# Research & Analysis — The Agents Index

> Source: https://theagentsindex.com/blog (curated, sourced)

Data-driven research and analysis on AI agents, frameworks and agentic tools, sourced reports built to be cited.

32 reports. Each links to its answer-first markdown twin.

- [Which AI Support Agents Skip the Sales Call? 4 of 9](https://theagentsindex.com/blog/ai-support-agent-self-serve-2026.md) (2026-08-24) — We checked all 9 support agents in our index for self-serve access. Four publish a price and a signup page; the other five start with a sales call.
- [25 AI Coding Agents Compared: Pricing and API Access](https://theagentsindex.com/blog/coding-agents-compared-2026.md) (2026-08-24) — A field-by-field comparison of all 25 coding agents in our directory, split by pricing model and whether each one exposes a public API.
- [Which AI Agent Framework Locks You to One Model? Just One of 14](https://theagentsindex.com/blog/agent-framework-model-lockin-2026.md) (2026-08-22) — We checked model-provider support across our 14 indexed agent frameworks. Only the Claude Agent SDK locks you to a single model vendor by design.
- [Which AI Agents Are Free to Start? 52 of 94](https://theagentsindex.com/blog/free-tier-across-ai-agents-2026.md) (2026-08-18) — We rechecked pricing tiers for all 94 AI agents in our index on 27 August 2026. 52 have an ongoing free tier, holding steady as one tool replaced another.
- [Research or Data Agent? 6 of 11 Return Structured Data](https://theagentsindex.com/blog/research-agent-or-data-agent-2026.md) (2026-08-13) — Our Research & data agents category holds 11 tools. Re-verified 26 August 2026: 6 return structured, machine-readable output as a named feature; 5 return prose.
- [Which AI Agents Have a Public API? 72 of the 81 We Could Confirm](https://theagentsindex.com/blog/ai-agent-api-census-2026.md) (2026-08-12) — We checked all 94 AI agents in our index for a public API on 22 August 2026. 72 of the 81 we could determine offer one, and 34 of the 35 you can self-host.
- [AI Agent Entry Prices: 41 of 93 Publish One, and the Median Is $20](https://theagentsindex.com/blog/ai-agent-entry-price-census-2026.md) (2026-08-12) — We read the pricing table of all 93 tools in our index on 26 August 2026. 41 publish an exact flat monthly price in dollars, and the median is $20 a month.
- [CLI, Web App or Library? An Interface Census of 93 AI Agents](https://theagentsindex.com/blog/ai-agent-interface-census-2026.md) (2026-08-12) — We recorded the primary interface of 93 of the 94 AI agents in our index on 20 August 2026. All 14 library-first tools self-host; 4 of 37 web apps do.
- [AI Agent Pricing Models: 20 of 93 Tools Bill by Usage](https://theagentsindex.com/blog/ai-agent-pricing-model-census-2026.md) (2026-08-12) — We classified the pricing meter on all 93 AI agents in our index on 26 August 2026. 20 bill by usage, and 16 of those 20 are voice or support agents.
- [How Many AI Agent Tools Publish a Full Price List? 30 of 92](https://theagentsindex.com/blog/ai-agent-pricing-transparency-census-2026.md) (2026-08-12) — We read all the pricing tiers recorded for the 93 tools in our index on 25 August 2026. 30 publish a figure for every tier, and 8 publish no price anywhere.
- [AI Agents for Sales & Marketing: What the 7 in Our Index Actually Do](https://theagentsindex.com/blog/ai-sales-marketing-agents-2026.md) (2026-08-12) — The 7 sales and marketing agents we index split three ways: outbound, inbound, and the account-data layer underneath. Only 2 let you start without a sales call.
- [GitHub Copilot's Coding Agent: Three Surfaces, Three Defaults](https://theagentsindex.com/blog/github-copilot-coding-agent-2026.md) (2026-08-12) — Copilot's coding agent is the cloud one: you assign it an issue, it opens a pull request. It is not agent mode in VS Code, and it does not ask before it acts.
- [Which Coding Agents Run Commands Without Asking? 21 Tools, Checked](https://theagentsindex.com/blog/coding-agent-autonomy-defaults-2026.md) (2026-08-10) — Cursor auto-applies edits but asks before commands. Codex CLI and OpenCode run both by default. We checked all 21 coding agents in our index against their own docs.
- [Which AI Agent Frameworks Support A2A? 12, Verified](https://theagentsindex.com/blog/a2a-protocol-support-frameworks-2026.md) (2026-08-08) — A2A lets agents on different frameworks talk to each other. We checked all 12 frameworks in our index: 4 ship it natively, 3 as an add-on, 4 don't support it yet.
- [Does Your Coding Agent Train on Your Code? 21 Tools, Checked](https://theagentsindex.com/blog/coding-agent-data-training-defaults-2026.md) (2026-08-05) — SOC 2 confirms an audit was passed, not whether your code trains a model. We checked the default training policy, tier by tier, for 21 coding agents in our index.
- [Why AI Support-Agent 'Resolution Rate' Claims Aren't Comparable](https://theagentsindex.com/blog/support-agent-resolution-rate-claims-2026.md) (2026-08-04) — Seven AI support agents in our index report success on different metrics: resolution, containment, deflection, accuracy. Here's what each one measures, and hides.
- [What 'Multi-Agent' Actually Means: Six Shapes, 35 Tools](https://theagentsindex.com/blog/what-multi-agent-actually-means-2026.md) (2026-08-04) — 35 of the 93 AI agent tools in our index are tagged multi-agent. We sorted the sourced facts and found six structurally different things under one label.
- [Terminal-Bench 2.1: How Our Indexed Coding Agents Actually Score](https://theagentsindex.com/blog/terminal-bench-coding-agent-scores-2026.md) (2026-08-01) — Stanford/Laude Institute's independent Terminal-Bench results, matched against the coding agents in our index — accuracy, model pairing and cost, not vendor claims.
- [GitHub Star Velocity: 30 Open-Source AI Agents Measured 7 Days Apart](https://theagentsindex.com/blog/github-star-velocity-open-source-ai-agents-2026.md) (2026-07-31) — Stars for 32 trackable open-source AI agents in our index, counted 2026-08-18 and 2026-08-25. OpenAI Codex CLI gained 11,317 stars in 7 days.
- [Which AI Agents Can You Self-Host? A Census of 94 Tools](https://theagentsindex.com/blog/ai-agent-deployment-census-2026.md) (2026-07-27) — Of the 94 AI agents in our index, 41 can run on infrastructure you control and 53 are cloud-only. Support and sales agents offer zero self-hosting.
- [Are AI Coding Agents & Frameworks Actually Open Source?](https://theagentsindex.com/blog/open-source-license-census-ai-agents-2026.md) (2026-07-23) — We read the license behind every AI agent in our index. All 94 product listings now have a determined answer, and 33 are open source in some form.
- [Which AI Agents Won't Tell You What LLM Powers Them?](https://theagentsindex.com/blog/model-transparency-census-2026.md) (2026-07-22) — We checked all 93 AI agents in our index for the LLM underneath. Of the 92 we could classify, 23 name no model at all, and it tracks how the tool is sold.
- [How Much Do AI Agents Actually Cost? A Pricing FAQ](https://theagentsindex.com/blog/ai-agent-pricing-faq-2026.md) (2026-07-21) — Intercom Fin, n8n, Clay, Lindy and LangChain each price agents differently — per resolution, per credit, per seat. What each one actually charges.
- [What Is MCP, and Which AI Agents Actually Support It?](https://theagentsindex.com/blog/mcp-support-across-ai-agents-2026.md) (2026-07-21) — Of the 94 AI agents in our index on 27 August 2026, 63 document MCP support. Sales and marketing agents remain the laggard, now two of eight.
- [9 AI agent tools that changed how they charge in 2026](https://theagentsindex.com/blog/agent-tool-pricing-shifts-2026.md) (2026-07-20) — 9 AI agent tools changed how they charge in 2026 — verified old and new terms, and what it means for buyers of \"free,\" \"bundled,\" or \"unlimited\" plans.
- [Who owns the AI agent you're building on? A 2025–2026 field guide](https://theagentsindex.com/blog/ai-agent-acquisition-wave-2025-2026.md) (2026-07-20) — Six tools in our index changed hands or raised historic rounds in nine months. What happened, what it already broke, and how to judge the risk before you adopt.
- [AI Agent Statistics 2026: Adoption, Production, and Trust](https://theagentsindex.com/blog/ai-agent-statistics-2026.md) (2026-07-20) — Sourced 2026 statistics on AI agent adoption, production and developer trust, from Gartner, McKinsey, LangChain and Stack Overflow, plus our own 94-tool index.
- [AI voice agent funding vs. real growth: the 2026 gap](https://theagentsindex.com/blog/ai-voice-agent-funding-vs-growth-2026.md) (2026-07-20) — Vapi, Retell AI, Bland AI, ElevenLabs and Cartesia raised very different amounts. The one that raised the least reports the fastest, most profitable growth.
- [Using LangChain tools inside CrewAI agents: a working guide](https://theagentsindex.com/blog/langchain-tools-inside-crewai-integration-guide.md) (2026-07-20) — CrewAI and LangChain are usually pitched as rivals. Their own docs disagree — the verified, working pattern for wrapping a LangChain tool for a CrewAI agent.
- [The State of AI Agents 2026: A Census of 93 Researched Tools](https://theagentsindex.com/blog/state-of-ai-agents-2026.md) (2026-07-19) — License, API, deployment and price for all 93 AI agents in our index, measured 26 August 2026. 33 are open source, and every self-host-only tool is one of them.
- [Terminal AI coding agents: open, portable, or locked in?](https://theagentsindex.com/blog/terminal-ai-coding-agents-open-portable-locked.md) (2026-07-15) — We verified the license, model portability and pricing of six terminal AI coding agents — Claude Code, Codex CLI, Gemini CLI, Aider, OpenCode and Goose.
- [How The Agents Index researches AI agents](https://theagentsindex.com/blog/how-we-research-ai-agents.md) (2026-07-12) — Our method for deciding what an AI agent actually does, what it costs, and whether it ships — sourced, quality-gated, and re-checked on a schedule.