OpenAI Assistants API vs OpenAI Agents SDK
A side-by-side look at scores, pricing and features — with RECATOOLS' ASEAN-aware verdict for each.
OpenAI Assistants API
OpenAI's stateful agent API, shut down on 26 August 2026
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OpenAI Agents SDK
OpenAI's small-footprint framework for agents, handoffs and guardrails...
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| RECATOOLS Score | 5 / 10 | 8 / 10 |
| Capability | ||
| Value for money | ||
| Ease of use | ||
| ASEAN readiness | ||
| API quality | ||
| Pricing | Unknown | Open Source |
| Free tier | — | Free and open source (MIT) in Python and JavaScript/TypeScript; model API usage is billed separately by OpenAI or another provider |
| Paid from | Not sold — shut down 26 Aug 2026 (successor: Responses API, billed per token) | — |
| Has API | ✓ | ✓ |
| Open source | ✗ | ✓ |
| Free to use | ✗ | ✓ |
| Users | — | — |
| Founded | 2023 | 2025 |
| Maker | OpenAI | OpenAI |
| Verdict | The Assistants API is gone. OpenAI shut it down on 26 August 2026 after a year's notice, and its old endpoints no longer answer. In its day it was a quick way to ship a stateful assistant, because threads, retrieval and... |
The Agents SDK is the straightforward choice for teams building on OpenAI models in code: a small set of primitives, built-in tracing, and a runtime that manages turns, tools, handoffs and sessions so you do not write th... |
| Full review → | Full review → |
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Comparisons cover up to 4 tools. Scores are RECATOOLS editorial assessments; verify current pricing on each vendor's site.