Letta vs 
smolagents
Letta vs smolagents compared for 2026 — features, license, ease of use, performance and which one to choose. Stateful agents with long-term memory vs Agents in a few lines of code.
Updated regularly · curated by olud.ai
Letta vs smolagents at a glance
| Spec | Letta | smolagents |
|---|---|---|
| Category | AI agent framework | AI agent framework |
| Type | Agent runtime (memory) | Minimal agent library |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Runs locally | Self-hosted | Cloud-optional |
| Primary language | Python | Python |
| Ease of use | Advanced | Beginner |
| Best for | agents that remember across sessions | simple code-writing agents, fast |
| GitHub stars | 23.9k | 28.5k |
How Letta and smolagents score
| Criterion | Letta | smolagents |
|---|---|---|
| Popularity | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| Maintenance | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Ease of use | 2.5 | 5.0 |
| Privacy | 4.5 | 3.5 |
| License freedom | 5.0 | 5.0 |
Scores are computed automatically from public signals — GitHub stars (popularity), recent commit activity (maintenance), license type (freedom), local-first design (privacy) and onboarding complexity (ease of use). Indicative, not a verdict.
What each one is
Letta
Letta (formerly MemGPT) is a framework and server for building stateful agents with long-term memory that persists across sessions, with a visual agent editor.
- Persistent long-term agent memory
- Server with REST API and visual editor
- Model-agnostic and self-hostable
smolagents
smolagents is Hugging Face's minimalist library for building agents that think in code, with first-class support for any LLM and Hugging Face tools.
- Tiny API, agents in a few lines
- Code-first agents that are easy to debug
- Backed by Hugging Face
Key differences
Letta is agent runtime (memory), while smolagents is minimal agent library. Letta leans more advanced-friendly, whereas smolagents is more suited to beginner users. They also differ in how they run (Self-hosted vs Cloud-optional). In short, Letta fits agents that remember across sessions, and smolagents fits simple code-writing agents, fast.
Which should you choose?
Choose Letta for agents that remember across sessions. Choose smolagents for simple code-writing agents, fast.
There is rarely one winner — many setups use both. The right pick depends on your hardware, your team's skills, and whether you value simplicity or control.
Frequently asked questions
Is Letta or smolagents easier to use?
smolagents is generally the easier of the two to get started with, while Letta rewards more setup with more control.
Are Letta and smolagents free?
Letta is free and open source (Apache-2.0), and smolagents is free and open source (Apache-2.0). Neither charges for the core software.
Can I run Letta and smolagents locally?
Letta: self-hosted · smolagents: cloud-optional. Both can be used without sending your data to a third-party cloud where their setup allows.
Letta vs smolagents — which should I pick in 2026?
Choose Letta for agents that remember across sessions. Choose smolagents for simple code-writing agents, fast.
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