
LlamaIndex
Open-source framework for agents over your documents and data
What is LlamaIndex?
LlamaIndex is an open-source framework for building agents and retrieval apps that work over your documents and data, with Workflows for multi-step agents. The company also sells LlamaParse, a document parsing and extraction service. The framework is MIT licensed; LlamaParse has a free credit tier and paid plans.
Pros
- Strong document and retrieval tooling
- Many data connectors
- MIT licensed
Cons
- Best parsing is a paid service
- API surface changes often
- Less focused on general agents
Where LlamaIndex ranks
Alternatives
LlamaIndex alternatives
Claude Agent SDK
Anthropic's SDK for building agents on the same harness that powers Claude Code
CrewAI
Open-source Python framework for teams of role-based AI agents
Google Agent Development Kit
Google's open-source toolkit for building and deploying multi-agent systems
LangGraph
Open-source framework for building stateful, controllable agents as graphs
Mastra
TypeScript framework for AI agents, workflows, memory and evals
Microsoft Agent Framework
Microsoft's open-source agent SDK for .NET and Python, successor to AutoGen
LlamaIndex FAQ
What is LlamaIndex?
+
LlamaIndex is an open-source framework for building agents and retrieval apps that work over your documents and data, with Workflows for multi-step agents. The company also sells LlamaParse, a document parsing and extraction service. The framework is MIT licensed; LlamaParse has a free credit tier and paid plans.
How much does LlamaIndex cost?
+
LlamaIndex is open source. Framework MIT. LlamaParse: pay-as-you-go with 10K free credits; Pro $500/mo.
Is LlamaIndex free?
+
Yes. LlamaIndex is open source and free to self-host; you pay only for the model API and hosting you use.
Is LlamaIndex an autonomous AI agent?
+
We rate LlamaIndex as "Task agent": completes tasks you hand it, then reports back.
What are the best LlamaIndex alternatives?
+
Popular alternatives to LlamaIndex are Claude Agent SDK, CrewAI, Google Agent Development Kit, LangGraph, Mastra.