<!-- Canonical: https://www.agentlist.io/systems/beeai -->

# BeeAI

[08 agent-communication](https://www.agentlist.io/categories/agent-communication)/[IBM](https://www.agentlist.io/ai/ibm)/ACTIVE/aka IBM BeeAI, ACP

BeeAI is IBM's open-source agent platform — run, compose, and observe agents locally or on a cluster, with ACP/A2A-style interop and a web UI for non-technical operators.

-   [Multi-agent orchestration](https://www.agentlist.io/capabilities/multi-agent)
-   [Agent-to-agent protocol](https://www.agentlist.io/capabilities/a2a)
-   [API-native](https://www.agentlist.io/capabilities/api-native)

SEC.01

## What it does

-   01Agent runtime and CLI
-   02Multi-framework composition
-   03ACP/A2A interoperability
-   04Web UI and observability

SEC.02

## Who it's for

Teams who want a batteries-included open platform for hosting several agents instead of assembling frameworks themselves.

PRICING

## Pricing

Free (OSS, Apache-2.0). List prices as checked against the vendor's pricing page on 2026-09-25; plans change often, so confirm before deciding.

caveat · before you adopt

IBM's ACP folded into A2A — check which protocol generation a given component targets.

ALT

## Other agent communication platforms (12)

[OpenScout / Scout OpenScout · agent-communication cli/api · local · Free (OSS), local](https://www.agentlist.io/systems/scout)

[A2A Protocol A2A Project · agent-communication api · local/cloud · Open protocol (free)](https://www.agentlist.io/systems/a2a)

[AGNTCY AGNTCY · agent-communication api · local/cloud · Free (OSS, Apache-2.0)](https://www.agentlist.io/systems/agntcy)

[Agent Network Protocol Community / OSS · agent-communication api · local/cloud · Open protocol (free)](https://www.agentlist.io/systems/anp)

[NANDA NANDA (MIT Media Lab) · agent-communication api · local/cloud · Free (research project)](https://www.agentlist.io/systems/nanda)

[CrewAI CrewAI · agent-communication api/cli · local/cloud · Free OSS core; CrewAI Enterprise paid (verify)](https://www.agentlist.io/systems/crewai)

[Microsoft Agent Framework Microsoft · agent-communication api · local/cloud · Free OSS (MIT); Azure hosting via Foundry](https://www.agentlist.io/systems/agent-framework)

[LangGraph LangChain · agent-communication api · local/cloud · Free OSS; LangGraph Platform paid tiers](https://www.agentlist.io/systems/langgraph)

[MetaGPT DeepWisdom · agent-communication api/cli · local/cloud · Free OSS; MGX hosted product paid (verify)](https://www.agentlist.io/systems/metagpt)

[CAMEL CAMEL-AI · agent-communication api · local/cloud · Free (OSS, Apache-2.0)](https://www.agentlist.io/systems/camel)

[Agency Swarm VRSEN · agent-communication api · local/cloud · Free (OSS)](https://www.agentlist.io/systems/agency-swarm)

[OpenAI Agents SDK OpenAI · agent-communication api · local/cloud · Free (OSS SDK); model usage metered](https://www.agentlist.io/systems/openai-agents-sdk)

FAQ

## Frequently asked

### What is BeeAI?

BeeAI is IBM's open-source agent platform — run, compose, and observe agents locally or on a cluster, with ACP/A2A-style interop and a web UI for non-technical operators.

### Who is BeeAI for?

Teams who want a batteries-included open platform for hosting several agents instead of assembling frameworks themselves.

### How much does BeeAI cost?

Free (OSS, Apache-2.0). List prices as checked against the vendor's pricing page on 2026-09-25; plans change often, so confirm before deciding.

### Does BeeAI run locally or in the cloud?

BeeAI runs locally on your machine and in the vendor's cloud. Its interfaces are an API or protocol, a terminal (CLI).

### What are alternatives to BeeAI?

Other agent communication platform entries in the catalog: OpenScout / Scout, A2A Protocol, AGNTCY, Agent Network Protocol, NANDA, CrewAI, Microsoft Agent Framework, LangGraph, MetaGPT, CAMEL, Agency Swarm, OpenAI Agents SDK. Different categories solve the same problem differently — see the Agent communication & collaboration category page for tradeoffs.

### What should I know before adopting BeeAI?

IBM's ACP folded into A2A — check which protocol generation a given component targets.

Spec sheet

**Name**: BeeAI

**Vendor**: [IBM](https://www.agentlist.io/ai/ibm)

**Category**: [Agent communication & collaboration](https://www.agentlist.io/categories/agent-communication)

**Interfaces**: api · cli

**Hosting**: local · cloud

**Pricing**: Free (OSS, Apache-2.0)

**Status**: actively maintained

**Integrates**: -   [MCP servers](https://www.agentlist.io/integrations/mcp-servers)

**Speaks**: -   [MCP (Model Context Protocol)](https://www.agentlist.io/transports/mcp)
-   [A2A (Agent2Agent)](https://www.agentlist.io/transports/a2a)
-   [ACP](https://www.agentlist.io/transports/acp)

**Aliases**: IBM BeeAI, ACP

**Record ID**: `sys://ibm/beeai`

**Verified**: [2026-09-25](https://www.agentlist.io/changelog)

Sources

-   [↗ www.ibm.com](https://www.ibm.com/)
-   [↗ docs.beeai.dev](https://docs.beeai.dev/)
-   [↗ github.com/i-am-bee/beeai-framework](https://github.com/i-am-bee/beeai-framework)

Catalog entries are editorial records, not paid placements or endorsements. Pricing and status are approximate as of the seed date.

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Source: [BeeAI — AGENT-COMMS by IBM | agentlist.io](https://www.agentlist.io/systems/beeai). This is the public page rendered as Markdown; interactive controls require the website.