Agent Frameworks
CrewAI vs LlamaIndex.
Both sit in Agent Frameworks, scored on the same six pillars from the same published methodology. Here is where they actually differ.
The short answer
LlamaIndex scores higher — 81.9 against 79.1, a margin of 2.8 points. That is the overall answer, not the whole one: the pillar breakdown below is where the decision usually actually gets made.
CrewAI leads on momentum; LlamaIndex leads on integrations & ecosystem and maturity & reliability.
CrewAI, Inc.
79.1
Strong
Role-based multi-agent orchestration, from open source to enterprise.
- From
- Free / Enterprise platform custom pricing
- Pricing
- Open Source
- Maturity
- Emerging
- Founded
- 2023
LlamaIndex, Inc.
81.9
Strong
The data framework for RAG and knowledge-grounded agents.
- From
- Free / LlamaCloud from $50 per month
- Pricing
- Open Source
- Maturity
- Established
- Founded
- 2022
Pillar by pillar
The same six pillars and fixed weights used for every tool on the site. A lead of fewer than 5 points is not called for either side — these are evidence-backed judgements, not measurements. Read the methodology.
Capability
Level
Value for Money
Level
Security & Compliance
Level
Integrations & Ecosystem
LlamaIndex by 8
Maturity & Reliability
LlamaIndex by 8
Momentum
CrewAI by 5
Which one, and when
Pick CrewAI if
- →where the product will be in a year matters as much as today — it leads Momentum by 5 points.
- →Multi-agent automation POCs
- →Business-process agent teams
- →Python-first teams
The catch
- Less battle-tested at scale than LangGraph
- Fast API evolution between versions
Pick LlamaIndex if
- →it has to fit the stack you already run — it leads Integrations & Ecosystem by 8 points.
- →it has to hold up in production from day one — it leads Maturity & Reliability by 8 points.
- →Enterprise document Q&A
- →Complex PDF/table extraction
- →Knowledge-grounded agents
The catch
- Narrower scope than general agent frameworks
- Managed cloud pricing based on credits needs monitoring
What each is good at
CrewAI
- ✓Intuitive role/goal/task mental model for multi-agent design
- ✓Standalone and lightweight, no heavy framework dependency
- ✓Strong education funnel: large certified developer community
LlamaIndex
- ✓Best-in-class document parsing for complex PDFs and tables
- ✓Purpose-built for retrieval quality over enterprise data
- ✓Clean workflow abstractions for agentic RAG
Other comparisons in Agent Frameworks
Comparing something else? Build your own side-by-side across any tools in the catalog.