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Agno

Lightweight multi-modal agent framework

open sourceupdated Aug 16, 2026

Fast, lightweight Python framework for building multi-modal AI agents, formerly known as Phidata. Includes built-in memory, knowledge bases, tools, and reasoning capabilities with 40K+ GitHub stars. Designed for developers who want to build production-ready agents quickly with minimal boilerplate, supporting structured outputs and multi-agent coordination out of the box.

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Agno is an open-source Python framework for building, running, and managing AI agents at scale, providing a lightweight yet powerful runtime for creating agents with tools, memory, knowledge retrieval, and reasoning capabilities. It solves the challenge of agent development complexity by offering clean, composable, and Pythonic abstractions that let developers focus on business logic rather than infrastructure plumbing. Agno supports the full lifecycle of agent development from prototyping single agents to deploying production-grade multi-agent teams and workflows.

Agno stands out with exceptional performance metrics, claiming 5000x faster agent instantiation than LangGraph and 50x less memory usage, making it suitable for high-throughput production environments. The framework supports over 40 AI models across 20+ providers including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Groq, Ollama, AWS Bedrock, and Azure AI Foundry, with built-in support for vector databases, structured outputs, streaming, and async operations. Its modular architecture allows developers to swap LLMs, databases, or vector stores without rewriting application code, while built-in state management, observability, and human-in-the-loop capabilities simplify production deployments.

Agno is designed for Python developers and AI engineers building intelligent assistants, autonomous agents, RAG systems, and multi-agent orchestration platforms. It excels in scenarios requiring real-time agent communication, knowledge-grounded responses, and tool-augmented reasoning across diverse domains. The framework integrates with popular vector databases like Pinecone, Weaviate, and Qdrant, and provides a web-based playground for rapid prototyping and debugging, making it accessible to both individual developers experimenting with agents and enterprise teams deploying AI systems at scale.

Pricing

Open-source Agent Framework is free; AgentOS/cloud plans available for agent systems.

Platforms

Python

Categories

Tags

Use Cases

CrewAI logo

CrewAI

Multi-agent AI framework

Python framework for orchestrating autonomous AI agents that collaborate to accomplish complex tasks. Define agents with specific roles, goals, and backstories, then organize them into crews with sequential or parallel task execution. Supports tool usage (web search, file I/O, API calls), memory, delegation between agents, and human-in-the-loop input. Works with OpenAI, Anthropic, local models, and more. 25K+ GitHub stars. Leading multi-agent framework alongside LangGraph and AutoGen.

Open Source
LangChain logo

LangChain

Framework for LLM applications

The most widely-used framework for building LLM-powered applications, available in Python and JavaScript. Provides abstractions for chains, agents, RAG, memory, tool usage, and structured output. Integrates with 100+ LLM providers, vector stores, document loaders, and tools. LangSmith offers tracing and evaluation. LangGraph enables stateful, multi-agent workflows with cycles. 100K+ GitHub stars. The de facto standard for LLM application development despite growing alternatives like LlamaIndex.

Open Source
Pydantic AI logo

Pydantic AI

Python agent framework by Pydantic team

Agent framework built on Pydantic for type-safe AI applications. Provides structured outputs, dependency injection, and multi-model support. Created by the Pydantic team, it brings the same validation and typing philosophy that made Pydantic essential for Python APIs to the world of AI agents, ensuring reliable data flow between LLMs and application logic.

Open Source
Mirascope logo

Mirascope

The LLM anti-framework for typed AI apps

Mirascope is an open-source Python and TypeScript toolkit for building LLM applications that prioritizes type safety, composability, and 100% test coverage. Positioned as the 'anti-framework,' it provides fine-grained control over LLM interactions using familiar language constructs rather than rigid abstractions, supporting all major providers through a unified interface.

Open Source
Griptape logo

Griptape

Modular AI agent framework with off-prompt data

Griptape is an open-source Python framework for building AI agents and workflows with a focus on modularity and enterprise-grade off-prompt data handling. It separates predictable pipeline logic from unpredictable LLM interactions, providing structures for sequential and parallel task execution with built-in memory management and tool integration.

Open Source
VoltAgent logo

VoltAgent

TypeScript-first AI agent framework with built-in observability

VoltAgent is an open-source TypeScript AI agent framework with built-in observability, RAG support, memory management, and MCP integration. It provides a structured approach to building production AI agents in the Node.js ecosystem with agent debugging tools, sub-agent orchestration, and tool management. Over 7,000 GitHub stars and 150K+ weekly npm downloads.

Open Source

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KaibanJS is an MIT-licensed JavaScript framework for defining AI agents, tasks, tools, and teams, then orchestrating their work through a Kanban-inspired runtime and visual board. It can run inside Node.js, React, or Next.js projects, supports custom UIs and headless workflows, and provides real-time task-state visibility for multi-agent applications.

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OpenWiki

LangChain CLI for maintaining agent-friendly codebase documentation

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Comparisons

Pydantic AI vs Agno: Typed Agent Engineering or an Integrated AgentOS?

Pydantic AI and Agno both support production Python agents, but they draw the platform boundary differently. Pydantic AI focuses on typed dependencies, validated outputs, composable capabilities, evals, OpenTelemetry, graphs, and optional durable runtimes chosen by the application team. Agno packages Agent, Team, and Workflow primitives with memory, knowledge, tracing, evals, AgentOS APIs, and a control plane. Pydantic AI is the stronger default for teams that want typed engineering control and modular infrastructure; Agno is the better choice when an integrated agent platform is the requirement.

Mastra vs Agno — TypeScript Agent Framework vs Lightweight Python Agent Builder

Mastra and Agno are modern agent frameworks that prioritize developer experience over heavyweight abstractions. Mastra is TypeScript-native with web framework integration and Mastra Studio. Agno, formerly Phidata, is a lightweight Python framework focused on minimal boilerplate agent creation with multi-model support and a built-in agent UI for rapid prototyping.

MastraAgno

Agno vs LangChain — Lightweight Agent Framework vs Full-Stack LLM Ecosystem

Agno (formerly Phidata) is a lightweight, model-agnostic agent framework that prioritizes simplicity and rapid prototyping with built-in memory, knowledge bases, and multi-modal support. LangChain is the established full-stack LLM platform with the largest ecosystem of integrations, chains, and tools. This comparison helps developers choose between a focused agent builder and a comprehensive AI development platform.

FAQ

What is Agno?

Fast, lightweight Python framework for building multi-modal AI agents, formerly known as Phidata. Includes built-in memory, knowledge bases, tools, and reasoning capabilities with 40K+ GitHub stars. Designed for developers who want to build production-ready agents quickly with minimal boilerplate, supporting structured outputs and multi-agent coordination out of the box.

Is Agno free?

Yes — Agno is open source and free to use. Open-source Agent Framework is free; AgentOS/cloud plans available for agent systems.

Is Agno open source?

Yes — Agno is open source.

What are the best Agno alternatives?

The top editor-verified Agno alternatives are CrewAI, LangChain, Pydantic AI, and more.

How does Agno score in our review?

Our hands-on review scores Agno 82/100 overall, based on speed, privacy, and developer-experience testing.