Haystack vs LangChain
Haystack and LangChain are both agent frameworks for Python. Haystack is published by deepset and LangChain by LangChain. On GitHub, LangChain has 148,371 stars and Haystack has 26,826. 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. Haystack describes itself as: Open-source Python framework from deepset for modular pipelines and agent workflows covering retrieval, tool use and generation. LangChain: Python framework of interoperable components and integrations for building agents and LLM apps, with LangGraph and Deep Agents layered above it. Licenses: Haystack Apache-2.0, LangChain MIT.
Updated Oct 26, 2026 · Built from catalog data; how we rank and grade
Haystack
deepset
Open-source Python framework from deepset for modular pipelines and agent workflows covering retrieval, tool use and generation.
LangChain
LangChain
Python framework of interoperable components and integrations for building agents and LLM apps, with LangGraph and Deep Agents layered above it.
Who should pick which
- LangChain has the larger community: 148,371 GitHub stars against 26,826.
From listing data only. We don't pick a winner on security beyond the grades; read how grades work.
Side by side
| Fact | Haystack | LangChain |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Harness | Harness |
| Publisher | deepset | LangChain |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| 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 | 26,826 | 148,371 |
| Weekly downloads | 145,310 | 37,334,710 |
| Last release | Oct 21, 2026 | Oct 22, 2026 |
| Last activity | Oct 24, 2026 | Oct 24, 2026 |
Facts from each listing's public sources, checked daily. Tool lists arrive with tool scans.
Install
Haystack
pip install haystack-ai
LangChain
pip install langchain
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 - 0.748score
LangGraph
LangChain
Low-level Python orchestration framework for long-running stateful agents, with durable execution, human review points and short- and long-term memory.
HarnessAFreshness: A★ 43.8K↓ 13.1M/wk - 0.732score
CrewAI
CrewAI
Open-source Python framework for multi-agent workflows, with role-based Crews and event-driven Flows.
HarnessAFreshness: A★ 60.1K↓ 644.6K/wk
Questions
- Is Haystack or LangChain more popular?
- LangChain has more GitHub stars (148,371 against 26,826). Stars measure attention, not quality, so check freshness and docs too.
- Are Haystack and LangChain open source?
- Yes: Haystack is Apache-2.0 and LangChain is MIT.
Related
Cite this page
Haystack vs LangChain. Agent Mart. https://agentmart.dev/compare/haystack-vs-langchain (last updated 2026-10-26)