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AI Tool Comparison

LangChain vs LlamaIndex

A side-by-side breakdown to help you pick the right tool for your workflow.

LangChain logo

LangChain

Assemble LLM-powered apps and agents from composable building blocks, with LangSmith adding tracing, evaluation, and deployment. Platform rebranded — LangGraph Platform is now LangSmith Deployment.

Developer Tools
freemium
Visit site Full review →
LlamaIndex logo

LlamaIndex

Connect your own data to LLMs for retrieval-augmented generation — LlamaParse (formerly LlamaCloud) automates document parsing, extraction, and indexing for agentic workflows.

Developer Tools
freemium
Visit site Full review →

Bottom Line

LangChain and LlamaIndex are rated evenly — the right pick comes down to which workflow you're running.

Choose LangChain if…

Developer Tools

Choose LlamaIndex if…

Developer Tools

AttributeLangChainLlamaIndex
CategoryDeveloper ToolsDeveloper Tools
Pricingfreemiumfreemium
Pricing DetailFree (5K traces) / $39/seat/mo Plus / Enterprise customFree (10K credits) / $5,000/mo Starter cap / Pro custom
Rating4.44.4

Key Features

LangChain

  • Chains and agents
  • Retrieval (RAG) primitives
  • Memory and tool integrations
  • LangSmith observability

LlamaIndex

  • Data ingestion and indexing
  • Advanced retrieval and query engines
  • Agents and workflows
  • LlamaCloud and LlamaParse

Pros

LangChain

  • Huge integration ecosystem
  • Rapid prototyping
  • Strong community

LlamaIndex

  • Best-in-class for RAG
  • Many data connectors
  • Good query abstractions

Cons

LangChain

  • Abstractions can be heavy
  • Frequent API changes

LlamaIndex

  • Overlaps with LangChain
  • Learning curve for advanced features

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