# LlamaIndex vs Haystack: license, pricing and features compared (October 2026)

Canonical: https://theagenticweekly.com/compare/llamaindex-vs-haystack · Last verified: 2026-10-26 · Published: 2026-10-25 · Author: Agentic Weekly (operated independently from Texas, US) · Evidence: Evidence: Both tools have a Tested entry (scope on each tool page). The facts in the tables were read from each vendor's own pages and the public GitHub API on 2026-10-25 (America/Chicago) and are Reported. The What we measured section lists what we have actually run, with links to the test logs, and what we have not run yet; anything we could not confirm is marked as not captured.

**Our pick:** Pick LlamaIndex for RAG and document-question-answering projects; pick Haystack for production RAG pipelines. No overall winner: we have not benchmarked them against each other. **Updated:** 2026-10-26 (America/Chicago).

> LlamaIndex and Haystack are both listed under Agent building. License: LlamaIndex is MIT; Haystack is Apache-2.0. GitHub stars on Oct 25, 2026: LlamaIndex 52,662 (run-llama/llama_index) vs Haystack 26,842 (deepset-ai/haystack). Stars measure attention, not quality. LlamaIndex is the better fit for: RAG and document-question-answering projects. Haystack is the better fit for: production RAG pipelines. Facts were read from vendor and GitHub pages on Oct 25, 2026 and are Reported; what we ran ourselves is under What we measured.

## What we measured

We ran both LlamaIndex and Haystack ourselves; the table links each full test log. These are smoke tests on one CPU-only machine, not benchmarks. Both ran the same task on the same local model, so the two results are comparable on that one task only. Model-driven runs used a small local Qwen2.5-3B-Instruct model.

Table: Our own tests for LlamaIndex and Haystack

| Test | LlamaIndex | Haystack |
|---|---|---|
| Hands-on test log (install and a real task) | Tested: LlamaIndex 0.14.25, Oct 25, 2026: passed. LlamaIndex 0.14.25 passed our one-tool task on a local 3B model: 3 of 3 trials; cold uv install 3.4 s. [Full test log](https://theagenticweekly.com/tests/llamaindex) | Tested: Haystack 3.4.1, Oct 25, 2026: passed. Haystack 3.4.1 passed our one-tool task on a local 3B model: 3 of 3 trials; cold uv install 2.3 s. [Full test log](https://theagenticweekly.com/tests/haystack) |

How we test and label results: [methodology](https://theagenticweekly.com/methodology#testing-rig). All test logs: [test hub](https://theagenticweekly.com/tests).

## LlamaIndex vs Haystack at a glance

LlamaIndex and Haystack are both listed under Agent building. Agentic Weekly's LlamaIndex page names Haystack as an alternative. LlamaIndex: Open-source data framework for retrieval-augmented generation and document-centred agents, with a hosted document platform alongside. Haystack: Apache-2.0 Python framework for building search, RAG and agent pipelines, maintained by deepset.

Table: LlamaIndex and Haystack side by side (vendor pages and GitHub, 2026-10-25)

|  | LlamaIndex | Haystack |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor | LlamaIndex | deepset |
| Listed under | Agent building | Agent building |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Pricing model | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Free tier | Free to self-host | Free to self-host |
| Paid plans | None listed for the library | None listed for the library |
| Platforms | Python and TypeScript libraries; hosted cloud product | Python |
| Public repository | run-llama/llama_index: 52,662 stars, last push Oct 23, 2026 UTC (GitHub API, Oct 25, 2026) | deepset-ai/haystack: 26,842 stars, last push Oct 24, 2026 UTC (GitHub API, Oct 25, 2026) |
| Latest release we saw | v0.14.25, Sep 21, 2026 | v3.4.1, Oct 21, 2026 |
| Evidence | Tested (scope on its tool page) | Tested (scope on its tool page) |

## How LlamaIndex and Haystack differ

- License: LlamaIndex is MIT; Haystack is Apache-2.0.
- GitHub stars on Oct 25, 2026: LlamaIndex 52,662 (run-llama/llama_index) vs Haystack 26,842 (deepset-ai/haystack). Stars measure attention, not quality.
- Plans and prices differ and are not like-for-like (credits, seats and usage limits vary), so we do not name a cheaper tool. The Paid plans row above quotes each vendor's plan list as read on Oct 25, 2026.
- Latest release we saw: Haystack v3.4.1 on Oct 21, 2026; LlamaIndex v0.14.25 on Sep 21, 2026 (30 days earlier).
- Platforms as the vendors list them: LlamaIndex: Python and TypeScript libraries; hosted cloud product. Haystack: Python.

Both are listed as "Free and open source", so compare the plan tables rather than the model.

## Which should you pick?

- Pick LlamaIndex if: RAG and document-question-answering projects; teams with lots of PDFs and unstructured data. Skip it if: you need a general multi-agent orchestrator rather than data tooling.
- Pick Haystack if: production RAG pipelines; teams that like explicit pipeline components. Skip it if: you want a visual builder.

## Strengths and limits

Table: Strengths and limits as listed on each tool page

|  | LlamaIndex | Haystack |
|---|---|---|
| Strengths | Strong data-ingestion focus; MIT license | Apache-2.0; Active releases |
| Limits | Hosted product pricing not read here; Our test was one small task on a local 3B model; it does not show behaviour with hosted models or larger jobs | Python only; Our test was one small task on a local 3B model; it does not show behaviour with hosted models or larger jobs |

## What we did not verify

- LlamaIndex: Hosted product pricing.
- Haystack: Hosted platform pricing.
- Output quality, speed and reliability beyond the smoke tests listed under What we measured: not compared.

## FAQ

### Is LlamaIndex or Haystack open source?

LlamaIndex: MIT. Haystack: Apache-2.0. Licenses come from each project's GitHub repository or the vendor's own pages, read Oct 25, 2026; read the license text itself before redistributing or building a competing service.

### Does LlamaIndex or Haystack have a free plan?

LlamaIndex: Free: to self-host. Haystack: Free: to self-host. Checked Oct 25, 2026; prices and limits change, so confirm on each vendor's page.

### Which was updated more recently, LlamaIndex or Haystack?

LlamaIndex's newest release we saw is v0.14.25 (Sep 21, 2026); Haystack's is v3.4.1 (Oct 21, 2026). Read Oct 25, 2026 from the official release page or repository; a newer date is not a quality ranking.

### What is the main difference between LlamaIndex and Haystack?

License: LlamaIndex is MIT; Haystack is Apache-2.0. GitHub stars on Oct 25, 2026: LlamaIndex 52,662 (run-llama/llama_index) vs Haystack 26,842 (deepset-ai/haystack). Stars measure attention, not quality.

## Sources

- [LlamaIndex](https://www.llamaindex.ai/) (fetched 2026-10-25)
- [LlamaIndex repository (GitHub)](https://github.com/run-llama/llama_index) (fetched 2026-10-25)
- [Haystack](https://haystack.deepset.ai/) (fetched 2026-10-25)
- [Haystack repository (GitHub)](https://github.com/deepset-ai/haystack) (fetched 2026-10-25)

## Related

- [LlamaIndex facts and sources](https://theagenticweekly.com/tools/llamaindex)
- [Haystack facts and sources](https://theagenticweekly.com/tools/haystack)
- [Alternatives to LlamaIndex](https://theagenticweekly.com/alternatives/llamaindex)
- [Alternatives to Haystack](https://theagenticweekly.com/alternatives/haystack)
- [Agent building: all tools we track](https://theagenticweekly.com/best/agent-building)
- [LangChain vs LlamaIndex](https://theagenticweekly.com/compare/langchain-vs-llamaindex)
- [LangChain vs Haystack](https://theagenticweekly.com/compare/langchain-vs-haystack)

## Changelog

- 2026-10-25: First published. Facts read from vendor pages and the GitHub API on 2026-10-25.

## How to cite

Agentic Weekly, "LlamaIndex vs Haystack: license, pricing and features compared (October 2026)", last updated 2026-10-26, https://theagenticweekly.com/compare/llamaindex-vs-haystack