LlamaIndex vs Haystack

Comprehensive side-by-side comparison — features, pricing, performance, and more.

Data last refreshed August 2026

LlamaIndex

LlamaIndex Inc.

AI Agents for Document OCR + Workflows

Freemium

82% verification coverage

Haystack

deepset GmbH

Build custom AI agents and RAG applications with open AI orchestration

Open Source

77% verification coverage

Trust & Reliability

LlamaIndex

Uptime:99.99%Status page

Users:100K-1M

Customers (per vendor):Jeppesen (a Boeing Company), NTT Data, Carlyle

GDPR

SOC 2

HIPAA

Haystack

Uptime:100% (90-day)Status page

Customers (per vendor):Lufthansa Industry Solutions, Accenture, NVIDIA +5

GDPR

SOC 2

HIPAA

Too Close to Call

LlamaIndex (6.8) vs Haystack (6.5) — difference of 0.3 points

Scores are AI-estimated from publicly available data — not an independent test or a verified user rating. How we rank →

AI Comparison Summary

LlamaIndex

6.8

avg score

Haystack

6.5

avg score

Both tools score very similarly overall — the best choice depends on your specific priorities.

Based on 6 dimensions

Scores are AI-estimated from publicly available data — not an independent test or a verified user rating. How we rank →

Too close to call — it's a tie

LlamaIndex

Best For

Engineering and R&D teams accelerating product development

Administrative operations streamlining business processes

Financial analysts building AI-powered financial models

Insurance companies automating claims and underwriting

Haystack

Best For

AI engineers building production-ready LLM applications

Developers needing explicit control over AI agent decisions

Teams integrating diverse AI models and data stores

Enterprises deploying AI workflows with reliability and observability

* Verdict is based on our algorithmic scoring of publicly available data. Learn about our methodology

LlamaIndex is best for

✍️Writing & Content7.0🤖Automation & Agents6.2🔍Research5.8

Haystack is best for

🔍Research5.3🎧Customer Support4.5🤖Automation & Agents4.3

Filter by your use case:

Limitations

LlamaIndex

Cons

LlamaParse is a commercial platform and not open source, though LlamaIndex and Workflows are open source projects.
Bonus credits on the Pro plan expire immediately upon downgrade and require a business email domain.

Haystack

Cons

Enterprise features and support are part of a separate paid offering

Weighted Score — Adjust What Matters to You

Pick a profile or drag sliders — scores and radar update instantly on the right.

Quick profiles:

Ease of Use5

Customization5

Support5

Integration5

Compliance & Data Protection5

Performance5

Planning Quality5

Dimension Comparison

LlamaIndex

6.8

/ 10

Your pick

Haystack

6.5

/ 10

Dimension Breakdown

Ease of Use

How intuitive is onboarding, UI navigation, and day-to-day usage for the target audience?

LlamaIndex

3.0

Haystack

3.0

Customization

Calculated

How much can users tailor workflows, settings, prompts, or outputs to their needs?

LlamaIndex

10.0▲ +1.0

Haystack

9.0

Support

How strong is the documentation, customer support, community, and learning resources?

LlamaIndex

10.0

Haystack

10.0

Integration

Calculated

How well does it connect with other tools, APIs, and workflows?

LlamaIndex

5.0

Haystack

8.0▲ +3.0

Compliance & Data Protection

Calculated

Compliance certifications and data-protection posture, counted from ten verified signals: SOC 2 Type II, GDPR compliance, HIPAA, WCAG AA/AAA, PII redaction, licensed-only training, a published sub-processor list, a downloadable DPA, not training on user data, and a documented deletion path

LlamaIndex

8.0▲ +4.0

Haystack

4.0

Performance

Calculated

Latency + throughput speed

LlamaIndex

5.0

Haystack

5.0

Planning Quality

Calculated

Multi-step planning depth + replanning capability

LlamaIndex

—

Haystack

—

Calculated = derived from structured signals (integration count, API/open-source config, compliance certs, response-time). AI = LLM-assessed from public website content. Methodology

Task Performance

LlamaIndex

Task

Haystack

6.0

Role Definition

3.0

6.0

Task Decomposition

3.0

6.0

Agent Coordination

7.0

5.0

Inter Agent Communication

3.0

8.0

Workflow Orchestration

7.0

Tool Use Delegation

7.0

State Management

3.0

6.0

Error Recovery

5.0

7.0

Observability

9.0

7.0

Scalability Throughput

7.0

6.0

Task Delegation

3.0

6.0

Parallel Execution

3.0

* Task scores (1–10) are algorithmically generated from publicly available data.

Data is sourced from public information and vendor websites. It may not always be up-to-date — verify pricing and features directly with the vendor before purchasing.Report inaccuracy

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the main differences between LlamaIndex and Haystack?

LlamaIndex — "AI Agents for Document OCR + Workflows". Haystack — "Build custom AI agents and RAG applications with open AI orchestration". The Features section on this page compares them side by side.

Who is LlamaIndex best for compared with Haystack?

LlamaIndex is best for Engineering and R&D teams accelerating product development; and for Administrative operations streamlining business processes. Haystack is best for AI engineers building production-ready LLM applications; and for Developers needing explicit control over AI agent decisions.

How does the pricing of LlamaIndex compare with Haystack?

LlamaIndex is freemium, includes a free plan, paid plans start at $50/month. Haystack is open source, includes a free plan. Always verify current pricing with the vendor.

Does LlamaIndex or Haystack have a free plan?

LlamaIndex has a free plan. Haystack is open source. Always verify current pricing with the vendor.

Do LlamaIndex and Haystack offer an API?

LlamaIndex offers a public API. Haystack offers a public API.

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