CrewAI vs Factory (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Factory grades higher than CrewAI: 2.6 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Factory grades higher on the free plan and features. They get the same grade on value for money, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Factory
Coding agents called Droids for desktop, terminal and web
Which one is for you
Pick CrewAI if
- Fits if you want to try multi-agent workflows in a visual editor
- Works for a company that wants a VPC or self-run deployment
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you build for real: 2 automations and 50 executions a month
- Not for you if you want a self-serve paid plan, as none is published
- Watch out: SSO, role-based access and enterprise connectors are Enterprise only
- Skip it if you want instant sign-up for Enterprise, which starts with a trial request and a 45-day onboarding
Pick Factory if
- Fits if you already pay for ChatGPT or Copilot and want to run a coding agent on it
- Works for a developer who wants desktop, terminal and SDK in one product
Look elsewhere if
- Watch out: the page shows monthly figures without saying whether they are billed monthly or annually
- Pricey if you want more usage: Plus and Max are only 5x and 10x Pro with no token numbers
- Not for you if you need SSO, SAML or audit logs, which are Business and Enterprise with no price
- Tight if you are a group over 10, as Teams covers up to 10 seats
How we grade them
| 2.2GPACrewAIFair | 2.6GPAFactoryGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CThe page lists only Free and a custom Enterprise, with no self-serve paid price to compare. | CPro is $20 a month, in the middle of the category, with Plus at $100 and Max at $200. |
| Free plan and trial | CFree has 2 automations and a hard cap of 50 executions a month, with no overage option. | BFree works if you sign in with ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot or OpenRouter, or use your own keys, so the model costs are yours. |
| Features | CVisual editor, role-based agents, tracing and governance, but SSO, RBAC and connectors are Enterprise only. | BDroids across desktop, terminal, web and SDK, with code review, automations and analytics; the listing shows no gap in the core job. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You design agents, roles and workflows yourself. | CNo store rating on record. It has a terminal quickstart and model and key setup to do. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with seven integrations and flexible deployment on Enterprise, including a VPC or your own servers. | BWeb, Mac, Windows and Linux with four integrations; no phone app is listed. |
| Best for | building multi-agent workflows | coding agents called Droids |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: CrewAI and Factory. How we grade
Where they differ
- CrewAI is open source, according to its own site.
- CrewAI also covers no-code.
At a glance
| CrewAI | Factory | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | Not published | $20 per individual / month (billing basis not stated) |
| Free plan | Basic plan: visual editor and AI copilot, GitHub integration, 2 automations and 50 workflow executions a month. | Bring your own inference by signing in with ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot or OpenRouter, or by connecting your own API keys. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Made by | CrewAI | The San Francisco AI Factory, Inc. |
| Price read from | crewai.com | factory.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
CrewAI
- The pricing page lists only Free and Enterprise; there is no published self-serve paid tier.
- The free plan stops at 2 automations and 50 executions a month, with no overage option.
- SSO, role-based access, enterprise connectors and dedicated support are Enterprise only.
- Enterprise starts with a trial request and a 45-day onboarding, not instant sign-up.
Factory
- The pricing page shows monthly figures without saying whether they are billed monthly or annually.
- Plus and Max are described only as roughly 5x and 10x the usage of Pro; no token or task numbers are given.
- Business and Enterprise have no published price, and SSO, SAML/SCIM and audit logging sit behind them.
- The Teams plan covers up to 10 seats; larger groups are routed to sales.
Key features
CrewAI
- Visual editor and AI copilot
- A no-code canvas builder, guided by an AI copilot, that can be exported to Python code.
- Role-based agents and workflows
- Agents are given roles, and deterministic workflows control how they hand work to each other.
- Tracing and evaluation
- Tracing of every LLM call, tool call and memory read with cost accounting, plus OpenTelemetry and LLM testing.
- Governance controls
- Human-in-the-loop approval gates, guardrails, and on Enterprise, SSO, role-based access and PII redaction hooks.
- Flexible deployment
- Run on CrewAI cloud; Enterprise adds a dedicated VPC or the customer's own infrastructure. Agents can be exported as an MCP server.
Factory
- Droid agents
- Droids plan, build and validate changes in a repository. The CLI quickstart shows the agent proposing edits and waiting for review before it changes files.
- Desktop, terminal, web and SDK
- The homepage lists desktop, terminal, web and CLI surfaces, and the docs cover an SDK, a sessions API and a non-interactive exec mode.
- Model routing
- Tasks can be routed across models, and the pricing page says the platform supports frontier and open-weight models from several providers.
- Code review and Automations
- Droids can review pull requests with inline comments, and Automations put repeated engineering work on a schedule.
- Analytics and Agent Readiness
- Per-developer and per-team usage reports, plus a readiness score for each repository, are listed as enterprise-facing features.
- Governance and deployment options
- Business and Enterprise plans add SSO, audit logging, zero data retention and admin controls, and Enterprise lists on-premise deployment.
Plans
CrewAI
Basic$0
Visual editor, AI copilot, tracing and GitHub integration; 2 automations and a hard cap of 50 executions a month.
EnterpriseCustom
SSO, RBAC, PII redaction, enterprise connectors, dedicated support, and deployment on CrewAI cloud, a VPC or your own servers.
Factory
Free$0
per individual / month
Bring your own inference: sign in with ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot or OpenRouter, or use your own API keys or endpoint.
Pro$20
per individual / month, billing basis not stated
Desktop, CLI and SDK access with full model availability.
Plus$100
per individual / month, billing basis not stated
Everything in Pro with about 5x the usage.
Max$200
per individual / month, billing basis not stated
Everything in Pro with about 10x the usage.
Teams$60
per team / month, plus $40 per individual / month
Everything in Pro for up to 10 seats, with centralized billing.
Business and EnterpriseCustom
Sold through sales: custom limits, SSO, SAML/SCIM, audit logs; Enterprise adds on-premise options and data residency.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, CrewAI or Factory?
As of Nov 12, 2026, CrewAI publishes no starting price, and Factory starts at $20 per individual / month (billing basis not stated).
Which has a free plan, CrewAI or Factory?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both CrewAI and Factory have a free plan.
Which platforms do CrewAI and Factory run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Factory lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.