| Feature / Concern | ADK | LangChain / LangGraph | CrewAI | Microsoft AutoGen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core focus | Modular agents, tools, workflows; strong dev UX (CLI/UI) | General LLM app framework; LangGraph for durable, controllable agents | Role-based multi-agent "crews" + Flows for deterministic orchestration | Event-driven multi-agent conversations; humans/tools/LLMs in the loop |
| Built-in tools | Google Search, code exec, RAG, etc. (Gemini-focused) | Many integrations via toolkits; now nudging toward LangGraph for agents | Rich agent roles/tools; expanding code-exec features | Agents, tools, human-in-the-loop; code agents; AutoGen Studio (UI) |
| Models | Gemini-first, but model-agnostic (GPT/Claude supported) | Open, many providers; strong ecosystem | Open; supports multiple providers | Open; supports multiple providers |
| Workflows | Sequential, Parallel, Loop agents first-class | Compose graphs with nodes/edges, retries, persistence | Crews (autonomy) & Flows (determinism) | Multi-agent chat, tools; custom routing patterns |
| Dev tooling | adk CLI, local web UI; samples/codelabs |
LangSmith/LangGraph Platform, tracing, eval | CLI + templates; community courses; quickstart | SDK + examples; AutoGen Studio research tool |
| Productionization | Vertex AI alignment; local-to-cloud paths | LangGraph deploy, platform features | Python-first; community driven | Python-first; event-driven scaling |
| Where it shines | Opinionated agent workflows, built-ins, DX | Huge ecosystem + graph control | Team-of-agents persona workflows | Conversational multi-agent protocols |
| Watch-outs | Some built-ins are Gemini-only and may be root-agent only | Rapidly evolving APIs (LangGraph migration) | Autonomy can be harder to constrain | Conversation-centric design requires orchestration care |
Use this table to position your project. If you need first-class workflow agents and an integrated DX, ADK is a great starting point. If you want maximal ecosystem plugins or graph semantics, evaluate LangGraph. If you like persona teams, try CrewAI. If you want event-driven multi-agent chat protocols, try AutoGen.