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The category, not one product

Open-source AI agent platforms, compared.

"Open-source AI agent platform" spans three different things — agent management platforms, agent orchestration frameworks, and autonomous-agent projects. Here's how to tell them apart, and which license actually applies to each.

Grounded in public docs · September 2026

Three kinds of "platform"

Management vs orchestration vs autonomy

Most "best open source AI agent platform" lists blur three categories. They are not interchangeable.

management platform

Kortix (Suna)

The whole lifecycle — agents, skills, memory, connectors, secrets, and a human review gate — in one git repo you own. Sessions run in isolated sandboxes and land work through change requests.

  • Elastic 2.0 (source-available).
  • Self-host free; cloud $40/seat/mo.
  • Any model, your own keys.
orchestration framework

CrewAI · AutoGen

Libraries you build on: CrewAI ("framework for orchestrating role-playing, autonomous agents") and Microsoft's AutoGen ("a programming framework for agentic AI"). You write the coordination logic.

  • CrewAI is MIT; AutoGen is open source.
  • You self-assemble hosting, memory, and review.
  • Great for engineers building custom workflows.
autonomous agent

AutoGPT

The original "accessible AI" autonomous-agent project (~187k stars). A starting point for self-directed agents, rather than a managed platform you'd run a company on.

  • Open source.
  • Research-grade autonomy, not a governed fleet.

Why the distinction matters: a framework (CrewAI/AutoGen) gives you a library but leaves hosting, memory, secrets, and review to you. A management platform (Kortix) bundles those. Pick the category before the project.

License reality

Open source is not one thing

CrewAI is MIT — genuinely OSI-open. Kortix (Suna) is Elastic License 2.0 — source-available: you can read and self-host the code but can't resell it as a competing hosted service. OpenWork and Eigent describe themselves as open source. Read the license explainer →

How to choose

Start from the license you can live with

  1. Confirm the license. OSI-open (CrewAI, AutoGen) for redistribution; source-available (Kortix) if you only need to self-host.
  2. Decide management vs framework. A governed fleet → management platform. A library to build on → framework.
  3. Check self-host reality. Kortix runs on your VPC/on-prem; frameworks leave deployment to you.
  4. Keep a human in the loop. Look for a review gate (change requests or approvals).

FAQ

Common questions

Is there an open source AI agent platform?

Yes — Kortix (Suna), OpenWork, and Eigent are open-source or source-available agent platforms, and CrewAI, AutoGen, and AutoGPT are open-source frameworks. They differ in license and what they bundle.

What is the best open source AI agent platform?

No single best. OSI-open: CrewAI/AutoGen. Governed self-hosted platform: Kortix (source-available). Local-first desktop: OpenWork.

Is CrewAI open source?

Yes, CrewAI is MIT-licensed. It is an orchestration framework for coordinating multiple agents — a library, not a turnkey management platform.