Side by side
DSPy vs LlamaIndex
Both stand on llm application development frameworks. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Choose DSPy if you are building AI programs in Python and want task signatures, composable modules, and prompt optimization. Its free, open-source model and support for agents and multimodal tasks make it a fit for development across several use cases. Look elsewhere if you need an officially supported language port outside its Python environment.
Visit DSPy
LlamaIndex combines document parsing, extraction, classification, and retrieval pipelines for teams building document-centered AI workflows. Paid plans start at $50/mo, and available connectors and concurrent-job limits vary by plan.
Visit LlamaIndexThe facts
| DSPy | LlamaIndex | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | API, Self-hosted | API, Linux, Self-hosted, Web |
| Lowest paid plan | Not published | Starter: $50 a month |
| Plans published | None | 4 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | dspy.ai | llamaindex.ai |
| On llm application development frameworks | #9 of 49 | #5 of 49 |
DSPy: what it does well
- Free and MIT licensed.
- Typed signatures define task inputs and outputs.
- Optimizers tune prompts using examples and scoring metrics.
- Supports agent tools and remote MCP tools.
- Offers multiple model-provider options through LiteLLM.
What to know first
- Requires a Python 3.10+ environment.
- Community-maintained language ports lack official team support.
- Feature availability and API compatibility can vary for those ports.
LlamaIndex: what it does well
- Parses more than 50 unstructured file types.
- Extraction agents structure content without training.
- Includes chunking and embedding pipelines for RAG.
- Enterprise offers private VPC or SaaS/hybrid deployment.
- SaaS data is encrypted in transit and at rest.
What to know first
- Free and Starter allow five concurrent jobs.
- LlamaParse is commercial, not open source.
- Several listed connectors are still coming soon.
- Free support is community-based.
Alternatives to DSPy Alternatives to LlamaIndex The whole list