LangChain vs Microsoft Agent Framework

LangChain9.4Visit MAMicrosoft Agent Framework9.1Visit

Higher score LangChain #1 in LLM Application Development Frameworks 9.4/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 5 features Visit LangChain

vs

MA Microsoft Agent Framework #3 in LLM Application Development Frameworks 9.1/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 5 features Visit Microsoft

• LangChain fits best

  General-purpose LLM app and agent development

• Microsoft Agent Framework fits best

  Multi-agent workflows across model providers

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Side by side

Feature	LangChain 9.4/10 Visit ↗	MAMicrosoft Agent Framework 9.1/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.4	9.1
Ranking	#1 in LLM Application Development Frameworks	#3 in LLM Application Development Frameworks
Best for	General-purpose LLM app and agent development	Multi-agent workflows across model providers
Pricing model	Free	Free
Starting price	Not published	Not published
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Self-hosted	Cloud, Self-hosted
Support	Community, Docs	Docs, Community
Integrations	1,000+ integrations	8 integrations
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features LangChain 0/5 · Microsoft Agent Framework 0/5
RAG support	Not published	Not published
Agent and tool use	Not published	Not published
Workflow graphs	Not published	Not published
Prompt optimization	Not published	Not published
JavaScript/TypeScript SDK	Not published	Not published
Specs
Primary language	Not published	Not published
Open-source license	Not published	Not published
Our review
Pros	Connects applications to a broad range of models, tools, databases, and data sources Provides document-processing and retrieval components for RAG workflows Supports human approval and durable agent execution through LangGraph	Supports sequential, concurrent, handoff, group-chat, and Magentic orchestration Adds human pauses, tool-approval gates, checkpoints, and workflow resumption Exports workflow telemetry and topology; supports OpenTelemetry tracing
Cons	Requires developers to run it in their own application environment Its broad set of abstractions may exceed the needs of a narrowly scoped app Tracing, evaluation, and deployment workflows are associated with separate LangSmith	Requires development work rather than offering a visual builder Cloud and model-service costs depend on chosen infrastructure and providers Support channels are documentation and community
Our verdict	LangChain is an open-source framework for developers building LLM applications and agents. It is aimed at a wide range of project sizes, from solo developers to enterprise teams, and runs self-hosted in application code. Its scope covers… Read the review →	Microsoft Agent Framework is an open-source developer framework for building AI agents and multi-agent workflows with Python, .NET, and Go. Its shared agent interface, tools, middleware, and orchestration options suit teams that want to… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• LangChain — where it wins

  • Connects applications to a broad range of models, tools, databases, and data sources
  • Provides document-processing and retrieval components for RAG workflows
  • Supports human approval and durable agent execution through LangGraph

  Where it doesn't

  • Requires developers to run it in their own application environment
  • Its broad set of abstractions may exceed the needs of a narrowly scoped app
  • Tracing, evaluation, and deployment workflows are associated with separate LangSmith

• Microsoft Agent Framework — where it wins

  • Supports sequential, concurrent, handoff, group-chat, and Magentic orchestration
  • Adds human pauses, tool-approval gates, checkpoints, and workflow resumption
  • Exports workflow telemetry and topology; supports OpenTelemetry tracing

  Where it doesn't

  • Requires development work rather than offering a visual builder
  • Cloud and model-service costs depend on chosen infrastructure and providers
  • Support channels are documentation and community

• LangChain9.4/10 · Free plan

  A self-hosted framework for LLM apps, retrieval workflows, and agents.

  Visit LangChainFull verdict →
• MAMicrosoft Agent Framework9.1/10 · Free plan

  An open-source framework for multi-agent orchestration, with checkpoints and approval gates.

  Visit MicrosoftFull verdict →