# Alternatives to Microsoft Agent Framework

> Source: https://theagentsindex.com/microsoft-agent-framework/alternatives (current datasheets, evidence-ranked)

Candidates share the baseline category or are previously researched peers. Requirements, preserved strengths, explicit trade-offs and research coverage decide the order; paid tier does not.

## Shortlist

### 1. Google Agent Development Kit (ADK)

Open-source framework for building, evaluating and deploying AI agents in Python, TypeScript, Go, Java or Kotlin.

**Research coverage:** 34/35 criteria

**Where it improves on Microsoft Agent Framework:**
- [Ships it: yes — Deployment is part of the framework: one command pushes an agent to Google Cloud, and the same agent can be containerised and run on infrastructure you control instead.](https://adk.dev/)
- [In your editor: partial — There is no ADK editor extension; instead Agents CLI installs ADK skills into existing AI coding environments, and a docs MCP server can be added to the same tools.](https://adk.dev/tutorials/coding-with-ai/)
- [On the command line: yes — A terminal surface is first-class: an interactive run command with session save, resume and replay flags in the Python CLI, and an embedded launcher for Go binaries.](https://adk.dev/runtime/command-line/)

**Trade-offs against Microsoft Agent Framework:**
- [In a browser: partial — The browser UI exists but you run it locally and the vendor bars it from production, so there is no hosted web application unless you deploy your own agent service.](https://adk.dev/runtime/web-interface/)

[View Google Agent Development Kit (ADK)](https://theagentsindex.com/google-adk)

### 2. Agno

Python SDK, open-source AgentOS runtime and hosted control plane for building and operating agents.

**Research coverage:** 35/35 criteria

**Where it improves on Microsoft Agent Framework:**
- [Writes code: yes — Ships a CodingTools toolkit whose documented job is editing files and running commands in a scoped project directory.](https://docs.agno.com/use-cases/coding-agents)
- [In your editor: yes — `agno connect` writes MCP config for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Codex and Cursor so those clients can run your agents.](https://docs.agno.com/cli/connect)
- [On the command line: yes — The `agno` command scaffolds a project, starts and stops it, connects clients and mints service-account tokens.](https://docs.agno.com/cli/overview)

**Trade-offs against Microsoft Agent Framework:**
- [Agent permissions: partial — Runs are unattended unless a tool is marked for approval; then the run pauses in your database until an admin resolves it.](https://docs.agno.com/agent-os/approvals/overview)
- [Open source: partial — SDK and AgentOS are Apache 2.0; the control plane is the commercial part and is not published as source.](https://www.agno.com/compare/agno-vs-langgraph)

[View Agno](https://theagentsindex.com/agno)

### 3. LangChain

Open source agent frameworks plus LangSmith, the platform for tracing, evaluating and deploying agents.

**Research coverage:** 34/35 criteria

**Where it improves on Microsoft Agent Framework:**
- [Writes code: yes — dcode, the vendor's terminal coding agent, writes and edits files from a natural-language task, showing diffs first.](https://docs.langchain.com/oss/deepagents/code/quickstart)
- [Done-for-you service: partial — You run the software; Enterprise adds LangChain engineers, architectural guidance and team trainings, not delivery of the agent.](https://www.langchain.com/pricing)
- [In your editor: partial — LangSmith Studio is LangChain's own IDE for graphs, connected to a local Agent Server; no extension for third-party editors is documented and dcode is a terminal agent.](https://docs.langchain.com/langsmith/components)

**Trade-offs against Microsoft Agent Framework:**
- [Self-hosted: partial — Platform self-hosting and hybrid are Enterprise-only; Developer and Plus are Cloud, while the open source packages run wherever you install them.](https://www.langchain.com/pricing)
- [Getting out: partial — Bulk trace export to S3 in Parquet is Enterprise-only for accounts opened after 3 August 2026; SDK trace queries stay open to all, and credit expiry is not stated.](https://docs.langchain.com/langsmith/data-export)

[View LangChain](https://theagentsindex.com/langchain)

### 4. AutoGen

Microsoft's open-source Python framework for building single- and multi-agent applications; now in maintenance mode.

**Research coverage:** 32/35 criteria

**Where it improves on Microsoft Agent Framework:**
- [Writes code: yes — A built-in CodeExecutorAgent generates code from an instruction and executes it, and Magentic-One ships a Coder agent specialised for writing code.](https://microsoft.github.io/autogen/stable/reference/python/autogen_agentchat.agents.html)

**Trade-offs against Microsoft Agent Framework:**
- [Agent permissions: partial — Permission is code you write: an approval callback invoked before each code execution, a UserProxyAgent that blocks for human input, max_turns and termination conditions. Nothing is gated by default.](https://microsoft.github.io/autogen/stable/reference/python/autogen_agentchat.agents.html)

[View AutoGen](https://theagentsindex.com/microsoft-autogen)

### 5. Mastra

Open-source TypeScript framework for building AI agents, with a hosted platform for running and observing them.

**Research coverage:** 35/35 criteria

**Where it improves on Microsoft Agent Framework:**
- [Done-for-you service: partial — You run the software, but Mastra sells professional services (Concierge, forward-deployed engineering) and enterprise support covering planning, prototyping and workshops.](https://mastra.ai/terms-of-service)
- [In your editor: partial — No IDE extension of its own; Mastra ships an MCP docs server and a skill that coding agents inside editors consume.](https://mastra.ai/reference/build-with-ai)
- [On the command line: yes — A Mastra CLI builds, starts and dev-serves the project (mastra build, mastra start, mastra dev).](https://mastra.ai/docs/deployment/mastra-server)

**Trade-offs against Microsoft Agent Framework:**
- [Data residency: partial — Self-hosted Enterprise keeps traces, prompts and outputs inside your own VPC; for the hosted platform the vendor publishes no region or jurisdiction.](https://mastra.ai/pricing)
- [Getting out: partial — You own your data and can cancel any time, but retention is capped by plan (15 days to 6 months), backups are your responsibility and downgrading may delete data over the new limit.](https://mastra.ai/terms-of-service)

[View Mastra](https://theagentsindex.com/mastra)

### 6. AgentsKit.js

TypeScript foundation for AI agents: runtime, tools, memory, RAG, model adapters and headless chat UI bindings.

**Research coverage:** 34/35 criteria

**Where it improves on Microsoft Agent Framework:**
- [Writes code: yes — A bundled coder persona implements features from written specs using scoped filesystem and allowlisted shell tools, aimed at real multi-file TypeScript rather than snippets.](https://www.agentskit.io/docs/agents/skills/coder)
- [In your editor: partial — The docs give three DIY patterns for running an agent inside VS Code or Raycast, but no editor extension is shipped and the LSP route is deferred.](https://www.agentskit.io/docs/production/embedded)
- [On the command line: yes — A first-party terminal surface exists: nine agentskit subcommands for scaffolding, one-shot runs, interactive chat and environment diagnosis, plus an Ink terminal chat UI.](https://www.agentskit.io/docs/production/cli)

**Trade-offs against Microsoft Agent Framework:**
- [In a browser: partial — Seven headless framework bindings give you a web chat surface to host yourself; the vendor runs no web app for the library, only sibling product sites.](https://www.agentskit.io/docs/ui)
- [Data residency: partial — Jurisdiction is yours to choose because nothing is hosted by the vendor, and the router can pin selection to a region, but no residency guarantee is published.](https://www.agentskit.io/docs/api/adapters/interfaces/RouterOptions)

[View AgentsKit.js](https://theagentsindex.com/agentskit)

## Method

Unknown data is never treated as a benefit or a trade-off. Featured placement is labelled but cannot alter recommendation order.