Microsoft's open-source multi-agent framework — orchestrate conversations between specialised agents.
Multi-agentTool useCodeMemory
CrewAI vs Dustwhich AI ops agent should you pick in 2026?
Open-source framework for orchestrating role-playing autonomous AI agents in collaborative crews.
Multi-agentTool useMemory
CrewAI vs Dust — specs
| Spec | CrewAI | Dust |
|---|---|---|
| Agent Rank | 70 / 100 (B) | 77 / 100 (A) |
| Autonomy | Autonomous | Semi-autonomous |
| Pricing | Free · OSS | Subscription · from $29 |
| Open source | Yes | No |
| Capabilities | Multi-agent, Tool use, Memory | Tool use, Memory, RAG, Multi-agent |
| Integrations | 4 apps | 5 apps |
| Verified | Verified | — |
| Released | Jan 2024 | Mar 2025 |
Agent Rank breakdown
CrewAI
Agent Rank
70/ 100
- Autonomy
- 9
- Capabilities
- 6
- Integrations
- 2
- Pricing
- 10
- Polish
- 8
- Verifiability
- 7
Auto-computed from autonomy, capabilities, integrations, pricing, maturity and editorial verification. Updated every deploy. How is this computed?
Dust
Agent Rank
77/ 100
- Autonomy
- 8
- Capabilities
- 8
- Integrations
- 10
- Pricing
- 7
- Polish
- 7
- Verifiability
- 6
Auto-computed from autonomy, capabilities, integrations, pricing, maturity and editorial verification. Updated every deploy. How is this computed?
Pros & cons
CrewAI
Dust
Pros
- +"Multiplayer AI" — shared, governed workspaces designed for company-wide use
- +$40M Series B (Sequoia, Snowflake, Datadog) signals strong enterprise validation
- +Deepest connector library among agent platforms (Slack/Notion/GitHub/Salesforce/GDrive)
Cons
- −French roots — strongest support in EU/UK time zones
- −Higher per-seat pricing than Glean for read-only retrieval use cases
- −Custom agent authoring requires technical user (less low-code than Gumloop)
Pricing
CrewAI
Dust
Free
Free
Individuals
- +1 workspace
- +3 agents
- +GPT-4o + Claude 3.5
Recommended
Pro
$29/seat/mo
Teams
- +Unlimited agents
- +All integrations
- +Custom data sources
Enterprise
Custom
Large orgs
- +SSO + audit
- +Custom retention
- +Dedicated tenants
Which one should you pick?
CrewAI
Pick CrewAI if cost is the main constraint or if you want the highest autonomy and the verification loop is in place.
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Frequently asked
Should I pick CrewAI or Dust in 2026?+
Pick CrewAI if cost is the main constraint or if you want the highest autonomy and the verification loop is in place. Pick Dust if its specific capabilities (Tool use, Memory) match what you need. Most working teams running both can use CrewAI for primary work and Dust for the workflows where its specific strengths matter.
What's the price difference between CrewAI and Dust?+
CrewAI starts at Free · OSS; Dust starts at Subscription · from $29. CrewAI is the cheaper entry option. For team deployments the TCO can differ — use the AI Agent Rank TCO calculator for your specific volume.
Which is more autonomous, CrewAI or Dust?+
CrewAI is the more autonomous of the two (Autonomous vs Semi-autonomous). Higher autonomy ships throughput faster but requires verification loops in place — see our autonomous-vs-copilot framing for when each tier wins.
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See more alternatives: alternatives to CrewAI · alternatives to Dust
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