Both sit in the framework layer with similar commercial terms, so the practical split is language: LlamaIndex targets Python and Vercel AI SDK targets TypeScript.
Data-first framework — ingestion, indexing and RAG-heavy agents.
Streaming-first TypeScript SDK with a unified provider interface and UI hooks.
| LlamaIndex | Vercel AI SDK | |
|---|---|---|
| Licence | Open source | Open source |
| Pricing | freemium | open source |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Languages | Python, TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Install | pip install llama-index | npm install ai |
| Keys required | None | None |
Both sit in the framework layer with similar commercial terms, so the practical split is language: LlamaIndex targets Python and Vercel AI SDK targets TypeScript. LlamaIndex: Data-first framework — ingestion, indexing and RAG-heavy agents. Vercel AI SDK: Streaming-first TypeScript SDK with a unified provider interface and UI hooks.
LlamaIndex can run on your own infrastructure. Vercel AI SDK can run on your own infrastructure.
LlamaIndex is open source (freemium). Vercel AI SDK is open source (open source).
Every page here answers to Accept: text/markdown and returns the same content at roughly a tenth the tokens. No separate site, no toggle — same URL.
curl -s -H "Accept: text/markdown" https://newagent.build/compare/llamaindex-vs-vercel-ai-sdk