
Letta vs OpenAI Agents SDK: Which is Better in 2026?
Choosing between Letta and OpenAI Agents SDK? Both are popular agent framework tools. Below we compare them on pricing, free tiers, features, and pros & cons so you can pick the right fit for your stack.
Letta is for: Teams building agents that must remember users and context across sessions and restarts, with memory as the core design.
OpenAI Agents SDK is for: Teams that want to ship agents quickly with few abstractions: agents, tools, handoffs and guardrails, with tracing built in.
Quick verdict
There’s no single winner; pick on your constraint. Choose Letta if your agent must remember users and past sessions over weeks or months. Choose OpenAI Agents SDK if you want to ship a working agent with minimal boilerplate.
Letta vs OpenAI Agents SDK — Side by Side
| Letta | OpenAI Agents SDK | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Agent Framework | Agent Framework |
| What it is | Agent server and SDKs: agents with persistent memory | Code library: lightweight agent SDK |
| Languages | Python and TypeScript SDKs | Python, TypeScript |
| Licence | Apache 2.0 | MIT |
| Managed / paid option | Letta API: free tier, Pro $20/month plus usage | None; you pay for OpenAI API usage |
| Project status | Active | Active |
| Pricing | Free · paid from $20/mo | Free |
| Starting price | Free tier available | Free tier available |
| Free tier | ||
| Rating | 4.0 | 4.5 |
| Best for | Agent Framework — long-term memory, stateful agents, self-host or hosted | Agent Framework — minimal abstractions, fast to ship, OpenAI models |
Pros & Cons
- Memory is the design centre, not an add-on
- Agents survive restarts with state intact
- Comes from the MemGPT paper
- Younger project with a moving API
- Memory model is opinionated
- Very low boilerplate, fast to ship
- Production-ready with tracing
- Backed by OpenAI
- Python & TypeScript support
- Best experience tied to OpenAI models
- Lighter on complex orchestration than LangGraph
Key Features Compared
Letta
- Persistent, self-editing agent memory (from the MemGPT research)
- Agents keep their state across restarts
- Self-hosted server, or the hosted Letta API
- Hosted plans: free tier and Pro at $20 a month with pay-as-you-go usage
- Letta Code, an open-source coding agent with memory across sessions
- Apache 2.0 licence
OpenAI Agents SDK
- Small set of primitives: agents, tools, handoffs and guardrails
- Built-in tracing
- Sandbox execution for agents that run code and use a filesystem (April 2026 update)
- Other models through the LiteLLM extension (beta) or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint
- Python and TypeScript
- MIT licence
Choose Letta if…
- Your agent must remember users and past sessions over weeks or months.
- You want agents that keep state when the process restarts.
- You want the choice of self-hosting or a hosted API.
Choose OpenAI Agents SDK if…
- You want to ship a working agent with minimal boilerplate.
- You mainly use OpenAI models and want first-party support.
- Your agents run code and need a sandbox from the same SDK.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Letta better than OpenAI Agents SDK?⌄
There’s no single winner; pick on your constraint. Choose Letta if your agent must remember users and past sessions over weeks or months. Choose OpenAI Agents SDK if you want to ship a working agent with minimal boilerplate.
What is the difference between Letta and OpenAI Agents SDK?⌄
What it is — Letta: Agent server and SDKs: agents with persistent memory. OpenAI Agents SDK: Code library: lightweight agent SDK. Languages — Letta: Python and TypeScript SDKs. OpenAI Agents SDK: Python, TypeScript. Licence — Letta: Apache 2.0. OpenAI Agents SDK: MIT. Managed / paid option — Letta: Letta API: free tier, Pro $20/month plus usage. OpenAI Agents SDK: None; you pay for OpenAI API usage.
Letta vs OpenAI Agents SDK: which is cheaper?⌄
Letta pricing: Free · paid from $20/mo. OpenAI Agents SDK pricing: Free. Confirm current pricing on each tool's official site, as plans change.
Which is rated higher, Letta or OpenAI Agents SDK?⌄
In our catalog, Letta rates 4.0 out of 5 and OpenAI Agents SDK rates 4.5 out of 5, so OpenAI Agents SDK has a slight edge on reviews.
When should I skip both Letta and OpenAI Agents SDK?⌄
Skip Letta if you only need short-lived task agents. A lighter SDK is simpler. Skip OpenAI Agents SDK if you need complex orchestration with explicit state and checkpoints. LangGraph covers that.
Sources · tool facts checked October 2026
See more options in our guide to the best agent framework tools for startups.
Still not sure which to pick?
Get a free, AI-powered tech stack — including the best agent framework pick for your budget and team — in 60 seconds.