LlamaIndex
The retrieval-first framework, built around indexing documents.
PricingOpen source; hosted plans with a free tier
Free tierYes
Last verified2026-11-01
Use it for
RAG where building the index is the hard part
Skip it if
Simple chat that needs no retrieval
What it is
Starts from the corpus rather than the conversation: ingestion, chunking, indexing, and query engines are the primitives, and agents are assembled on top. Better than most at the unglamorous parts of RAG. The API moved quickly, so pin versions and read the migration notes before upgrading.
Pricing
Open source; hosted plans with a free tier
Who it suits
The retrieval-first framework, built around indexing documents. If the constraint above matches how you work, this is a safe default. If it does not, check the alternatives below before committing to a subscription.
Alternatives in Coding & Dev
- Cursor — A code editor built around an agent that can read your whole repo.
- v0 — Generate and iterate on React interfaces from a prompt.
- GitHub Copilot — Completion and chat built into the editor most teams already use.