head to head · open source
agent-framework vs atom
agent-framework has 13,604 GitHub stars, 2,344 forks, 617 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. atom has 901 stars, 94 forks, 2 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. agent-framework leads on adoption by 1,410% (13,604 vs 901 stars). agent-framework is written in Python under MIT; atom is written in Python under AGPL-3.0. agent-framework has attracted 17% as many forks as stars, atom 10%. agent-framework was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (ai), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| agent-framework | atom | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 14K | ★ 901 |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.3K | ⑂ 94 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick agent-framework if
- You weight community size — 14K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick atom if
- You want the atom feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and atom fits your workflow better
About agent-framework
Microsoft Agent Framework is an open, MIT licensed, multi language framework for building, orchestrating and deploying production grade AI agents and multi agent workflows in Python and .NET, aimed at teams moving agents from prototype to production.
read the full agent-framework overview →
About atom
Atom Agent is an open source, self hosted AI agent workforce platform, licensed AGPL 3.0 and written in Python, that lets teams delegate routine work to specialty agents under default on governance checks — and it is aimed at organisations that want agent accountability, verifiable outcomes, and data ownership on their own hardware.
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Frequently asked questions
Is agent-framework or atom more popular?
agent-framework has 13,604 GitHub stars and atom has 901. agent-framework has the larger community by that measure.
Are agent-framework and atom free?
Both are open source. agent-framework is licensed under MIT and atom under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between agent-framework and atom?
agent-framework is written in Python and atom in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, agent-framework or atom?
Choose agent-framework if you want the larger community (13,604 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose atom if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.