LlamaIndex vs Pydantic AI (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Pydantic AI grades higher than LlamaIndex: 3.0 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Pydantic AI grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
LlamaIndex
Document parsing and extraction platform for AI agents
Which one is for you
Pick LlamaIndex if
- Fits if you feed PDFs and other documents into language-model pipelines
- Works for developers who also use the open-source LlamaIndex libraries
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you do not write code, as it is an API product
- Pricey if you outgrow pay-as-you-go: Pro is $500 a month
- Tight if you stay free: about 1,000 pages once, and 1 project
- Watch out: layout-aware parsing modes cost more than 1 credit a page
- Watch out: SSO and VPC deployment are Enterprise only
Pick Pydantic AI if
- Fits if you write Python and want agent inputs and outputs type-checked
- Works for teams already using Pydantic that want to switch model providers without a rewrite
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a visual builder, because it is a code library only
- Not for you if you do not write Python, as there is no other language or no-code route
- Watch out: Logfire observability is separate, with Team at $49 and Growth at $249 a month
- Watch out: the AI Gateway adds a 5% markup on Personal and Team, 3% on Growth, unless you bring your own keys
- Tight if you need a paid support contract, since the SDK has no paid support tier
How we grade them
| 2.2GPALlamaIndexFair | 3.0GPAPydantic AIVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CPay-as-you-go is $0 a month with credits at $1.50 per 1,000. Pro is $500 a month, well above the category's $150 dearest-tenth start. | AThe SDK is free under the MIT licence, so it sits well under the category's $19.99 cheapest-quarter start. Your model provider bills you directly. |
| Free plan and trial | C10K free credits, about 1,000 pages, with 5 concurrent parse jobs and 1 project. A document pile will use that fast. | ANo paid plan exists for the SDK itself and nothing is capped, so everything it does is free. Only your model usage costs money. |
| Features | BParse, extract, classify, split and index, plus an agent builder and the open-source libraries. The listing shows no gap in the document-handling job. | BTyped agents, many model providers, evals, graphs, memory, guardrails and durable execution via Temporal, DBOS and Prefect. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core job of building agents in code. |
| Ease of use | DNo rating on record. It is used through an API and libraries, so developers do the setup. | DNo rating on record, and it is a Python library: you write code, manage dependencies and wire up your own tools. No visual editor. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb service and API, listed on AWS and Azure marketplaces with GitHub links. No desktop or phone app. | BRuns wherever Python runs, with MCP, AG-UI and a CLI, and works with OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, AWS Bedrock and Ollama. It is not an app, so there is no phone or desktop client. |
| Best for | parsing documents for AI agents | typed Python agents on any model |
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: LlamaIndex and Pydantic AI. How we grade
Price against what you get
LlamaIndex starts at $500 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Pydantic AI has no paid plan and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and Pydantic AI starts $500 a month lower. Of the other AI agents on the chart, 37 score higher than LlamaIndex for less, and none scores higher than Pydantic AI for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Pydantic AI is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- LlamaIndex also covers workflow automation.
At a glance
| LlamaIndex | Pydantic AI | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $500 per month (Pro), after pay-as-you-go from $0 | Free |
| Free plan | Pay-as-you-go plan: $0 a month with 10K free credits (about 1,000 pages), then $1.50 per 1,000 credits. | The SDK is free and MIT-licensed; you pay your model providers directly. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | LlamaIndex | Pydantic |
| Price read from | llamaindex.ai | pydantic.dev |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
LlamaIndex
- The pricing page covers LlamaParse only; the open-source LlamaIndex and Workflows libraries are separate and free.
- Cost scales with pages: parsing starts at 1 credit a page and layout-aware modes cost more.
- Pro is $500 a month; SSO, VPC deployment and custom BAAs need Enterprise.
- Pricing is shown separately for US and Europe regions; the figures here are the US page.
Pydantic AI
- It is a code library for Python; there is no hosted builder or visual editor.
- Observability through Logfire is a separate product: the free Personal plan covers 10M records a month, with Team at $49 and Growth at $249 a month.
- The AI Gateway charges a markup on built-in providers (5% on Personal and Team, 3% on Growth) unless you bring your own keys.
- Model usage is billed by whichever provider you connect.
Key features
LlamaIndex
- Parse
- Turns PDFs, Office files, spreadsheets and images into text, markdown or JSON, with table, chart and layout handling and several accuracy tiers.
- Extract, classify and split
- Schema-based extraction agents pull structured fields from documents, with citations and confidence scores; documents can also be classified and split.
- Index
- A chunking and embedding pipeline prepares documents for retrieval in RAG applications.
- Document agent builder
- A builder turns natural-language descriptions into workflows, with starter templates and one-click deploys from GitHub repositories.
- Open-source libraries
- LlamaIndex, Workflows and LiteParse are open-source projects the company maintains for building AI apps and parsing documents locally.
Pydantic AI
- Typed agent loop
- Agents with typed dependencies and structured output, where any supported model is a string swap and another can be set as a fallback.
- Many model providers
- The docs list providers including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, AWS Bedrock, Mistral, Groq, Ollama and OpenRouter.
- Harness capabilities
- Add-ons for memory, guardrails, sub-agents, planning, context management and persistence, up to a complete coding agent.
- Evals and graphs
- Pydantic Evals grades outputs and tool-call trajectories, and Pydantic Graph gives typed control flow, as separate open-source packages.
- Durable execution and interfaces
- Integrations with Temporal, DBOS, Prefect and others for long-running work, plus MCP, AG-UI, Vercel AI and a CLI.
Plans
LlamaIndex
Pay-as-you-go$0
per month, plus $1.50 per 1,000 credits
10K credits included, 5 concurrent parse jobs, 1 project and basic community support.
Pro$500
per month, with credits at $1.25 per 1,000
400K credits included, 20 concurrent jobs, 5 projects and priority Slack support; an 800K-credit bonus is offered for a limited time.
EnterpriseCustom
Volume credit discounts, 5x higher rate limits, SSO, VPC or hybrid deployment and a dedicated account manager.
Pydantic AI
Open source$0
Install the Python package and run agents in your own code; no paid plan exists for the SDK itself.
Ways to pay less
LlamaIndex
- Startups
Startup program with free credits
The pricing page invites startups to apply for free credits, dedicated support and community spotlights.
Pydantic AI
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, LlamaIndex or Pydantic AI?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Pydantic AI is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $500 a month for LlamaIndex. LlamaIndex starts at $500 per month (Pro), after pay-as-you-go from $0, and Pydantic AI is free.
Which has a free plan, LlamaIndex or Pydantic AI?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both LlamaIndex and Pydantic AI have a free plan.
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.