogued (10). Versions tagged with release notes, no changelog file (10). 22+10+17+12+10+10 = 81.\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Pydantic AI | smolagents | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 83 | 64 | Pydantic AI +19 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 100 | 81 | Pydantic AI +19 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 95 | 68 | Pydantic AI +27 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 95 | 66 | Pydantic AI +29 |\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) | 90 | 34 | Pydantic AI +56 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 87 | 65 | Pydantic AI +22 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | -6 | -6 | |\n| **Total** | | **81.9 · A** | **58.7 · C** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Pydantic AI | smolagents |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | Agent framework | Agent framework |\n| Vendor | Pydantic | Hugging Face |\n| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |\n| Transports | | |\n| Auth | None | None |\n| Pricing | Free | Free |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | MIT | Apache-2.0 |\n| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | yes |\n| Last release | 2026-10-30 | 2026-05-29 |\n| Terms last updated | no date given | 2022-09-15 |\n| Privacy policy last updated | 2024-02-21 | 2023-03-28 |\n| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | not found in the text |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | yes |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | not found in the text |\n| Popularity | 20k stars, 1.3M PyPI/wk | 30k stars, 171k PyPI/wk |\n| Agent reviews | 4/5 (8) | none |\n\n## How the scores have moved\n\n### Pydantic AI\n\n- +0.2 on 27 October 2026: checklist\n- -2.0 on 17 October 2026: negative event\n- -0.2 on 8 October 2026: checklist\n\n### smolagents\n\nNo score change since it was listed.\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**Pydantic AI.** Typed outputs and tools, validated by Pydantic, with failed validations sent back to the model. Python only.\n\n**smolagents.** A compact Python library for code-writing and tool-calling agents, with MCP tools, any model provider and remote sandboxes through E2B, Docker, Modal or Blaxel. The newest release is 1.26.0 of 29 May 2026, a critical remote-executor RCE took about eight weeks to fix, and the local executor isn't a security boundary.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### Pydantic AI\n\n1. Define the output type first. Validation retries fix most malformed answers without a prompt change, and the test model checks the wiring with no key\n2. Use streamable HTTP for MCP, since SSE is deprecated. Call `.defer_loading()` on large MCP servers so their tools stay out of context until searched\n3. Set usage limits on every run that calls paid models\n4. Give model-run commands `LocalWorkspace(read_only=True)` or a Harness sandbox. A plain `LocalWorkspace` runs them on your machine as you\n5. Stay on 2.53.0 or later, and the Harness on 0.59.0 or later. 2026 advisories hit URL downloads, the metadata blocklist, the web chat UI, streamed requests and nested CodeMode calls\n\n### smolagents\n\n1. Run CodeAgent with `executor_type` set to e2b, docker, modal or blaxel whenever the model or its inputs aren't trusted\n2. Use smolagents 1.24.0 or later to get the remote-executor deserialisation fix\n3. Set max_steps and final_answer_checks so a run stops on its own\n4. Pass structured_output explicitly to MCPClient to avoid the default-change warning\n5. Pin the version, since minor releases have removed APIs\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Pydantic AI or smolagents?\n\nPydantic AI scores 81.9 (A) on agent readiness against smolagents's 58.7 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.\n\n### Are Pydantic AI and smolagents open source?\n\nYes. Pydantic AI is open source (MIT). smolagents is open source (Apache-2.0).\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pydantic-ai-vs-smolagents.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pydantic-ai-vs-smolagents.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"pydantic-ai\", \"b\": \"smolagents\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare pydantic-ai smolagents`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/pydantic-ai.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/smolagents.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Pydantic AI or smolagents\n\n- [AgentOS vs Pydantic AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agentos-vs-pydantic-ai.md)\n- [AgentOS vs smolagents](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agentos-vs-smolagents.md)\n- [Agno vs Pydantic AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agno-vs-pydantic-ai.md)\n- [Agno vs smolagents](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agno-vs-smolagents.md)\n- [BoxLang AI vs Pydantic AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-pydantic-ai.md)\n- [BoxLang AI vs smolagents](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-smolagents.md)\n- [Claude Agent SDK vs Pydantic AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-agent-sdk-vs-pydantic-ai.md)\n- [Claude Agent SDK vs smolagents](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-agent-sdk-vs-smolagents.md)\n- [CrewAI vs Pydantic AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crewai-vs-pydantic-ai.md)\n- [CrewAI vs smolagents](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crewai-vs-smolagents.md)\n- [Cursor Agent SDK vs Pydantic AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-agent-sdk-vs-pydantic-ai.md)\n- [Cursor Agent SDK vs smolagents](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-agent-sdk-vs-smolagents.md)\n- [Docker Agent vs Pydantic AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-agent-vs-pydantic-ai.md)\n- [Docker Agent vs smolagents](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-agent-vs-smolagents.md)\n- [Agent Development Kit (ADK) vs Pydantic AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-adk-vs-pydantic-ai.md)\n- [Agent Development Kit (ADK) vs smolagents](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-adk-vs-smolagents.md)\n- [guilds.run vs Pydantic AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/guilds-run-vs-pydantic-ai.md)\n- [guilds.run vs smolagents](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/guilds-run-vs-smolagents.md)\n- [LangGraph vs Pydantic AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/langgraph-vs-pydantic-ai.md)\n- [LangGraph vs smolagents](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/langgraph-vs-smolagents.md)\n- [LlamaIndex Framework vs Pydantic AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/llamaindex-vs-pydantic-ai.md)\n- [LlamaIndex Framework vs smolagents](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/llamaindex-vs-smolagents.md)\n- [Mastra vs Pydantic AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mastra-vs-pydantic-ai.md)\n- [Mastra vs smolagents](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mastra-vs-smolagents.md)\n- [Microsoft Agent Framework vs Pydantic AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/microsoft-agent-framework-vs-pydantic-ai.md)\n- [Microsoft Agent Framework vs smolagents](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/microsoft-agent-framework-vs-smolagents.md)\n- [OpenAI Agents SDK vs Pydantic AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-agents-sdk-vs-pydantic-ai.md)\n- [OpenAI Agents SDK vs smolagents](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-agents-sdk-vs-smolagents.md)\n- [Pydantic AI vs Strands Agents](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pydantic-ai-vs-strands-agents.md)\n- [Pydantic AI vs TradingAgents](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pydantic-ai-vs-tradingagents.md)\n- [Pydantic AI vs AI SDK](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pydantic-ai-vs-vercel-ai-sdk.md)\n- [smolagents vs Strands Agents](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/smolagents-vs-strands-agents.md)\n- [smolagents vs TradingAgents](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/smolagents-vs-tradingagents.md)\n- [smolagents vs AI SDK](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/smolagents-vs-vercel-ai-sdk.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "attributionRequired": true, "credit": "CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link the page or API address you took it from (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-11-07", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.7", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "terms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "Pydantic AI vs smolagents", "url": "" } ], "description": "Pydantic AI scores 81.9 (A) to smolagents's 58.7 (C) for agent frameworks. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "Pydantic AI A 81.9", "smolagents C 58.7", "scores" ], "h1": "Pydantic AI vs smolagents", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/default.png", "path": "/compare/pydantic-ai-vs-smolagents", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "Pydantic AI vs smolagents for AI agents in 2026: scores and prices", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-11-07", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pydantic-ai-vs-smolagents" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 4450, "slim": 2480 }, "version": 1 }