head to head · open source
agent-framework vs relay
agent-framework has 13,604 GitHub stars, 2,344 forks, 617 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. relay has 843 stars, 65 forks, 286 open issues and last shipped today. agent-framework leads on adoption by 1,514% (13,604 vs 843 stars). agent-framework is written in Python under MIT; relay is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. agent-framework has attracted 17% as many forks as stars, relay 8%. relay was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (agentic-ai, agents, orchestration), 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 | relay | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 14K | ★ 843 |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.3K | ⑂ 65 |
| 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 relay if
- You want the relay feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and relay 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 relay
Relay is a TypeScript, Apache 2.0 licensed real time messaging layer that gives AI agents shared channels, threads, direct messages, reactions, files, search and realtime events, and it is built for teams orchestrating multiple agents such as Claude Code, Codex or custom harnesses.
read the full relay overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is agent-framework or relay more popular?
agent-framework has 13,604 GitHub stars and relay has 843. agent-framework has the larger community by that measure.
Are agent-framework and relay free?
Both are open source. agent-framework is licensed under MIT and relay under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between agent-framework and relay?
agent-framework is written in Python and relay in TypeScript. 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 relay?
Choose agent-framework if you want the larger community (13,604 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose relay if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.