DSPy vs Mastra

DSPy is free, with no paid plan attached. Mastra is free, with no paid plan attached. Both are listed under Agent Frameworks (Developers), so this is a like-for-like comparison. Neither is ranked above the other — Flocci carries no sponsored placement.

DSPy vs Mastra — straight answers

DSPy vs Mastra: what is the difference?

DSPy is free, with no paid plan attached and is listed for open-source (MIT) framework from Stanford NLP, 37k+ GitHub stars. Mastra is free, with no paid plan attached and is listed for open-source TypeScript framework (Apache 2.0) for agents, workflows and RAG. Both sit in Agent Frameworks (Developers).

Is DSPy or Mastra cheaper to start with?

Neither — DSPy and Mastra are both free, so the choice comes down to capability rather than cost. Both entries list what they uniquely do above.

Which should I choose, DSPy or Mastra?

Choose DSPy if you need open-source (MIT) framework from Stanford NLP, 37k+ GitHub stars; choose Mastra if you need open-source TypeScript framework (Apache 2.0) for agents, workflows and RAG. Flocci AI Tools does not rank one above the other — it shows both feature sets side by side and lets the requirement decide.

DSPy compared with Mastra: pricing tier, category, listed capabilities and links.
 DSPyMastra
Pricing tierFreeFree
Free to startYesYes
CategoryAI Agents & AutomationAI Agents & Automation
TypeAgent Frameworks (Developers)Agent Frameworks (Developers)
Listed capabilities
  • Open-source (MIT) framework from Stanford NLP, 37k+ GitHub stars
  • Compiles/optimizes prompts automatically against metrics instead of manual prompt tuning
  • Production use at Databricks, Shopify, Dropbox, AWS; Shopify reports ~550x cost reduction
  • Open-source TypeScript framework (Apache 2.0) for agents, workflows and RAG
  • Drops directly into existing React/Next.js apps or runs standalone
  • Built-in workflow engine with suspend/resume and human-in-the-loop steps
Tagsdspy stanford, prompt optimization framework, program not prompt, open source llm framework, structured signatures, pythontypescript agent framework, mastra ai, open source agents, workflow engine, javascript agents, vercel ai sdk alternative
Websitedspy.aimastra.ai
Full pageDSPy details →Mastra details →
AlternativesDSPy alternatives →Mastra alternatives →

Agno

Agent Frameworks (Developers)
free
  • Open-source (Apache-2.0) Python framework, 41.7k GitHub stars
  • AgentOS: FastAPI-based production runtime for deploying agents
  • Control-plane UI for monitoring live agent systems across clouds

AWS Strands Agents

Agent Frameworks (Developers)
free
  • Open-source (6,800+ stars) Python and TypeScript SDK from AWS
  • Steering handlers/hooks that catch agent mistakes before execution
  • Native Bedrock and AWS AgentCore integration, plus any-LLM support

CAMEL

Agent Frameworks (Developers)
freeNew
  • Open-source multi-agent framework focused on scaling agent societies and role-playing
  • Data generation and simulation tooling
  • Apache-licensed

Claude Agent SDK

Agent Frameworks (Developers)
freeNew
  • MIT-licensed Python and TypeScript SDKs exposing the agent loop that powers Claude Code
  • Built-in tools for files, shell and MCP with custom tool support
  • Bring an Anthropic API key; the SDK itself costs nothing

Cloudflare Agents SDK

Agent Frameworks (Developers)
freeNew
  • Framework for building and deploying stateful AI agents on Cloudflare Workers
  • Built-in state, scheduling, WebSockets and MCP support
  • SDK is open source; runs on Cloudflare's free tier to start

Firebase Genkit

Agent Frameworks (Developers)
freeNew
  • Open-source framework for AI apps in JavaScript, Go, Dart and Python
  • Built-in Developer UI for tracing and testing flows
  • Model-agnostic plugins for Gemini, OpenAI, Anthropic, Ollama
  • Free; deploy anywhere