AutoGen vs BMAD-METHOD — what it is, in its own words?

AutoGen: A framework for multi-agent AI applications. "AutoGen is a framework for creating multi-agent AI applications that can act autonomously or work alongside humans.". BMAD-METHOD: An agile method for AI-driven development. "Agile Ai Driven Development — turn an idea or change request into working software without giving up the thinking. Ai Driven Development (AiDD) covers the whole effort, not only the code: what to build, how it holds together, and how it changes as you learn.". Read from github.com and github.com on 2026-09-18.

AutoGen vs BMAD-METHOD — what its readme says about its own maintenance?

AutoGen: Maintenance mode, with a named successor. "⚠️ Maintenance mode. AutoGen is now in maintenance mode. It will not receive new features or enhancements and is community managed going forward. New users should start with Microsoft Agent Framework. Existing users are encouraged to migrate using the AutoGen → Microsoft Agent Framework migration guide." The only one of the five that publishes its own status at all. BMAD-METHOD does not state it on github.com. No maintenance statement, deprecation notice or successor on the README. It does document prerelease builds and non-interactive setup in a separate installation guide, which speaks to release process rather than to project health. Read on the repository's own front page on 14 August 2026. Read from github.com and github.com on 2026-09-18. What its README says about its own maintenance here means whether the project's front page tells a reader that it is still being developed, has stopped, or has a successor — as distinct from what its commit graph implies.

AutoGen vs BMAD-METHOD — how you install it?

AutoGen: pip install autogen-agentchat. "AutoGen requires Python 3.10 or later." Installed as `autogen-agentchat` plus an extension package for the model client; `autogenstudio` is published separately as a no-code GUI. BMAD-METHOD: npx skills add bmad-code-org/BMAD-METHOD. The README documents the Skills CLI route for adding BMAD-METHOD to a supported AI coding tool; setup and help then run through the bmad skill. Read from github.com and github.com on 2026-09-18.

When should I pick AutoGen, and when BMAD-METHOD?

AutoGen — You already have AutoGen in production and you are deciding whether to move. Then read its own README first, because it answers the question for you: it is in maintenance mode, it "will not receive new features or enhancements", and Microsoft names the successor — "new users should start with Microsoft Agent Framework", with a published migration guide. A framework that tells you plainly it has stopped is more useful to a maintainer than one that has quietly stopped and says nothing, and that candour is a real reason to trust the code you already depend on while you migrate off it. BMAD-METHOD — You want the planning depth to scale with the change rather than being fixed by the tool, and you want it free of a commercial hook. BMAD is the only one of the five to state that outright — "BMad is free and open source, with no paywalled workflows or gated community" — and the only one whose stated design is that "the process sizes itself to the work: Small changes go straight to build. Complex work gets the depth it needs". It is also the only one that will carry its artifacts into a workflow you already have rather than asking you to adopt the whole thing.

Board / 2 compared, every cell read off its own repository on September 18, 2026, rescored September 13, 2026

AutoGen vs BMAD-METHOD

The same 6 criteria for both, with the page each figure came from and the day it was read.

The verdict

what to pick, and what the answer rests on

On what it is, in its own words, AutoGen is A framework for multi-agent AI applications and BMAD-METHOD is An agile method for AI-driven development. On what its readme says about its own maintenance, AutoGen is Maintenance mode, with a named successor and BMAD-METHOD does not publish it. On how you install it, AutoGen is pip install autogen-agentchat and BMAD-METHOD is npx skills add bmad-code-org/BMAD-METHOD. On licence, AutoGen is MIT, plus CC-BY-4.0 and BMAD-METHOD is MIT. On who publishes it, AutoGen is microsoft and BMAD-METHOD is bmad-code-org. On what it sells alongside, AutoGen does not publish it and BMAD-METHOD is Nothing, stated explicitly. StillShipping sells neither of these and takes no referral fee on either. It scores them. Every figure was read off the named company's own page on or since 2026-09-18; the URLs and the dates are at the foot of this page, and a job re-fetches each one on a schedule and fails when a figure is no longer on the page it came from.

Head to head

what each one publishes about itself, read off its own repository on September 18, 2026

AutoGen vs BMAD-METHOD, on what each project publishes about itself
Axis	AutoGen	BMAD-METHOD
What it is, in its own words	A framework for multi-agent AI applications"AutoGen is a framework for creating multi-agent AI applications that can act autonomously or work alongside humans."read September 18, 2026	An agile method for AI-driven development"Agile Ai Driven Development. Turn an idea or change request into working software without giving up the thinking. Ai Driven Development (AiDD) covers the whole effort, not only the code: what to build, how it holds together, and how it changes as you learn."read September 18, 2026
What its README says about its own maintenancewhether the project's front page tells a reader that it is still being developed, has stopped, or has a successor. As distinct from what its commit graph implies	Maintenance mode, with a named successor"⚠️ Maintenance mode. AutoGen is now in maintenance mode. It will not receive new features or enhancements and is community managed going forward. New users should start with Microsoft Agent Framework. Existing users are encouraged to migrate using the AutoGen → Microsoft Agent Framework migration guide." The only one of the five that publishes its own status at all.read September 18, 2026	Not publishedNo maintenance statement, deprecation notice or successor on the README. It does document prerelease builds and non-interactive setup in a separate installation guide, which speaks to release process rather than to project health. Read on the repository's own front page on 14 August 2026.read September 18, 2026
How you install it	pip install autogen-agentchat"AutoGen requires Python 3.10 or later." Installed as `autogen-agentchat` plus an extension package for the model client; `autogenstudio` is published separately as a no-code GUI.read September 18, 2026	npx skills add bmad-code-org/BMAD-METHODThe README documents the Skills CLI route for adding BMAD-METHOD to a supported AI coding tool; setup and help then run through the bmad skill.read September 18, 2026
Licence	MIT, plus CC-BY-4.0The repository's file navigation lists two: a CC-BY-4.0 licence and an MIT licence, with a separate LICENSE-CODE file. The only dual-licensed project of the five.read September 18, 2026	MITThe README identifies the project as MIT-licensed and states: "BMad and BMAD-METHOD are trademarks of BMad Code, LLC."read September 18, 2026
Who publishes it	microsoftPublished from Microsoft's own organisation, which is also what makes its maintenance notice load-bearing: the successor it names is another Microsoft product.read September 18, 2026	bmad-code-orgAn organisation created for the project rather than a company with a product line around it, which is a different failure mode from the other four: the risk is maintainer attention, not a strategy change.read September 18, 2026
What it sells alongside	Not publishedThe README publishes no paid tier, hosted plan or commercial suite for AutoGen itself. What it names instead is a successor framework rather than a product sold alongside this one. Read on the repository's own front page on 14 August 2026.read September 18, 2026	Nothing, stated explicitly"BMad is free and open source, with no paywalled workflows or gated community." The only one of the five to publish the absence rather than leave a reader to infer it.read September 18, 2026
Why you would pick itEach project’s own case, in its own words.	You already have AutoGen in production and you are deciding whether to move. Then read its own README first, because it answers the question for you: it is in maintenance mode, it "will not receive new features or enhancements", and Microsoft names the successor. "new users should start with Microsoft Agent Framework", with a published migration guide. A framework that tells you plainly it has stopped is more useful to a maintainer than one that has quietly stopped and says nothing, and that candour is a real reason to trust the code you already depend on while you migrate off it.	You want the planning depth to scale with the change rather than being fixed by the tool, and you want it free of a commercial hook. BMAD is the only one of the five to state that outright. "BMad is free and open source, with no paywalled workflows or gated community". And the only one whose stated design is that "the process sizes itself to the work: Small changes go straight to build. Complex work gets the depth it needs". It is also the only one that will carry its artifacts into a workflow you already have rather than asking you to adopt the whole thing.

What the board says tonight

the axis the table above cannot carry, read from the GitHub API on the same nightly pass

The tools in this comparison, as this board scored them

AutoGenmicrosoft/autogen	SlowingOrchestrators	35/100	5mo agoApril 15, 2026	0	0	too few	61k
BMAD-METHODbmad-code-org/BMAD-METHOD	MaintainedSpec frameworks	92/100	0d agoSeptember 12, 2026	100+	2	too few	53k

Nothing on this row is quoted from anybody. It is the GitHub API, read last night, and it moves without this page being edited.

Questions

4 asked about this comparison

AutoGen vs BMAD-METHOD. What it is, in its own words?: AutoGen: A framework for multi-agent AI applications. "AutoGen is a framework for creating multi-agent AI applications that can act autonomously or work alongside humans.". BMAD-METHOD: An agile method for AI-driven development. "Agile Ai Driven Development. Turn an idea or change request into working software without giving up the thinking. Ai Driven Development (AiDD) covers the whole effort, not only the code: what to build, how it holds together, and how it changes as you learn.". Read from github.com and github.com on 2026-09-18.
AutoGen vs BMAD-METHOD. What its readme says about its own maintenance?: AutoGen: Maintenance mode, with a named successor. "⚠️ Maintenance mode. AutoGen is now in maintenance mode. It will not receive new features or enhancements and is community managed going forward. New users should start with Microsoft Agent Framework. Existing users are encouraged to migrate using the AutoGen → Microsoft Agent Framework migration guide." The only one of the five that publishes its own status at all. BMAD-METHOD does not state it on github.com. No maintenance statement, deprecation notice or successor on the README. It does document prerelease builds and non-interactive setup in a separate installation guide, which speaks to release process rather than to project health. Read on the repository's own front page on 14 August 2026. Read from github.com and github.com on 2026-09-18. What its README says about its own maintenance here means whether the project's front page tells a reader that it is still being developed, has stopped, or has a successor. As distinct from what its commit graph implies.
AutoGen vs BMAD-METHOD. How you install it?: AutoGen: pip install autogen-agentchat. "AutoGen requires Python 3.10 or later." Installed as `autogen-agentchat` plus an extension package for the model client; `autogenstudio` is published separately as a no-code GUI. BMAD-METHOD: npx skills add bmad-code-org/BMAD-METHOD. The README documents the Skills CLI route for adding BMAD-METHOD to a supported AI coding tool; setup and help then run through the bmad skill. Read from github.com and github.com on 2026-09-18.
When should I pick AutoGen, and when BMAD-METHOD?: AutoGen. You already have AutoGen in production and you are deciding whether to move. Then read its own README first, because it answers the question for you: it is in maintenance mode, it "will not receive new features or enhancements", and Microsoft names the successor. "new users should start with Microsoft Agent Framework", with a published migration guide. A framework that tells you plainly it has stopped is more useful to a maintainer than one that has quietly stopped and says nothing, and that candour is a real reason to trust the code you already depend on while you migrate off it. BMAD-METHOD. You want the planning depth to scale with the change rather than being fixed by the tool, and you want it free of a commercial hook. BMAD is the only one of the five to state that outright. "BMad is free and open source, with no paywalled workflows or gated community". And the only one whose stated design is that "the process sizes itself to the work: Small changes go straight to build. Complex work gets the depth it needs". It is also the only one that will carry its artifacts into a workflow you already have rather than asking you to adopt the whole thing.

Where every cell was read

derived from the cells themselves, never listed by hand

Source	Read	Why
AutoGen	September 18, 2026	What it is, in its own words, What its README says about its own maintenance, How you install it, Licence, Who publishes it, What it sells alongside. github.com/microsoft/autogen
BMAD-METHOD	September 18, 2026	What it is, in its own words, What its README says about its own maintenance, How you install it, Licence, Who publishes it, What it sells alongside. github.com/bmad-code-org/BMAD-METHOD

A hand-listed source block drifts from the table the first time a cell’s URL changes, and then the page is citing a page it did not read.