CrewAI vs Hugging Face smolagents
CrewAI and Hugging Face smolagents are both agent frameworks for Python. CrewAI is published by CrewAI and Hugging Face smolagents by Hugging Face. On GitHub, CrewAI has 60,066 stars and Hugging Face smolagents has 30,029. Both were last active in Oct 2026. The table lines up where they differ (publisher, license and weekly downloads) and has the install commands for both. Everything here comes from the listings' public sources and is refreshed daily. CrewAI describes itself as: Open-source Python framework for multi-agent workflows, with role-based Crews and event-driven Flows. Hugging Face smolagents: Small Python library whose agents write their actions as code, with sandboxed execution and tools from MCP servers, LangChain or the Hub. Licenses: CrewAI MIT, Hugging Face smolagents Apache-2.0.
Updated Oct 26, 2026 · Built from catalog data; how we rank and grade
CrewAI
CrewAI
Open-source Python framework for multi-agent workflows, with role-based Crews and event-driven Flows.
Hugging Face smolagents
Hugging Face
Small Python library whose agents write their actions as code, with sandboxed execution and tools from MCP servers, LangChain or the Hub.
Who should pick which
- Pick CrewAI if you need several agents working together.
- Pick Hugging Face smolagents if you want MCP support built in.
- CrewAI has the larger community: 60,066 GitHub stars against 30,029.
From listing data only. We don't pick a winner on security beyond the grades; read how grades work.
Side by side
| Fact | CrewAI | Hugging Face smolagents |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Harness | Harness |
| Publisher | CrewAI | Hugging Face |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Pricing | Not stated | Not stated |
| Runs | Not stated | Not stated |
| Auth | Not stated | Not stated |
| Hosts supported | Not stated | Not stated |
| Tools | Not listed yet | Not listed yet |
| Security grade | –Security: not graded yet | –Security: not graded yet |
| Freshness grade | AFreshness: A | AFreshness: A |
| GitHub stars | 60,066 | 30,029 |
| Weekly downloads | 644,597 | 138,942 |
| Last release | Oct 24, 2026 | May 29, 2026 |
| Last activity | Oct 24, 2026 | Oct 6, 2026 |
Facts from each listing's public sources, checked daily. Tool lists arrive with tool scans.
Install
CrewAI
pip install crewai
Hugging Face smolagents
pip install smolagents
Also consider
- 0.853score
LlamaIndex
LlamaIndex
Open-source Python toolkit for RAG and agents over your own data, with event-driven workflows and 300+ integration packages.
HarnessAFreshness: A★ 52.6K↓ 1.4M/wk - 0.851score
Strands Agents
AWS
Open-source Python and TypeScript SDK for model-driven agents, with tools, MCP, multi-agent patterns and streaming.
HarnessAFreshness: A★ 8.9K↓ 8.9M/wk - 0.841score
GitHub Copilot SDK
GitHub
Multi-language SDKs for embedding the GitHub Copilot agent runtime, with planning, tool calls and file edits, in your apps.
HarnessAFreshness: A★ 10.6K↓ 1.2M/wk
Questions
- Is CrewAI or Hugging Face smolagents more popular?
- CrewAI has more GitHub stars (60,066 against 30,029). Stars measure attention, not quality, so check freshness and docs too.
- Are CrewAI and Hugging Face smolagents open source?
- Yes: CrewAI is MIT and Hugging Face smolagents is Apache-2.0.
Related
- AlternativesAlternatives to CrewAI
- AlternativesAlternatives to Hugging Face smolagents
- Best ofBest agent frameworks for Python
- ComparisonCrewAI vs Strands Agents
- ComparisonCrewAI vs GitHub Copilot SDK
- ComparisonCrewAI vs Genkit
- ComparisonHugging Face smolagents vs LangChain
- ComparisonHugging Face smolagents vs LlamaIndex
Cite this page
CrewAI vs Hugging Face smolagents. Agent Mart. https://agentmart.dev/compare/crewai-vs-hugging-face-smolagents (last updated 2026-10-26)