LlamaIndexvsSemantic Kernel

Full side-by-side comparison — features, pricing, platforms, and which one wins in 2026.

LlamaIndex

Data & ETL

Featured

Data framework for connecting LLMs to external data

Full review →Website ↗

Semantic Kernel

Developer Tools

Microsoft's AI orchestration SDK for building agents with .NET, Python, and Java

Full review →Website ↗
FeatureLlamaIndexSemantic Kernel
CategoryData & ETLDeveloper Tools
PricingFree (open-source) + CloudFree (open-source)
GitHub Stars
✓ More stars
38k
23k
PlatformsLinux, macOS, WindowsLinux, macOS, Windows
Key Features
  • ✓ RAG pipelines
  • ✓ Data connectors
  • ✓ Indexing
  • ✓ Query engine
  • ✓ Agent tools
  • ✓ Plugin system
  • ✓ Memory
  • ✓ Planner
  • ✓ Multi-language
  • ✓ Azure integration
Pros
  • + Best-in-class RAG framework
  • + 100+ data connectors
  • + Multiple index types
  • + Great documentation
  • + Active community
  • + Enterprise-ready with Microsoft backing
  • + Multi-language (C#, Python, Java)
  • + Deep Azure OpenAI integration
  • + Plugin architecture for extensibility
Cons
  • − Can be complex for simple use cases
  • − Abstractions hide complexity
  • − Learning curve for advanced features
  • − Some features require LlamaCloud
  • − Heavy enterprise focus
  • − Verbose API compared to alternatives
Tags
ragdataindexingopen-source
microsoftsdkenterprisedotnet

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