
Haystack
Haystack is an open-source AI orchestration framework for developers building agents, multimodal applications, advanced retrieval-augmented generation system…
What Haystack is
Haystack is an open-source AI orchestration framework for developers building agents, multimodal applications, advanced retrieval-augmented generation systems, and scalable search. Applications are assembled as modular pipelines from components such as retrievers, routers, memory layers, tools, evaluators, and generators. Pipelines can run on your own infrastructure and be served as REST APIs or MCP servers with Hayhooks. The integrations directory lists 189 integrations across model providers, vector databases, monitoring tools, and community components, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Amazon Bedrock, Elasticsearch, Pinecone, and Datadog. The separate Haystack Enterprise Platform adds a visual pipeline builder, debugging, templates, data indexing, a playground, prompt exploration, deployment, and monitoring. It can run on managed cloud or self-hosted infrastructure and exposes a REST API. Its listed provisions include SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, GDPR, HIPAA, CSA Star Level 1, RBAC, audit logs, traces, guardrails, and SSO. A free Enterprise trial is available by form request and includes cloud infrastructure for building and testing prototypes.
Good
- Open-source framework costs nothing.
- Pipelines can be served as REST APIs or MCP servers.
- Lists 189 integrations.
- Supports agent workflows, advanced RAG, and multimodal applications.
- Enterprise Platform offers managed-cloud and self-hosted deployment.
Watch out
- Free Enterprise trial requires a form request.
- Enterprise Platform is separate from the open-source framework.
Who it suits
Haystack suits AI developers and engineers building modular, transparent systems for real-world enterprise environments. The open-source framework may fit teams that want to build on their own infrastructure, while the separate Enterprise Platform offers additional development, deployment, and monitoring tools.
Verdict
Haystack provides a modular framework for building AI pipelines, with a separate Enterprise Platform for visual development and operational tools. Compare the open-source framework's fit with your deployment needs against the Enterprise Platform's unlisted pricing and trial terms.
Plans and prices
From Haystack's own pricing page, checked 7 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Haystack Open Source Framework | Free | Open-source Python framework; no paid plan price stated on the pages reviewed |
| Haystack Enterprise Platform | Priced on request | Platform pricing not stated on the pages reviewed |
The facts
Each one read from Haystack's own pages, with the date it was checked.
The company
- Company
- Haystack is built by deepset, whose about page says it developed Haystack in 2020 and lists its Berlin headquarters.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Founded
- 2018checked 28 Sep 2026
- Headquarters
- Berlin, Germanychecked 28 Sep 2026
What it does
- Deployment
- Pipelines can be served as REST APIs or MCP servers with Hayhooks and run on your own infrastructure.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Deployment options
- The Enterprise Platform can be deployed to managed cloud or self-hosted infrastructure and exposes a REST API.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Examples of integrations
- Listed integrations include OpenAI, Anthropic, Amazon Bedrock, Elasticsearch, Pinecone, and Datadog.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Installation
- The maker's quick-start page installs Haystack with pip using the package name haystack-ai.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- The integrations directory lists 189 integrations, including model providers, vector databases, monitoring tools, and community-built components.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Intended users
- Haystack is built for AI developers and engineers creating accurate, modular, transparent AI systems for real-world enterprise environments.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Modular pipelines
- Haystack structures applications as modular pipelines with components such as retrievers, routers, memory layers, tools, evaluators, and generators.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Security and compliance
- The Enterprise Platform page lists SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, GDPR, HIPAA, and CSA Star Level 1, along with RBAC, audit logs, traces, guardrails, and SSO.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Support
- deepset offers private, secure engineering support, deployment guides, and flexible services for Haystack framework customers.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Use cases
- Haystack supports agent workflows, advanced RAG, multimodal applications, and scalable search systems.checked 7 Oct 2026
- What it does
- Haystack is an open-source AI orchestration framework for building production-ready AI agents, multimodal applications, and advanced RAG systems.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Who it is for
- Haystack is built for AI developers and engineers creating accurate, modular, and transparent AI systems.checked 7 Oct 2026
Where it runs
- Enterprise platform
- The Haystack Enterprise Platform includes a visual pipeline builder, debugging, templates, data indexing, a playground, prompt exploration, deployment, and monitoring tools.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Platform security
- The Enterprise Platform page lists SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, GDPR, HIPAA, and CSA Star Level 1, along with RBAC, audit logs, SSO, and cloud or self-hosted deployment.checked 7 Oct 2026
Money
- Free trial
- The maker offers a free trial of the Haystack Enterprise Platform, accessed by filling out a form; the page does not state a trial duration.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Trial
- A free Enterprise Platform trial is offered by form request and includes built-in cloud infrastructure for building and testing prototypes.checked 7 Oct 2026
Alternatives to Haystack
- 1
Vellum
Free planOpen sourceAndroidiOSWebAPI8.7From $30 a month - 2

Scanopy
Free planOpen sourceWebAPILinuxmacOS8.3Free plan - 3
Flowise
Free planWebAPILinuxmacOS7.2From $35 a month - 4

LlamaIndex
Free planWebAPILinuxSelf-hosted7.1From $50 a month - 5

Vercel
Free planWebAPI7.0$20 usage-based - 6

LangChain
Free planAPISelf-hosted6.8$39 usage-based
