Runtime Comparison

Choose the right runtime for your agents by understanding the capabilities, tradeoffs, and ideal use cases for each option.

Quick Comparison

Feature	Agno	Claude Code
Framework	Agno + LiteLLM	Claude Code SDK
Model Support	All providers via LiteLLM	Claude only
Streaming	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Tool Calling	✅ Python-based	✅ MCP-based
MCP Servers	✅ Via MCPTools	✅ First-class support
Max History	100 messages	200 messages
Cancellation	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Custom Tools	Python classes	MCP servers
Session Resume	❌ No	✅ Yes
Code Optimization	General	Specialized
Startup Time	Fast (~50ms)	Moderate (~150ms)
Best For	General-purpose	Code & development

Detailed Comparison

Model Support

Agno Runtime
Claude Code Runtime

All major LLM providers via LiteLLMSupported providers:

OpenAI: GPT-4, GPT-4 Turbo, GPT-3.5
Anthropic: Claude 3 Opus, Sonnet, Haiku
Google: Gemini Pro, Gemini Flash
Mistral: Mistral Large, Mistral Medium
Cohere: Command, Command R+
Custom providers: Any LiteLLM-compatible endpoint

Model selection example:

{
  "runtime": "agno",
  "model_id": "gpt-4o",  // or "kubiya/claude-sonnet-4", "gemini-pro", etc.
  "model_config": {
    "temperature": 0.7,
    "max_tokens": 4096
  }
}

Why choose Agno for models?

Need to use multiple providers
Want flexibility to switch providers
Cost optimization across different models
Provider-agnostic architecture

Tool Integration

Agno Runtime
Claude Code Runtime

Python-based tools with Agno ToolkitSkills Integration:

Python classes implementing Kubiya Skills interface
get_tools() method returns Agno Toolkit
Rich type system for parameters
Automatic validation and error handling

MCP Server Support:

Via Agno’s MCPTools adapter
Stdio and HTTP/SSE transports
Automatic tool discovery
Parameter mapping to Agno format

Custom Tool Example:

from agno.tools import Toolkit

class CustomDatabaseTool:
    def get_tools(self) -> Toolkit:
        return Toolkit(
            name="database",
            tools=[self.query_database]
        )

    def query_database(self, sql: str) -> str:
        # Execute database query
        return results

Strengths:

Flexible Python integration
Rich ecosystem of Agno tools
Easy local development
Type-safe parameter handling

Streaming & Real-time Execution

Both runtimes support streaming, but with different implementation details: Agno Runtime:

Event batching for efficiency
Tool execution hooks (tool_start, tool_result)
Real-time token streaming
Custom event callbacks

Claude Code Runtime:

Character-by-character streaming (partial messages)
Direct SDK streaming integration
Real-time tool execution events
Session-aware streaming (resume support)

Performance: Comparable for both - streaming adds ~10-20ms latency but provides significantly better UX.

Conversation History

Agno Runtime
Claude Code Runtime

100-message capacityHistory Management:

Messages stored in Control Plane database
Automatic history pruning at 100 messages
FIFO (first-in, first-out) pruning strategy
Per-agent history isolation

Message Format:

{
  "role": "user",  // or "assistant", "system"
  "content": "Message text"
}

Best Practices:

Use for short to medium conversations (< 50 messages typical)
Consider summarization for longer workflows
History impacts token usage linearly
Monitor history length in analytics

When to use:

Standard agent interactions
Q&A workflows
Task-based executions
Most production use cases

Specialization & Optimization

Agno Runtime:

General-purpose execution optimized for flexibility
No domain-specific optimizations
Model-agnostic performance tuning
Broad use case coverage

Claude Code Runtime:

Code-specific optimizations:
- Advanced file operation handling
- Multi-file context awareness
- Code parsing and analysis
- Repository structure understanding
- Syntax highlighting and formatting
Development workflow patterns
Extended context for complex codebases

Decision Matrix

Choose Agno Runtime if…

✅ You need multiple LLM providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Mistral, etc.) ✅ You want maximum flexibility in model selection ✅ Your use case is general-purpose (Q&A, workflows, data processing) ✅ You prioritize fast startup time (< 50ms) ✅ You’re building Python-based custom tools ✅ You need cost optimization across different model tiers ✅ Your conversations are short to medium (< 100 messages) Ideal for:

Customer support agents
Data processing workflows
General automation tasks
Multi-model testing and comparison
Organizations with diverse LLM strategies

Choose Claude Code Runtime if…

✅ You’re Claude-committed or heavily using Claude models ✅ Your primary use case is code generation or analysis ✅ You need extended conversation history (100-200 messages) ✅ You want session resumption for multi-turn workflows ✅ You’re working with complex codebases or multi-file operations ✅ You need optimized file operation handling ✅ You’re building developer tools or automation Ideal for:

Code generation and scaffolding
Automated refactoring
Repository analysis and audits
Technical documentation generation
Development workflow automation
Architecture review agents

Switching Between Runtimes

Can you switch? Yes! Runtime selection is per-agent and can be changed at any time. Impact:

Configuration change only - no code changes required
Takes effect on next execution - no restart needed
History is preserved (format is runtime-agnostic)
Tool configurations may need adjustment (Python vs MCP)

Migration Strategy:

Test in development environment first
Run parallel (new runtime alongside old)
Selective migration (low-risk agents first)
Monitor performance and cost metrics
Full cutover once validated

Runtime Interoperability

Can you use both runtimes simultaneously? Absolutely! Scenarios:

Agent-level selection: Agent A uses Agno, Agent B uses Claude Code
Team-level configuration: Team 1 uses Agno, Team 2 uses Claude Code
Use case optimization: General agents on Agno, dev agents on Claude Code
A/B testing: Compare runtime performance for specific workflows

No conflicts - runtimes are completely isolated at execution time.

Performance Comparison

Startup Latency

Runtime	Cold Start	Warm Start
Agno	~50ms	~10ms
Claude Code	~150ms	~30ms

Note: Startup difference is negligible for most use cases. Total execution time is dominated by model inference, not runtime overhead.

Streaming Throughput

Runtime	Tokens/sec	Notes
Agno	~40-60	Via LiteLLM proxy
Claude Code	~50-70	Direct Claude SDK

Note: Throughput depends more on model selection and provider API performance than runtime choice.

Token Efficiency

Comparable - both runtimes use tokens efficiently. Token consumption is determined by:

Model selection (primary factor)
Conversation history length
Tool usage patterns
Prompt engineering

Cost optimization tip: Choose cheaper models (GPT-3.5, Claude Haiku, Gemini Flash) rather than switching runtimes.

Cost Comparison

Runtime costs: No separate charge - runtimes are included in Kubiya platform Model costs: Pay for underlying model usage (determined by provider) Cost factors:

Model selection (largest impact):
- Premium: GPT-4, Claude Opus (~$0.015-0.03/1K tokens)
- Balanced: Claude Sonnet, GPT-3.5 Turbo (~$0.001-0.003/1K tokens)
- Economical: Claude Haiku, Gemini Flash (~$0.0001-0.0005/1K tokens)
Conversation history (linear impact):
- 100-message history: ~10-30K tokens per execution
- 200-message history: ~20-60K tokens per execution
Tool usage (moderate impact):
- Each tool call adds ~500-1000 tokens overhead
- Complex tools increase token usage

Cost optimization strategies:

Use Agno Runtime with economical models (Haiku, Gemini Flash)
Implement history pruning for long conversations
Cache frequent tool results
Use Claude Code only for code-intensive tasks

Frequently Asked Questions

Which runtime should I start with?

Choose based on your needs:

Multi-model flexibility? Start with Agno Runtime
Code-focused tasks? Start with Claude Code Runtime

You can easily switch between runtimes at any time as your needs evolve.

Can I change runtime after deployment?

Yes, easilyUpdate your agent configuration with the new runtime value. The change takes effect on the next execution. No downtime, no data loss.

Do I pay extra for Claude Code?

No runtime chargesYou pay for the underlying Claude model usage, but the runtime itself is included. Agno and Claude Code have the same platform cost.

What if I need both capabilities?

Use multiple agentsCreate one agent with Agno for general tasks and another with Claude Code for development tasks. You can use both simultaneously.

How do custom runtimes compare?

Maximum flexibility, custom integrationCustom runtimes let you integrate frameworks like LangChain, CrewAI, or AutoGen. You control all execution logic, tool integration, and model interaction.See our custom runtime guide for details.

Next Steps

Agno Runtime Details

Deep dive into Agno runtime configuration and capabilities

Claude Code Runtime Details

Explore Claude Code runtime features and use cases

Custom Runtimes

Build your own runtime with custom frameworks

Control Plane

Runtime registry and orchestration

Introduction

Quick Start

Core Concepts

Infrastructure

Runtime Comparison

Quick Comparison

Detailed Comparison

Model Support

Tool Integration

Streaming & Real-time Execution

Conversation History

Specialization & Optimization

Decision Matrix

Choose Agno Runtime if…

Choose Claude Code Runtime if…

Switching Between Runtimes

Runtime Interoperability

Performance Comparison

Startup Latency

Streaming Throughput

Token Efficiency

Cost Comparison

Frequently Asked Questions

Next Steps

Agno Runtime Details

Claude Code Runtime Details

Custom Runtimes

Control Plane

Introduction

Quick Start

Core Concepts

Infrastructure

​Quick Comparison

​Detailed Comparison

​Model Support

​Tool Integration

​Streaming & Real-time Execution

​Conversation History

​Specialization & Optimization

​Decision Matrix

​Choose Agno Runtime if…

​Choose Claude Code Runtime if…

​Switching Between Runtimes

​Runtime Interoperability

​Performance Comparison

​Startup Latency

​Streaming Throughput

​Token Efficiency

​Cost Comparison

​Frequently Asked Questions

​Next Steps

Agno Runtime Details

Claude Code Runtime Details

Custom Runtimes

Control Plane

Quick Comparison

Detailed Comparison

Model Support

Tool Integration

Streaming & Real-time Execution

Conversation History

Specialization & Optimization

Decision Matrix

Choose Agno Runtime if…

Choose Claude Code Runtime if…

Switching Between Runtimes

Runtime Interoperability

Performance Comparison

Startup Latency

Streaming Throughput

Token Efficiency

Cost Comparison

Frequently Asked Questions

Next Steps