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# Recursiv vs LangChain

## How Does Recursiv Compare to LangChain?

LangChain is a library you import to compose chains, agents and tool calls. You still bring your own infrastructure: where it runs, where memory lives, how it deploys and how it is governed. Recursiv is the runtime and the backend. Orchestration, memory, deploy and govern are built, not assembled.

The differentiator is that Recursiv runs the agents. It is not only a set of building blocks you import into an app you operate. The platform schedules work, isolates execution in sandboxes, persists memory, deploys and records what happened, so you can prove what ran.

## Quick Comparison

| Capability        | Recursiv                                     | LangChain                  |
| ----------------- | -------------------------------------------- | -------------------------- |
| Type              | Platform and runtime                         | Library                    |
| Agent composition | Agents and swarms                            | Chains and agents          |
| Model support     | Any model, swap anytime                      | Any model via integrations |
| Memory            | Brain and memory built in                    | Bring your own store       |
| Orchestration     | Dispatcher and jobs                          | Bring your own runtime     |
| Code execution    | Managed sandboxes                            | Bring your own             |
| Where it runs     | The platform runs it                         | Your infrastructure        |
| Deploy            | Deployments built in                         | Bring your own host        |
| Data and storage  | Postgres and object storage                  | Bring your own             |
| Auth              | Built in                                     | Bring your own             |
| Govern            | Scoped identity, approvals, audit, self-eval | Build it yourself          |
| Integrations      | Hundreds built in                            | Many integrations          |

## When LangChain Is the Better Choice

* You want a library to drop into an existing app and you already own your infrastructure
* You need fine-grained control over chain composition and prompt plumbing in your own code
* You are prototyping locally and do not yet need a managed runtime, memory or govern
* Your stack is fixed and you want a framework that adapts to it rather than a platform to adopt

## Get Started

If you want the orchestration, memory, deploy and govern built rather than assembled, start with the [quickstart](/guides/start-here/quickstart).