The LlamaIndex Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about LlamaIndex in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
LlamaIndex
The Insider’s Guide
Document parsing and extraction platform for AI agents
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among AI agents, read from LlamaIndex’s own pages.
Made by LlamaIndex · checked Nov 13, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from LlamaIndex’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on LlamaIndex’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Nov 13, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.2
GPA, above 81 of the 178 other AI agents we grade
LlamaIndex now centers on LlamaParse, a commercial platform that parses, extracts, splits, classifies and indexes documents so language models and agents can use them. The company also maintains the open-source LlamaIndex and Workflows libraries and LiteParse, a local parser. Pricing on the site is in credits.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about LlamaIndex, taken from its own pages and our grades.
It is used through an API and libraries, so developers do the setup.
- 1
Best for parsing documents for AI agents
LlamaIndex's hosted product, LlamaParse, turns documents into text and structured data for language models, and the company also keeps open-source libraries.
- 2
Paid plans start at $500 a month
As its pricing page puts it: $500 per month (Pro), after pay-as-you-go from $0.
- 3
There is a 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.
- 4
It runs on Web
Web.
- 5
Parse
Turns PDFs, Office files, spreadsheets and images into text, markdown or JSON, with table, chart and layout handling and several accuracy tiers.
- 6
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.
- 7
Index
A chunking and embedding pipeline prepares documents for retrieval in RAG applications.
- 8
A 2.2 GPA, above 81 of 178
That is against the other AI agents we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 9
Keep it
To replace LlamaIndex you would be making an AI agent, with the models and the safeguards behind it. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
LlamaIndex at a glance
- Pricing
- Free plan, from $500 per month (Pro), after pay-as-you-go from $0
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- None stated
- Runs on
- Web
- Made by
- LlamaIndex
- Category
- AI Agents
- Our grade
- 2.2 GPA, fair
The report card
Best for parsing documents for AI agents
LlamaIndex's hosted product, LlamaParse, turns documents into text and structured data for language models, and the company also keeps open-source libraries. It is priced in credits, and Pro starts at $500 a month.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C | Pay-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. |
| Free plan and trial | C | 10K free credits, about 1,000 pages, with 5 concurrent parse jobs and 1 project. A document pile will use that fast. |
| Features | B | Parse, extract, classify, split and index, plus an agent builder and the open-source libraries. The listing shows no gap in the document-handling job. |
| Ease of use | D | No rating on record. It is used through an API and libraries, so developers do the setup. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | Web service and API, listed on AWS and Azure marketplaces with GitHub links. No desktop or phone app. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who LlamaIndex is for
- Fits if you feed PDFs and other documents into language-model pipelines
- Works for developers who also use the open-source LlamaIndex libraries
Who it is not for
- 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
Good to know
Good for
- Developers feeding complex documents into RAG or agent pipelines
- Teams automating document-heavy work such as invoices or claims
- Builders who want open-source libraries with an optional paid parser
Worth knowing
- 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.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$500
A month to start. There is a free plan too
LlamaIndex has a free plan. Paid plans start at $500 per month (Pro), after pay-as-you-go from $0.
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.
Enterprise
Custom
Volume credit discounts, 5x higher rate limits, SSO, VPC or hybrid deployment and a dedicated account manager.
The 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.
Read from llamaindex.ai on Nov 13, 2026.
Ways to pay less
Startups
Startup program with free credits
The pricing page invites startups to apply for free credits, dedicated support and community spotlights.
Stated on llamaindex.ai
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
1
Place it runs: Web
Document parsing and extraction platform for AI agents. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: open source, workflow automation, AI agents.
Parse, extract, classify, split and index, plus an agent builder and the open-source libraries.
- 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.
Where it runs
- Web
What it works with
- AWS Marketplace
- Azure Marketplace
- GitHub
LlamaIndex is made by LlamaIndex.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
81/178
Other AI agents it is graded above
LlamaIndex's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 81 of the 178 other AI agents we grade, and level with 41.
It stands best on features (B, above 133 of 178) and worst on ease of use (D, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $500 a month, against a middle price of $25 for the category: 95 of the 98 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 37 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 179 AI agents we grade, cut by the letter each got. LlamaIndex’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 28 of 178
- CFree plan and trialAbove 64 of 178
- BFeaturesAbove 133 of 178
- DEase of useAbove 0 of 178
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 47 of 178
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 109 AI agents. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. LlamaIndex is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
To replace LlamaIndex you would be making an AI agent, with the models and the safeguards behind it. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
It costs $6,000 a year. LlamaIndex is open source, so there is a third way: take its code and run it yourself.
What you could not
- An AI agent, with the models and the safeguards behind it.
- Connections to other products, each kept working as those products change.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. LlamaIndex’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
LangGraph, CrewAI, Agno, Pydantic AI and Griptape
The 5 tools LlamaIndex is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.6GPA
LangGraph
Free plan · from $39/mo
Open-source framework for building controllable AI agents.
- LangGraph is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- 2.2GPA
CrewAI
Free plan
Multi-agent platform to build, run and govern AI agents.
- CrewAI also covers no-code.
- 2.2GPA
Agno
Free plan · from $150/mo
Open-source agent runtime with a hosted control plane.
- Agno is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- LlamaIndex also covers workflow automation.
- 3.0GPA
Pydantic AI
Free
Typed Python SDK for building AI agents.
- Pydantic AI is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- LlamaIndex also covers workflow automation.
- 2.4GPA
Griptape
Free plan · from $40/mo
Visual AI workflows plus a Python framework for agents.
- Only Griptape lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps.
- Griptape also covers no-code.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
13
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is LlamaIndex free?
LlamaIndex has a 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.
How much does LlamaIndex cost?
LlamaIndex lists 3 plans. Pay-as-you-go: $0 per month, plus $1.50 per 1,000 credits.
What platforms does LlamaIndex work on?
LlamaIndex is available on Web.
Does LlamaIndex offer any discounts?
LlamaIndex publicly lists the following: Startup program with free credits.
Does LlamaIndex have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. LlamaIndex is listed for Web.
Does LlamaIndex have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. LlamaIndex is listed for Web.
Is LlamaIndex open source?
Yes. LlamaIndex is open source, according to its own site.
What does LlamaIndex integrate with?
LlamaIndex's listing names AWS Marketplace, Azure Marketplace and GitHub.
Who makes LlamaIndex?
LlamaIndex is made by a company of the same name.
What are the alternatives to LlamaIndex?
The closest alternatives to LlamaIndex in our directory are LangGraph, CrewAI, Agno, Pydantic AI and Griptape.
How does LlamaIndex compare with other AI agents?
LlamaIndex's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 81 of the 178 other AI agents we grade, and level with 41.
Is LlamaIndex good value for money?
ToolGPA grades LlamaIndex C for value for money. Its paid plans start at $500 a month, against a middle price of $25 for the category: 95 of the 98 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of LlamaIndex?
To replace LlamaIndex you would be making an AI agent, with the models and the safeguards behind it.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from LlamaIndex’s own pages on Nov 13, 2026, and the grades were given on Nov 13, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from LlamaIndex's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by LlamaIndex. Prices change, so check llamaindex.ai before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
7,721
Tools graded, in 95 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
7,721
tools graded
95
categories
739
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- LlamaIndex, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/llamaindex
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "LlamaIndex: The Insider's Guide", checked Nov 13, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/llamaindex
Know someone choosing between AI agents?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/llamaindex/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded AI agents after LlamaIndex, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- AI Agents Insider's GuideEvery one of the 179 AI agents we grade, compared
- Genspark Insider's GuideAI workspace with an agent for research, slides, sheets and docs3.2 GPA
- Manus Insider's GuideGeneral AI agent for research, slides, websites and browser tasks3.2 GPA
- OpenClaw Insider's GuideOpen-source personal AI agent you run yourself and message in chat3.2 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what LlamaIndex’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. LlamaIndex is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by LlamaIndex. Prices and plans change: check llamaindex.ai before you buy.