# Google ADK v2.13.0: what's new, verdict & setup Canonical: https://theagenticweekly.com/tools/google-adk · Released: 2026-10-22 · Last verified: 2026-10-25 · Evidence: Tested (smoke test, 2026-10-25, local Qwen2.5-3B-Instruct, not vendor models) · Vendor: Google · Official site: https://github.com/google/adk-python > Open-source, code-first Python toolkit for building, evaluating and deploying agents. ## Verdict **Update with care: a big, useful release for Gemini users, but it includes a telemetry default change.** Good for: - Python teams building on Gemini or Google Cloud - Developers who need live voice agents - Teams who want MongoDB-backed sessions and memory Skip if: - You need identical telemetry across upgrades; defaults changed - You are not using Python Tested. Tested 2026-10-25 (America/Chicago). Installed google-adk 2.13.0 into a fresh Python 3.13 venv (plus litellm for a non-Gemini model). Ran an Agent with a Python function tool on InMemoryRunner against a local Ollama model: the agent called word_count, got {'count': 6} and answered 6, which is correct. Not tested: Gemini models, live voice, MongoDB sessions, the 2.13.0 telemetry default change or the vendor's 8x claim. Test environment: Linux x86_64 box with 8 CPUs and no GPU, no vendor account or API key. Agent tools were pointed at a local open-weight model (Qwen2.5-3B-Instruct, 4-bit, served by Ollama 0.40.11), so we tested the tool, not any vendor's hosted models. Extended 2026-10-25: Google ADK (Python) 2.13.0 passed our one-tool task on a local 3B model: 3 of 3 trials; cold uv install 1.7 s. Full log: /tests/google-adk. Test scope: - Kind and date: smoke test, 2026-10-25 (America/Chicago). Not a benchmark. - What we ran: Installed google-adk 2.13.0 (plus litellm for a non-Gemini model) and ran an Agent with one Python function tool on InMemoryRunner; the agent called the tool and answered 6 (correct). Extended: Google ADK (Python) 2.13.0 passed our one-tool task on a local 3B model: 3 of 3 trials; cold uv install 1.7 s. - Model used: Qwen2.5-3B-Instruct (4-bit), a small local open-weight model served by Ollama 0.40.11; no vendor-hosted model was used - Environment: Linux x86_64 box, 8 CPUs, no GPU; no vendor account, login or API key - Not tested: Gemini models, live voice, MongoDB sessions, the 2.13.0 telemetry default change, the vendor's 8x claim; Any vendor-hosted model: everything ran on a local 3B model, so tool-call reliability with frontier models is not measured here; Multi-agent flows, memory, long conversations, streaming, tracing and cloud deployment; Anything beyond one tool and one question; three trials is a smoke test, not a benchmark. Full test log (commands, versions, raw output): [Google ADK (Python) 2.13.0: our test log](https://theagenticweekly.com/tests/google-adk) Pricing: Not verified. We have not verified pricing for this tool; see the official site. ## Best for - [Best AI tool for agent building](https://theagenticweekly.com/best/agent-building) (#4): Apache-2.0 toolkit with evaluation, live audio and new MongoDB services. ## What's new ADK for Python 2.13.0 promotes 12 experimental features to stable, adds a classifier node for fast workflow routing, live audio with barge-in, and MongoDB session and memory services. - 2.13.0 (Oct 22): 12 mature experimental features are now stable. - New TypesafeClassifier and ClassifierNode route workflows with calibrated probabilities in one forward pass instead of an LLM call. - Live audio interactions with barge-in alongside Gemini speech-to-text and text-to-speech. - MongoDbSessionService and MongoDbMemoryService (experimental) persist sessions and long-term memory. - Up to 8x faster execution turns for string-model agents. Breaking: telemetry now defaults to OpenTelemetry GenAI v2. ## How to set it up: Install ADK Install steps come from the vendor's docs. We ran the install and a short real task on 2026-10-25; see the test notes above for what was and was not covered. 1. **Install the package.** The README gives pip. If you hit dependency conflicts it also documents a constraints file. ``` pip install google-adk ``` 2. **Optional extras.** Install the extensions bundle if you need integrations. ``` pip install "google-adk[extensions]" ``` 3. **Read the 2.13.0 breaking changes.** Telemetry defaults to OpenTelemetry GenAI v2 and removes call_llm. Check the release notes before upgrading production agents. ## Pros and cons Pros: - Apache-2.0 license - Broad feature set: eval, live audio, memory services - Detailed release notes with a breaking-change section Cons: - Breaking telemetry default in 2.13.0 - Several new services are experimental - We only ran it against a local model through LiteLLM, not Gemini, and did not test the telemetry change ## Alternatives - [OpenAI Agents SDK](https://theagenticweekly.com/tools/openai-agents-sdk): Lightweight Python framework for multi-agent workflows, with tools, handoffs, sessions and tracing. - [LangGraph](https://theagenticweekly.com/tools/langgraph): Low-level framework for building long-running, stateful agents as graphs. - [CrewAI](https://theagenticweekly.com/tools/crewai): Python framework for orchestrating role-playing, autonomous AI agents that work as a crew. - [Langflow](https://theagenticweekly.com/tools/langflow): MIT-licensed visual builder for AI agents and MCP servers with a very large GitHub following. - [Botpress](https://theagenticweekly.com/tools/botpress): Customer-support AI agent platform with a free plan and conversation-based paid plans. - [Gumloop](https://theagenticweekly.com/tools/gumloop): Agent builder for teams; plans start at $37 per month with 20k included credits. - [Lindy](https://theagenticweekly.com/tools/lindy): AI 'employee' builder that connects to your tools; Free plan with $50 in credits that last 7 days, then credit-based plans. - [Microsoft Copilot Studio](https://theagenticweekly.com/tools/copilot-studio): Microsoft's platform for creating and managing custom agents, workflows and apps with no code. - [Pydantic AI](https://theagenticweekly.com/tools/pydantic-ai): Python agent framework built on Pydantic types, covering agents, realtime voice, image generation and embeddings. - [Relevance AI](https://theagenticweekly.com/tools/relevance-ai): Platform for specialist AI agents for sales, customer success, marketing and HR, with an embedded deployment team. - [Voiceflow](https://theagenticweekly.com/tools/voiceflow): Platform for chat and voice AI agents for customer experience teams. - [Vercel AI SDK](https://theagenticweekly.com/tools/vercel-ai-sdk): Vercel's TypeScript SDK that gives one API across many model providers, with streaming and agent helpers. ## FAQ ### What is new in ADK 2.13.0? 12 features promoted to stable, a classifier node, live audio with barge-in, MongoDB session and memory services, faster execution turns, and a default telemetry change. ### How do I install ADK? pip install google-adk. ### Is ADK only for Gemini? We did not verify other model support in the README; it is a general toolkit but Google's own models are the focus. ## What we have not verified - Support for non-Google models - Real-world performance claims (the 8x figure is the vendor's) ## Sources - [ADK 2.13.0 release](https://github.com/google/adk-python/releases/tag/v2.13.0) (fetched 2026-10-25) - [README](https://github.com/google/adk-python) (fetched 2026-10-25) ## How to cite Agentic Weekly, "Google ADK v2.13.0: what's new, verdict & setup", last updated 2026-10-25, https://theagenticweekly.com/tools/google-adk Keep the Reported or Tested label when you quote the verdict.