# CrewAI Alternatives 2027: 10 Paid, Free & Open-Source

Source: https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/crewai/
Prices checked: 2026-11-13 (Zekai Price Ledger)

The best CrewAI alternatives in 2027 are Relevance AI (best overall), Dify (best free plan) and LangChain / LangGraph (best open source). CrewAI: Free plan with 50 executions a month; Enterprise by custom quote. Zekai checked these prices on vendor pages on 13 Nov 2026; 7 more are compared below.

| Tool | Type | Starting price | Free plan limit | Licence | Best for | Price checked | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CrewAI (the tool being replaced) | — | Free plan with 50 executions a month; Enterprise by custom quote. | 50 workflow executions a month, 2 automations | — | — | 2026-11-13 | [pricing](https://www.crewai.com/pricing) |
| LangChain / LangGraph | Open source | $39/seat/mo (hosted) | No limit (self-hosted) | MIT | Stateful graph-based agent workflows in code | 2026-11-13 | [site](https://www.langchain.com) [pricing](https://www.langchain.com/pricing) [code](https://github.com/langchain-ai/langgraph) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/langchain/) |
| Microsoft Agent Framework | Open source | Free (self-hosted) | No limit (self-hosted) | MIT | .NET and Python multi-agent workflows |  | [site](https://github.com/microsoft/agent-framework) [code](https://github.com/microsoft/agent-framework) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/microsoft-agent-framework/) |
| Google ADK | Open source | Free (self-hosted) | No limit (self-hosted) | Apache-2.0 | Code-first agents with built-in evaluation |  | [site](https://github.com/google/adk-python) [code](https://github.com/google/adk-python) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/adk-python/) |
| CAMEL | Open source | Free (self-hosted) | No limit (self-hosted) | Apache-2.0 | Research on large agent societies |  | [site](https://github.com/camel-ai/camel) [code](https://github.com/camel-ai/camel) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/camel/) |
| Langflow | Open source | Free (self-hosted) | No limit (self-hosted) | MIT | Visual drag-and-drop agent flows |  | [site](https://www.langflow.org) [code](https://github.com/langflow-ai/langflow) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/langflow/) |
| Dify | Open source | $59/mo (hosted) | No limit (self-hosted) | Dify Open Source License (not OSI-approved) | Visual LLM apps with built-in RAG | 2026-11-13 | [site](https://dify.ai) [pricing](https://dify.ai/pricing) [code](https://github.com/langgenius/dify) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/dify/) |
| n8n | Paid | $20/mo billed yearly | No free plan | Sustainable Use License | Workflow automation with AI agent nodes | 2026-11-13 | [site](https://n8n.io) [pricing](https://n8n.io/pricing) [code](https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/n8n/) |
| Lindy | Free plan + paid | $29.99/mo | $50 in free credits that last 7 days, no card | — | No-code agent teammate for non-developers | 2026-11-13 | [site](https://www.lindy.ai) [pricing](https://www.lindy.ai/pricing) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/lindy/) |
| LlamaIndex | Open source | $500/mo (hosted) | No limit (self-hosted) | MIT | Document-heavy RAG and parsing agents | 2026-11-13 | [site](https://www.llamaindex.ai) [pricing](https://www.llamaindex.ai/pricing) [code](https://github.com/run-llama/llama_index) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/llamaindex/) |
| Relevance AI | Paid | Enterprise plan sold by quote only; no public price listed. | No free plan | — | Managed AI workforce for sales and ops | 2026-11-13 | [site](https://relevanceai.com) [pricing](https://relevanceai.com/pricing) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/relevance-ai/) |

## How each alternative compares with CrewAI

- **LangChain / LangGraph** (Open source, $39/seat/mo (hosted), checked 2026-11-13): LangGraph models agents as nodes in a stateful graph and pairs with LangSmith for tracing; CrewAI organises agents as role-based crews and tasks with its own cloud studio. Switch if you need explicit control over state, branching and loops in a long-running agent graph. Stay with CrewAI if you prefer defining agents as roles with goals and delegating tasks between them.
- **Microsoft Agent Framework** (Open source, Free (self-hosted)): Ships APIs for both Python and C#/.NET with graph workflows supporting sequential, concurrent, handoff and group patterns, checkpointing and time-travel; CrewAI is Python only. Switch if your stack is .NET or Azure and you need checkpointing and human-in-the-loop in agent workflows. Stay with CrewAI if your team writes Python and wants a hosted visual studio plus a free 50-execution cloud plan.
- **Google ADK** (Open source, Free (self-hosted)): Code-first Python toolkit from Google with evaluation built into the framework description and Apache-2.0 licensing; CrewAI's repo is MIT and pushes its hosted studio. Switch if you want agent evaluation inside the framework and plan to deploy on Google Cloud models. Stay with CrewAI if you want role-based crews and an export-to-MCP-server studio without writing orchestration code.
- **CAMEL** (Open source, Free (self-hosted)): CAMEL describes itself as a framework for building and scaling agent societies and is Apache-2.0; CrewAI targets production workflows and ships a 50-execution free cloud plan. Switch if you are researching communicative agents or scaling simulations of many interacting agents. Stay with CrewAI if you want production deployment, tracing and guardrails on a managed cloud.
- **Langflow** (Open source, Free (self-hosted)): Drag-and-drop builder for multi-agent flows released under MIT as a standalone app; CrewAI Studio is tied to CrewAI's cloud and capped at 2 automations on the free plan. Switch if you want a free open-source visual canvas you can host yourself with no execution cap. Stay with CrewAI if you want CrewAI's role-based crews, GitHub integration and enterprise governance with SSO and RBAC.
- **Dify** (Open source, $59/mo (hosted), checked 2026-11-13): Cloud Sandbox gives 5 apps and 50 knowledge documents free, and Professional bills per workspace with 3 members at $59 a month; CrewAI Basic is limited by 50 executions. Switch if you want RAG, a knowledge base and chat app publishing in one hosted visual platform billed per workspace. Stay with CrewAI if you want agents defined as code with crews, tasks and tools in a Python repo.
- **n8n** (Paid, $20/mo billed yearly, checked 2026-11-13): Prices by workflow executions (2.5k on Starter) with unlimited steps, includes an AI Agent node, MCP server trigger and 1,600 assistant credits; CrewAI Basic allows 50 executions. Switch if your agents are part of broader app-to-app automations needing many integrations and a fixed execution quota. Stay with CrewAI if your main need is multi-agent reasoning crews coded in Python rather than integration-heavy workflows.
- **Lindy** (Free plan + paid, $29.99/mo, checked 2026-11-13): Credit-based no-code agent teammate with Slack, inbox and meeting skills and 3,000+ integrations, top-ups at $10 per 1,000 credits; CrewAI is a developer framework. Switch if business users, not engineers, need a ready-made assistant and will accept paying per user for credits. Stay with CrewAI if engineers need to customise agent roles, tools and orchestration in code and keep a free open-source core.
- **LlamaIndex** (Open source, $500/mo (hosted), checked 2026-11-13): Centres on data and document agents with LlamaParse parsing and extraction priced in credits; CrewAI's cloud has no document parsing credits and counts workflow executions. Switch if your agents mostly read, parse and extract from PDFs and enterprise documents. Stay with CrewAI if your agents collaborate across roles on research, writing or ops tasks rather than document extraction.
- **Relevance AI** (Paid, Enterprise plan sold by quote only; no public price listed.): Sells an AI Workforce with enterprise triggers, calling and meeting agents and 2,000+ integrations on custom pricing; CrewAI also offers a free Basic cloud tier. Switch if you want vendor-managed agents for sales or support teams rather than assembling a code framework. Stay with CrewAI if you want an MIT-licensed framework and a free tier before signing a custom contract.

## Open-source options in detail

- **LangChain / LangGraph** (https://github.com/langchain-ai/langgraph): Licence: MIT; Last release: 2026-11-12
- **Microsoft Agent Framework** (https://github.com/microsoft/agent-framework): Licence: MIT; Last release: 2026-11-07
- **Google ADK** (https://github.com/google/adk-python): Licence: Apache-2.0; Last release: 2026-11-12
- **CAMEL** (https://github.com/camel-ai/camel): Licence: Apache-2.0; Last release: 2026-09-03
- **Langflow** (https://github.com/langflow-ai/langflow): Licence: MIT; Last release: 2026-11-10
- **Dify** (https://github.com/langgenius/dify): Licence: Dify Open Source License (not OSI-approved); Last release: 2026-11-04
- **n8n** (https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n): Licence: Sustainable Use License
- **LlamaIndex** (https://github.com/run-llama/llama_index): Licence: MIT; Last release: 2026-09-21

## Questions

### What is the best alternative to CrewAI in 2027?
Relevance AI is the best overall CrewAI alternative on this page (Enterprise plan sold by quote only; no public price listed.). For no cost, Dify has a free plan (Sandbox: 200 message credits, 1 team member, 5 apps). To self-host, LangChain / LangGraph is open source (MIT).

### Is there a free version of CrewAI?
Yes. CrewAI has a free plan: 50 workflow executions a month, 2 automations. Paid plans start at Free plan with 50 executions a month; Enterprise by custom quote., checked on 13 Nov 2026.

### Is there a 100% free alternative to CrewAI?
Yes. LangChain / LangGraph, Microsoft Agent Framework, Google ADK, CAMEL, Langflow, Dify, LlamaIndex are open source and free to self-host. Lindy has a free plan with limits, shown in the table.

### How much do CrewAI alternatives cost for a team of 5?
If each of 5 people buys the entry paid plan, at the prices Zekai checked on 13 Nov 2026, the monthly cost is n8n $100/mo, Lindy $149.95/mo, LangChain / LangGraph $195/mo. Team and business plans can cost more per seat. The Zekai Cost Finder on this page recalculates for any team size.

### Which is better, Relevance AI or CrewAI?
Sells an AI Workforce with enterprise triggers, calling and meeting agents and 2,000+ integrations on custom pricing; CrewAI also offers a free Basic cloud tier. Choose Relevance AI if you want vendor-managed agents for sales or support teams rather than assembling a code framework. Stay with CrewAI if you want an MIT-licensed framework and a free tier before signing a custom contract.

### Why are people leaving CrewAI?
The documented reasons are: Version 1.15.29 removed CrewAgentExecutor and its import paths, and made the fifth identical tool call stop the task (23 Oct 2026); Version 1.14.0 removed CodeInterpreterTool and deprecated the code execution parameters (7 Apr 2026). Each is sourced in the section above.

### What is the best CrewAI alternative?
LangGraph is the most compared rival, with a stateful graph approach. Microsoft Agent Framework suits .NET teams, and Langflow or Dify suit teams wanting a visual builder.

### Is CrewAI better than LangGraph?
They solve orchestration differently: CrewAI uses role-based crews and tasks, LangGraph uses explicit state graphs. Pick by how much control over state and branching you need.

## Related on Zekai

- [LangChain / LangGraph alternatives](https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/langchain/)
- [n8n alternatives](https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/n8n/)
- [AI for Software Development](https://zekaiwork.com/professions/ai-software-development-code-automation/)

---
Live table, team cost finder and price alerts: https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/crewai/