Agentic Index
Akka vs Databricks Mosaic AI (2026)
Both score 12 of 14 running multi agent systems and they differ on whether the data platform comes with it.
Mosaic is Databricks' platform for building, deploying and orchestrating multi agent systems, usage based on Databricks units, so it presumes the data estate is already there. Akka builds and runs multi agent systems on a durable distributed runtime unifying orchestration, agents, memory and streaming in one software development kit, open source core. If you are a Databricks shop, Mosaic is continuous with everything you have; if you are not, Mosaic asks a great deal and Akka asks for a runtime.
Choose Akka if
- You are not on Databricks and do not want to be for the sake of an agent platform.
- A durable distributed runtime with memory and streaming unified is the architecture you want.
- Open source core matters for your dependency and exit position.
Choose Databricks Mosaic AI if
- Databricks is already your data platform, which makes this incremental rather than new.
- Agents reasoning over your governed data estate is the primary use case.
- Usage based on units you already buy simplifies procurement entirely.
| At a glance | Akka | Databricks Mosaic AI |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Multi-agent platform | Multi-agent platform |
| Entry price | Open source core under BSL (converts to Apache v2 after 36 months); commercial and enterprise use is sales led with no public pricing. All agentic components are included in the Akka license. | Free trial · usage based (DBUs) |
| Free / trial | Open source BSL core available; POC offered in 48 hours | A free trial is available to evaluate the Databricks platform and Mosaic AI before committing to consumption billing. |
| Pricing confidence | contact only | public partial |
| Feature | A Akka |
D Databricks Mosaic AI |
|---|---|---|
| Action & orchestration | ||
|
Integrations & Tool Calling Ability to connect agents to real systems through native integrations, OAuth-authenticated actions, custom tools, APIs, webhooks, or MCP-compatible tools. |
Full / Explicit | Full / Explicit |
|
Workflow Orchestration Ability to sequence, branch, retry, route, and combine deterministic workflow nodes with autonomous agent steps. |
Full / Explicit | Full / Explicit |
|
Triggers & Channel Coverage How agents wake up and where they work: schedules, webhooks, message events, CRM events, inbox events, chat, email, voice, and collaboration tools. |
Full / Explicit | Partial |
| Knowledge & context | ||
|
Knowledge Grounding & RAG Ability to ground agent behavior in company data through document ingestion, retrieval, external knowledge APIs, semantic search, or RAG layers. |
Partial | Full / Explicit |
|
Memory & State Persistence Ability to persist context across a run, conversation, workflow, user, team, or longer-term memory layer. |
Full / Explicit | Full / Explicit |
| Control & trust | ||
|
Human Oversight & Guardrails Approval steps, consent checkpoints, escalation rules, structured guardrails, policy constraints, and pause/resume controls. |
Full / Explicit | Full / Explicit |
|
Security, Identity & Governance RBAC, SSO, auditability, encryption, least-privilege tool access, compliance posture, and data handling policy. |
Full / Explicit | Full / Explicit |
|
Observability & Auditability Traces, logs, execution histories, metrics, audit events, and debugging detail for production agent behavior. |
Full / Explicit | Full / Explicit |
|
Deployment & Data Residency Deployment modes and options, including SaaS, dedicated cloud, VPC, on-prem, hybrid, local runtime, and self-hosting. |
Full / Explicit | Full / Explicit |
| Solution readiness | ||
|
Prebuilt Agents, Templates & Packs Ready-made workflows, packaged employees, templates, blueprints, industry solutions, and role-specific agents that reduce time-to-value. |
Partial | Partial |
| Platform extensibility | ||
|
Model Flexibility & Routing Ability to work across multiple foundation models, route tasks to different models, or let buyers bring their own providers and keys. |
Full / Explicit | Full / Explicit |
|
APIs, SDKs & MCP Extensibility Composability layer: stable APIs, SDKs, MCP tool consumption/serving, custom tools, and integration into internal systems. |
Full / Explicit | Full / Explicit |
|
Testing, Debugging & Optimization Testing, debugging, scoring, retries, fallbacks, quality gates, and optimization loops for improving agent workflows before and after deployment. |
Full / Explicit | Full / Explicit |
| Specialist automation | ||
|
Browser & Computer Use Browser, desktop, or remote/local computer control for workflows that cannot be handled through stable APIs alone. |
No / Not documented | No / Not documented |
Pricing snapshot
Sourced from the Index pricing dataset · open each vendor's profile for full detail.
| Pricing | A Akka |
D Databricks Mosaic AI |
|---|---|---|
|
Entry price Lowest public entry point |
Open source core under BSL (converts to Apache v2 after 36 months); commercial and enterprise use is sales led with no public pricing. All agentic components are included in the Akka license. | Free trial · usage based (DBUs) |
|
Pricing confidence How public the numbers are |
Contact only | Public — partial |
|
Billing Primary billing axis |
compute cores or platform license (not publicly disclosed) | usage (DBUs) |
|
Variable cost Workload / overage exposure |
Medium variable cost | High variable cost |
|
Free tier / trial Try before you buy |
Free tierTrial
|
No free tierTrial
|
|
Buying motion Self-serve vs sales call |
Mixed | Mixed |