langchain vs crewai
Two of the top projects in Agent frameworks and SDKs, side by side: who leads on each score part and who each one suits, then setup, license, activity and what each review found.
langchain
Python framework for building LLM agents and apps from interoperable components
crewai
Python framework for multi-agent workflows with role-based Crews and event-driven Flows
Verdict
langchain ranks higher, 88 to 77. Of the 4 score parts we measure for both, langchain leads on 2, crewai on none and 2 are even.
- Adoptionlangchain leads by 34 points, 97 to 63: a wide gap.
- FreshnessEven at 100.
- Maintenancelangchain leads by 2 points, 85 to 83: close to even.
- Agent-readyEven at 30.
Pick langchain if you are
Python developers building LLM agents and applications in code
- Common interface across model providers, embeddings and vector stores
- Large integrations library covering tools, retrievers and vector stores
Pick crewai if you are
Python developers building multi-agent LLM workflows in code
- Two models: autonomous Crews and explicit Flows with state, branching and or_/and_ triggers
- CLI scaffolds projects; agents and tasks declared in JSONC or classic YAML
| What we compare | langchain | crewai |
|---|---|---|
| Score parts, out of 100 | ||
| Adoption | 97, widely used | 63, popular |
| Freshness | 100, active | 100, active |
| Maintenance | 85, healthy | 83, healthy |
| Easy to run | Not scored for this kind | Not scored for this kind |
| Agent-ready | 30, minimal | 30, minimal |
| Facts from GitHub and the README | ||
| Stars | 147.8k | 59.7k |
| License | MIT (permissive) | MIT (permissive) |
| Last commit | Oct 2026 | Oct 2026 |
| Last release | Oct 2026 | Oct 2026 |
| Language | Python | Python |
| Docker | No | No |
| GPU | Not stated | Not needed |
| arm64 or Apple Silicon | Not stated | Not stated |
langchain
LangChain is a Python library that gives a standard interface to chat models, embeddings, vector stores and tools, so providers can be swapped with little code change. Models load through init_chat_model with a provider:model string. For lower-level agent orchestration it points to LangGraph, and for tracing and evals to LangSmith.
Who it is for: Python developers building LLM agents and applications in code
Strengths
- Common interface across model providers, embeddings and vector stores
- Large integrations library covering tools, retrievers and vector stores
- Companions: LangGraph for orchestration, Deep Agents for planning and subagents
- MIT license; JS/TS counterpart available as LangChain.js
Weaknesses
- Observability, evals and managed deployment sit in LangSmith, a separate product
- Controllable stateful agent workflows need LangGraph, not core LangChain
- README gives no hardware requirements or list of supported providers
- Abstraction layer is another API to learn on top of provider SDKs
- Needs Model provider API or other model backend
- Models: OpenAI (README example), Other providers via integrations
crewai
CrewAI is a Python framework for building multi-agent workflows. Crews are teams of role-based agents with goals, tools and tasks, run sequentially or under a hierarchical manager. Flows are event-driven workflows with typed state, branching and routing that can embed Crews. A CLI scaffolds JSON-defined crew projects, with a classic YAML scaffold still available.
Who it is for: Python developers building multi-agent LLM workflows in code
Strengths
- Two models: autonomous Crews and explicit Flows with state, branching and or_/and_ triggers
- CLI scaffolds projects; agents and tasks declared in JSONC or classic YAML
- Covers tools, memory, knowledge, checkpointing, async execution and MCP/A2A support
- MIT license; recent commit and release within days of listing
Weaknesses
- Managed deployment, governance and enterprise support are in the commercial AMP Suite
- README has a telemetry section; opt-out details are not in the excerpt
- Requires Python >=3.10 and <3.14 and uv; Windows may need C++ build tools
- Web search example needs a separate Serper.dev API key
- no GPU
- Needs Python >=3.10,<3.14, uv, LLM provider API key, Serper.dev API key (optional, web search)
- Models: OpenAI (e.g. openai/gpt-4o), other providers via LLM setup
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