AI Agent

AutoGen

AutoGen is an open-source framework by Microsoft for building AI agents and applications with conversational and event-driven architectures.

What is AutoGen?

AutoGen is a framework for building AI agent systems, offering components like the AgentChat API for conversational agents, Core for event-driven multi-agent systems, Extensions for external integrations, and a web-based Studio for no-code prototyping.

AutoGen vs Similar AI Tools

Pricing ModelFreeFree, FreemiumFreeFree
Free Credits
Key Features
  • Web-based UI Studio for prototyping agents without code
  • AgentChat programming framework for conversational single/multi-agent applications
  • Core event-driven framework for scalable multi-agent systems
  • Multi-agent workflow with verification and self-healing
  • 50+ AI models auto-routed per agent
  • 1000+ OAuth2 app integrations
  • Seven breakable boxes covering OWASP Agentic Top-10 vulnerabilities
  • Three guided simulations for cascading failures, human-agent trust, and rogue agents
  • Network-isolated Docker containers for safe execution
  • Code-to-runtime reasoning across cloud, Git, and Kubernetes
  • Action-gate enforces read-only policy on every API call
  • Sandboxed JavaScript execution for concurrent research
Pros
  • Modular and extensible architecture
  • Supports multiple LLM providers
  • Replaces 10+ separate tools with one platform
  • Multi-agent orchestration saves time and context switching
  • Covers full OWASP Agentic Top-10 in a realistic manner
  • Docker isolation prevents accidental damage
  • Read-only by construction prevents accidental writes
  • Evidence-backed verification cross-checks every finding
Cons
  • Requires Python 3.10+ for AgentChat and Core
  • Complex setup for advanced scenarios
  • Free tier limited to 5,000 credits per month
  • May have a learning curve for complex workflows
  • Requires Docker and technical setup
  • Not for production use; only for lab environments
  • Requires an LLM API key, incurring token costs
  • Limited to read-only operations, cannot remediate
Best For
  • AI developers building custom agent systems
  • Researchers studying multi-agent collaboration
  • Marketing teams
  • Content creators
  • Security researchers focusing on AI agent vulnerabilities
  • Developers building MCP-based applications
  • Security engineers
  • DevOps teams

How to use AutoGen?

  1. 1Choose the component: install autogen-agentchat for conversational agents or autogen-core for event-driven systems.
  2. 2Install via pip: pip install -U autogen-agentchat autogen-ext[openai]
  3. 3Create an agent using AssistantAgent as shown in the code snippet.
  4. 4Run the agent with: asyncio.run(main())
  5. 5Use AutoGen Studio for a web UI: pip install -U autogenstudio then run autogenstudio ui --port 8080

AutoGen Key Features

  • Web-based UI Studio for prototyping agents without code
  • AgentChat programming framework for conversational single/multi-agent applications
  • Core event-driven framework for scalable multi-agent systems
  • Extensible with built-in integrations for MCP, OpenAI Assistant, Docker, and distributed runtimes
  • Supports popular LLMs like GPT-4 via provider packages

AutoGen Use Cases

  • Building conversational chatbots and virtual assistants
  • Automating business processes with deterministic and dynamic agent workflows
  • Conducting research on multi-agent collaboration
  • Creating distributed agent systems for multi-language applications

AutoGen Pricing & Free Credits

AutoGen currently operates on a Free model.

This tool is completely free to use

Open-Source Edition

Free

AutoGen is free and open-source, available under a permissive license.

AutoGen Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Modular and extensible architecture
  • Supports multiple LLM providers
  • Includes both code-based and no-code interfaces
  • Active community and Microsoft backing

Cons

  • Requires Python 3.10+ for AgentChat and Core
  • Complex setup for advanced scenarios
  • External API keys needed for cloud LLMs

What is AutoGen best for?

  • AI developers building custom agent systems
  • Researchers studying multi-agent collaboration
  • Businesses automating workflows with AI agents

AutoGen FAQ

Top free alternatives to AutoGen

Definable AI logo

Multi-agent workflow platform that builds and runs workflows from plain English prompts, integrating 1000+ apps and 50+ AI models.

Free
100X.Bot logo

Automate repetitive browser tasks by recording screen actions or describing with chat, turning them into reusable workflows, smart tables, and custom apps.

Free
SureWire logo

SureWire is a specialized QA platform that stress-tests AI agents for safety, reliability, and compliance using purpose-built testing agents.

Free
Notte logo

Browser infrastructure platform for AI agents to run on the internet at speed with cloud browser sessions, agents, and serverless functions.

Free
Manifest logo

Manifest converts any URL into a structured JSON map of what AI agents can interact with on a page—buttons, forms, inputs, and required fields.

Free
Agentcard logo

Agentcard provides agent-friendly card issuing and payment infrastructure for AI agents, enabling 5-minute setup and autonomous purchases.

Free
YAGNI logo

Manage AI agent teams like human teams with responsibilities, numbers, commitments, and approvals across your business tools.

Free
Oodle AI logo

Oodle AI provides agent observability with fast trace search, S3-based storage, and out-of-the-box insights to detect silent failures in AI agents.

Free

Best alternatives AI Tools to AutoGen

Definable AI logo

Multi-agent workflow platform that builds and runs workflows from plain English prompts, integrating 1000+ apps and 50+ AI models.

Free
mcploitable logo

A collection of deliberately vulnerable MCP servers for training in agentic security, mapped to the OWASP Top 10 for Agentic Applications.

Cynative logo

Open-source AI tool for deep infrastructure research, running frontier models across code, cloud, and runtime to deliver verified answers.

agent-manager logo

Terminal UI to manage AI coding-agent sessions (Claude Code, OpenCode, Codex, Grok Build) in tmux with live status, group tree, and diff review.

hotcell logo

Self-hostable sandbox SDK for AI agents that provides isolated environments with key management and egress control on your own hardware.

Silo logo

Open-source desktop app to manage multiple project workspaces simultaneously, keeping terminals and AI coding agents running across projects with instant switching.

Annotate logo

A macOS menu-bar app that gives AI agents the ability to draw directly on your screen via MCP.

Relay Studio logo

A desktop app that transforms AI coding agents into a visual Kanban build loop for feature development with human review.