An open-source framework from Microsoft Research for building multi-agent applications, where agents converse to solve tasks together.
Agent Development comparison
Microsoft AutoGen vs OpenAI AgentKit
Pricing, pros, cons, and ideal use cases — side by side.
OpenAI AgentKitFreemium
OpenAI first-party agent toolkit — a visual Agent Builder, embeddable ChatKit UI, a connector registry, and evals, billed at plain API rates.
At a glance
| Microsoft AutoGen | OpenAI AgentKit | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | FreeOpen-source (MIT), free to use. You pay only for the underlying model API calls. | FreemiumNo separate platform fee. Agent Builder design is free; you pay standard OpenAI API model and storage rates for execution. As a reference point, GPT-5.2 runs roughly $1.75 per million input tokens and $14 per million output tokens, with GPT-5 mini at about $0.25 per million input tokens. |
| Category | Agent Development | Agent Development |
| Ideal for | Engineering teams prototyping multi-agent systemsResearch and innovation groupsTeams already in the Microsoft ecosystem | Product teams embedding agents into their own softwareEngineering teams already building on the OpenAI APIStartups that want agent scaffolding without a platform feeTeams standardizing evals alongside agent development |
Pros & cons
Microsoft AutoGen
Pros
- Mature multi-agent conversation patterns
- Backed by Microsoft Research
- Flexible high-level and low-level APIs
- Strong fit for experimentation
Cons
- Multi-agent conversations are hard to evaluate and debug
- Token costs can escalate without guardrails
- APIs have changed significantly between versions
OpenAI AgentKit
Pros
- No platform fee on top of API usage
- Visual workflow builder with versioning
- ChatKit ships a production-ready chat UI
- Evals are first-class rather than an afterthought
- Cost model is the API cost model you already forecast
Cons
- Single-provider lock-in at the orchestration layer
- Agent Builder and Connector Registry have been in beta rather than fully GA
- Fewer enterprise governance controls than Copilot Studio or Agentforce
- No managed hosting story comparable to Bedrock AgentCore
Which should you choose?
Microsoft AutoGen is the lighter-weight option (Free), while OpenAI AgentKit sits higher on the pricing ladder (Freemium). Microsoft AutoGen is built around engineering teams prototyping multi-agent systems; OpenAI AgentKit leans more toward product teams embedding agents into their own software. Shortlist the one whose strengths line up with your biggest constraint.
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