Brigade vs CrewAI
Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.
Open source · MIT
A self-hosted personal AI crew of agents that share memory and talk through chat apps.
Open source · MIT
Python framework for building teams of role-playing AI agents that work together on tasks.
The short answer
Choose Brigade if you need…
- Developers who want to run their own multi-agent setup on a laptop or server
- People who want an AI assistant that keeps data on hardware they control
- Users who already have a Claude, ChatGPT, or Copilot subscription and want to avoid managing API keys
- Teams experimenting with agents that delegate tasks through an org chart
Choose CrewAI if you need…
- Python developers prototyping multi-agent workflows
- Teams that want role-based agents collaborating on a task
- Developers who want both autonomous agent teams and tighter step-by-step control via Flows
- Builders who want low-level control over prompts and execution logic
Side-by-side
| Brigade | CrewAI | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | AI model / agent | Library |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 11.4k | 60.4k |
| Setup difficulty | Intermediate | Intermediate |
| How you get it | Install with a package manager | Install with a package manager |
| Main language | TypeScript | Python |
| Last code update | 4 days ago | 4 days ago |
What each one is
Brigade
Brigade is a self-hosted system for running a team of AI agents that share one long-term memory called Tideline. You can reach the crew from a terminal or messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, and Discord. It can use many AI model providers, including local Ollama models, and keeps your keys and data on your own machine.
CrewAI
CrewAI is an open-source Python framework for orchestrating multiple AI agents. You give each agent a role and goal, and they collaborate through what the project calls Crews, while Flows provide event-driven, more precisely controlled workflows. It is aimed at developers building multi-step automations with LLMs.
Best for
Brigade
- Developers who want to run their own multi-agent setup on a laptop or server
- People who want an AI assistant that keeps data on hardware they control
- Users who already have a Claude, ChatGPT, or Copilot subscription and want to avoid managing API keys
- Teams experimenting with agents that delegate tasks through an org chart
CrewAI
- Python developers prototyping multi-agent workflows
- Teams that want role-based agents collaborating on a task
- Developers who want both autonomous agent teams and tighter step-by-step control via Flows
- Builders who want low-level control over prompts and execution logic
Strengths
Brigade
- Runs locally with keys stored on your machine, per the README
- Supports many model providers, including local Ollama, and lets you switch models mid-conversation
- Single data directory at ~/.brigade/ that is easy to inspect or delete
CrewAI
- Open source under the MIT license with an active repository
- Offers both autonomous Crews and deterministic event-driven Flows
- Includes documentation, courses, and an official skills package for coding agents
Not ideal for
Brigade
- People who want a polished consumer app with no setup, since the README describes it as an ecosystem you host yourself
- Anyone unwilling to run a command-line install and manage a local directory under ~/.brigade/
- Users who need guaranteed security review, since the README makes strong claims but this analysis did not verify them
CrewAI
- Non-programmers, since the project is a Python framework and requires writing code
- Projects needing a fully managed hosted product without setup; the README's commercial AMP Suite is a separate paid offering
- Simple single-prompt tasks that do not need multiple agents or workflow control
Trade-offs
Brigade
- The README is long and marketing-heavy, so some claims about enterprise scale are not independently verified here
- Requires Node 22.12+ or the provided install script, and a permissions issue (EACCES) is mentioned for global npm installs
- Many features (channels, connectors, Convex backend) add setup complexity beyond basic chat
CrewAI
- The README's performance and 'production-ready' claims are promotional and not backed by benchmarks in the excerpt
- Core concepts (Crews, Flows, Agents) add a learning curve for newcomers
- Some advanced features and a control plane are part of a commercial suite
Getting started
Brigade
Install via npm (if Node 22.12+ is already installed)
npm i -g @spinabot/brigademacOS / Linux install script
curl -fsSL https://brigade.spinabot.com/install.sh | shCrewAI
Install CrewAI (from PyPI, per the project's PyPI badge)
pip install crewaiFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between Brigade and CrewAI?
Brigade: A self-hosted personal AI crew of agents that share memory and talk through chat apps. CrewAI: Python framework for building teams of role-playing AI agents that work together on tasks. Brigade suits developers who want to run their own multi-agent setup on a laptop or server, while CrewAI suits python developers prototyping multi-agent workflows.
Are Brigade and CrewAI free?
Brigade: Free and open source. CrewAI: Free and open source.
Is Brigade or CrewAI more popular?
CrewAI has more GitHub stars (60.4k) than Brigade (11.4k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to Brigade and CrewAI?
Other options people compare them with include LangGraph, OpenHands, Hermes Agent, SuperAGI, Edict.
Keep comparing
Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.