# Microsoft Agent Framework review

> A framework for building, orchestrating and deploying AI agents and multi-agent workflows with support for Python and .NET.

Devtoolwatch Board, the week of Oct 25–31, 2026. Canonical page: https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/ms-agent-framework/

## Microsoft Agent Framework at a glance

- **Category:** [Agent frameworks](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/categories/agent-frameworks/)
- **Website:** [aka.ms/agent-framework](https://aka.ms/agent-framework)

## Usage data (the week of Oct 25–31, 2026)

- Board rank: #285 overall, #26 in Agent frameworks, momentum score 33
- Downloads that week: 47.3k (−3% vs 4-week average)
- New GitHub stars per week (last 12 weeks): Aug 9: 151; Aug 16: 234; Aug 23: 153; Aug 30: 142; Sep 6: 156; Sep 13: 112; Sep 20: 213; Sep 27: 122; Oct 4: 127; Oct 11: 140; Oct 18: 131; Oct 25: 159

## Microsoft Agent Framework alternatives

| Rank | Tool | Stars | Downloads/wk |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | [Harness²](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/google-research-harness2/) | 21.7k | – |
| #2 | [HyperFrames](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/heygen-com-hyperframes/) | 76.6k | 1.5M |
| #3 | [AgentScope](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/agentscope-ai-agentscope/) | 35k | 51.4k |
| #4 | [AG-UI](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/ag-ui/) | 16.9k | 4.6M |
| #5 | [LangGraph](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/langgraph/) | 44.2k | 18.5M |
| #6 | [Bifrost](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/maximhq-bifrost/) | 9.3k | – |

## Microsoft Agent Framework FAQ

### How popular is Microsoft Agent Framework?

Microsoft Agent Framework has 14.4k GitHub stars as of Nov 1, 2026. It gained 159 new stars in the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, against a 12-week average of 153 a week. Its main package had 47.3k downloads that week, −3% against its own 4-week average. That made it #26 among AI agent frameworks on the Devtoolwatch Board.

### What are the best alternatives to Microsoft Agent Framework?

Other AI agent frameworks on the Devtoolwatch Board in the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, by momentum: Harness² (#1), HyperFrames (#2), AgentScope (#3), AG-UI (#4), LangGraph (#5). The alternatives table above has their numbers.

## Sources

1. [Devtoolwatch Board, the week of Oct 25–31, 2026](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/)