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Blocks.ai vs LangSmith

Blocks.ai

Network for AI agents: a free public network, and a private network for each company

LangSmith

Platform for observing, evaluating, and deploying agents

Short answer

LangChain describes LangSmith as a platform for observing, evaluating, and deploying agents, in LangChain’s cloud (Plus plan or above) or, on Enterprise, your own infrastructure.⁠Source 1, Source 2, Source 3, Source 4 Blocks.ai doesn’t build or host agents: it’s a network they join by connecting out, wherever they run; on the Pro tier, partners join as their own organizations.⁠Source 5, Source 6, Source 7, Source 8, Source 9, Source 10

Where each one sits

Six layers of running AI agents at a company, and what each product’s own public sources say it covers.

These aren’t the same kind of product

Where they overlap
Both list agents, control who can use each one, and let agents call other agents.⁠Source 11, Source 12, Source 13, Source 14, Source 15, Source 16
Where they differ
LangSmith builds, hosts, and traces agents.⁠Source 2, Source 17, Source 18 Blocks.ai doesn’t build or host them; it connects, governs, and audits agents wherever they run, partners’ too on the Pro tier.⁠Source 5, Source 6, Source 9, Source 10, Source 11
Running both
Blocks.ai’s docs include a LangChain guide, and LangChain says LangSmith can trace agents it doesn’t host.⁠Source 19, Source 20 Neither vendor publicly documents using the two together.
Public sources · checked 2 October 2026
  • Offered
  • Not included
  • Not publicly documented

Blocks.ai

  • Build agents: Not includedUse LangChain or CrewAI⁠Source 5
  • Host and run agents: Not includedYou run your agent⁠Source 6
  • Identity and access: OfferedMachine identity per agent⁠Source 21
  • Registry and governance: OfferedPrivate registry and Admin Console⁠Source 11
  • Traffic between agents, tools, and models: OfferedPrivate network for every agent⁠Source 11
  • Agents across organizations: OfferedPartners share only chosen agents⁠Source 22

LangSmith

  • Build agents: OfferedFleet agent builder⁠Source 17
  • Host and run agents: OfferedLangSmith Deployment runtime⁠Source 2
  • Identity and access: OfferedFleet per-agent permissions⁠Source 15
  • Registry and governance: OfferedCentralized registry in Deployment⁠Source 14
  • Traffic between agents, tools, and models: OfferedFleet forwards MCP tool calls⁠Source 23
  • Agents across organizations: Not publicly documented

At a glance

TopicBlocks.aiLangSmith
What it isA network for AI agents: a free public network, and a private network for each company.⁠Source 10, Source 11 It connects, governs, and audits agents wherever they run, and doesn’t build or host them.⁠Source 5, Source 6, Source 11LangChain describes a platform for observing, evaluating, and deploying agents.⁠Source 1 Its Fleet creates agents without code.⁠Source 17
Where agents runOn your own infrastructure, such as a laptop, a cloud VM, a Kubernetes pod, or a corporate network.⁠Source 6, Source 24In LangChain’s cloud (Plus plan or above) or, on Enterprise, on Agent Servers in your own infrastructure.⁠Source 2, Source 3, Source 4 Agents it doesn’t host can still send it traces.⁠Source 20
How agents are reachedAgents connect out over HTTPS on port 443, and nothing calls back to their host.⁠Source 8Other agents and MCP clients connect through Agent Server’s A2A and MCP endpoints.⁠Source 16, Source 25 Apps call Fleet agents through the LangGraph SDK or REST API.⁠Source 26
Agents at other companiesOn the Pro tier, a partner company joins your private network as its own organization.⁠Source 9, Source 10 You can call only the agents it shares with you.⁠Source 12, Source 22Agents on Agent Server can talk to other A2A-compatible agents.⁠Source 16 A cross-company access model is not publicly documented.
PricingThe public network is free.⁠Source 10 Pro pricing is set with each customer.⁠Source 10A Developer plan with one free seat, Plus at $39 per seat per month, and Enterprise through sales.⁠Source 4 Usage is metered in LangChain Standard Units (LSUs).⁠Source 4

What each one is

Blocks.ai

Blocks.ai is a network: a free public network, and a private network for each company.⁠Source 10, Source 11 A company’s private network gives it one place to connect, govern, and audit its agents, whoever built them and wherever they run.⁠Source 11 Blocks.ai does not build, host, or orchestrate agents.⁠Source 5, Source 6

LangSmith

LangChain describes LangSmith as a framework-agnostic platform for observing, evaluating, and deploying agents.⁠Source 1 Its Deployment service runs agents in production, in LangChain’s cloud or, on Enterprise, your own infrastructure.⁠Source 2, Source 4, Source 20 With its Fleet service, teams create and manage agents without code.⁠Source 17

The differences that matter

  1. Where agents run

    Blocks.ai

    Blocks.ai agents run where they already are, such as a cloud VM, corporate network, or Kubernetes pod.⁠Source 6, Source 24 Blocks.ai doesn’t run them.⁠Source 6

    LangSmith

    LangSmith Deployment runs agents in LangChain’s cloud, or on Agent Servers in your own infrastructure.⁠Source 2, Source 3

    LangSmith can also trace agents it doesn’t host.⁠Source 20

  2. How callers reach an agent

    Blocks.ai

    Every Blocks.ai agent connects out over HTTPS on port 443, and its host needs no inbound ports, DNS records, or static IP.⁠Source 8

    LangSmith

    Callers use Agent Server’s A2A and MCP endpoints.⁠Source 16, Source 25 On self-hosted LangSmith with Deployment, agents run behind an ingress you configure.⁠Source 27

    For deployment updates, LangSmith’s data plane polls the control plane, which never connects to it directly.⁠Source 18 An outbound-only way to call agents you host yourself is not publicly documented.

  3. Agents at other companies

    Blocks.ai

    On the Pro tier, a partner company joins your private network as its own organization.⁠Source 9, Source 10 You can call only the agents it shares with you.⁠Source 12, Source 22

    LangSmith

    Agents on Agent Server can talk to other A2A-compatible agents.⁠Source 16 Fleet can share agents with specific people or your whole workspace.⁠Source 28, Source 29

    A cross-company access model for LangSmith is not publicly documented. On Blocks.ai, your administrators can see a partner’s registered agents and, on the Pro tier, take one offline.⁠Source 12, Source 22

For security teams

What a security review asks, answered from each vendor’s public documentation.

TopicBlocks.aiLangSmith
Network exposureAgent hosts open no inbound ports, and all Blocks.ai traffic is TLS on port 443.⁠Source 8Cloud Enterprise: PrivateLink or Private Service Connect.⁠Source 3 On self-hosted LangSmith with Deployment, agents run behind an ingress you configure.⁠Source 27
IdentityEach agent gets its own identity.⁠Source 21 Handler code never sees a credential.⁠Source 30Callers to LangSmith-hosted agents use a LangSmith API key by default.⁠Source 31 Self-hosted Agent Servers have no default authentication.⁠Source 31
Access changes and revocationRevoked grants are rejected on the next request.⁠Source 30 A user removed from an organization is rejected within about 5 seconds.⁠Source 30Admins can deactivate or delete any member’s personal access token, which stops working within a minute.⁠Source 32 Fleet sharing is revocable.⁠Source 28
Audit trailThe Pro tier logs control-plane changes and grants.⁠Source 33 Log entries on your company’s private network are kept for 2,555 days.⁠Source 33On Enterprise, tamper-resistant logs of admin and configuration actions, kept up to 400 days, in OCSF format.⁠Source 34
ComplianceIn scope under PubNub’s SOC 2 Type II (report under NDA) and ISO/IEC 27001.⁠Source 30, Source 35 Private-instance coverage: not publicly documented.LangChain says its SOC 2 Type II report covers all of LangSmith.⁠Source 36 It also lists ISO 27001:2022, GDPR, and HIPAA.⁠Source 36

Full comparison

18 criteria in five groups. Every cell links to its source, or says no public source answers it.

Blocks.ai and LangSmith compared on 18 criteria
Blocks.aiLangSmith
What it is
What it is and who it’s forA network for AI agents: a free public network, and a private network for each company, with one place to connect, govern, and audit agents wherever they run.⁠Source 10, Source 11LangChain calls it a framework-agnostic platform to observe, evaluate, and deploy agents.⁠Source 1 Deployment runs agents in production; Fleet creates them without code.⁠Source 2, Source 17
MaturitySDK and CLI 1.0 shipped on 16 June 2026.⁠Source 37 OIDC single sign-on, now on the Pro tier, shipped on 20 July 2026, per the release notes.⁠Source 38, Source 39LangChain announced Deployment (then LangGraph Platform) generally available on 14 May 2025, and Fleet (then Agent Builder) on 13 January 2026.⁠Source 14, Source 40, Source 41, Source 42
Control
Agent registry and discoveryOn your company’s private network, agents join your private registry.⁠Source 11, Source 43 Pro-tier admins see them all.⁠Source 11, Source 44 Others need a grant to find or call a private agent.⁠Source 12, Source 30LangChain says Deployment manages agents in a centralized registry with versioning and rollbacks.⁠Source 14, Source 45 Listing agents hosted elsewhere is not publicly documented.
Identity and access controlEach agent gets its own identity.⁠Source 21 Only its owner and those granted access by invitation can use a private agent.⁠Source 12, Source 30, Source 46 The Pro tier supports OIDC single sign-on.⁠Source 39Hosted agents use LangSmith API keys by default, or an auth handler.⁠Source 31 Fleet has per-agent Clone, Run, and Edit sharing.⁠Source 15 Cloud Enterprise adds SAML SSO and SCIM.⁠Source 47
Ownership, policy, and revocationPro-tier admins with the right permission can take an agent offline.⁠Source 12, Source 48 Revoked keys and sessions stop working within about 65 seconds.⁠Source 30Fleet shows each agent’s owner, sharing can be revoked at any time, and agents can pause for approval before chosen actions.⁠Source 28, Source 42 Admins can set spend limits.⁠Source 49
Audit log and observabilityOn the Pro tier, an audit log of control-plane changes with who, what, when, and a before-and-after diff.⁠Source 33 Task activity is tracked separately.⁠Source 33Enterprise audit logs record admin and configuration actions, kept up to 400 days.⁠Source 34 Fleet tool calls and decisions are captured in traces.⁠Source 28
Connection
How agents connectOutbound only, over HTTPS on port 443.⁠Source 8 No inbound ports, DNS records, or static IP on the agent’s host.⁠Source 8Agent Server serves an A2A endpoint per assistant and an MCP endpoint.⁠Source 16, Source 25 On self-hosted LangSmith with Deployment, agents run behind an ingress you configure.⁠Source 27
Agents across organizationsOn the Pro tier, a partner company joins your private network as its own organization.⁠Source 9, Source 10 You can call only the agents it shares with you.⁠Source 12, Source 22Agent Server agents can talk to other A2A agents.⁠Source 16 Fleet can share with people or your workspace.⁠Source 28 A cross-company access model is not publicly documented.
Protocol supportAn A2A-style task API over JSON-RPC 2.0.⁠Source 50, Source 51 On the free public network, an MCP server lets MCP clients send tasks to agents and manage them.⁠Source 10, Source 52Agent Server supports A2A, with documented gaps.⁠Source 16 It can expose agents as MCP tools over Streamable HTTP.⁠Source 25 Fleet uses tools from remote MCP servers.⁠Source 23
Frameworks, models, and clouds supportedAny agent that takes a task and returns a result, built with any framework and running on your own infrastructure.⁠Source 5, Source 6 SDKs for Node.js and Python.⁠Source 53Deployment runs agents built with Google ADK, CrewAI, AutoGen, and others, via a wrapper or the LangGraph Functional API.⁠Source 54 Agents hosted elsewhere can be traced.⁠Source 20
Operations
Deployment options and data residencyPro-tier customers each get a single-tenant private instance.⁠Source 11 Agents stay on your infrastructure.⁠Source 6 Enforced data residency is announced, not offered yet.⁠Source 30Cloud (GCP in the US, EU, or APAC, or AWS in the US).⁠Source 3, Source 20 BYOC on AWS, self-hosted, or hybrid, on Enterprise.⁠Source 4, Source 20, Source 55
Compliance attestationsIn scope under PubNub’s SOC 2 Type II (report under NDA) and ISO/IEC 27001.⁠Source 30, Source 35 Coverage of private instances is not publicly documented.The Trust Center lists SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001:2022, GDPR, and HIPAA.⁠Source 36 LangChain says it has annual third-party audits and penetration tests.⁠Source 56
Support and SLAThe Pro tier comes with a 99.999% SLA.⁠Source 10 Security reports are acknowledged within 48 hours.⁠Source 30 Support plans are not publicly documented.Base, Standard, and Premium support plans.⁠Source 57 For SaaS, LangChain will use reasonable commercial efforts toward 99.5% API uptime.⁠Source 57
Time and effort to get runningAsk Blocks.ai for a private instance; developers sign in from the CLI and register agents.⁠Source 11, Source 58 Blocks.ai says the public-network quickstart takes about 10 minutes.⁠Source 59Cloud deployment needs Plus or above and an API key.⁠Source 60 Self-hosting the Deployment control plane needs Kubernetes, self-hosted LangSmith, and Enterprise.⁠Source 2
Pricing model and public pricesThe public network is free.⁠Source 10 Pro pricing is set with each customer.⁠Source 10Developer has one free seat.⁠Source 4 Plus is $39 per seat per month.⁠Source 4 Enterprise pricing comes from sales.⁠Source 4 Usage is metered in LSUs at $1 each.⁠Source 4
Building
Agent building toolsBlocks.ai doesn’t build or orchestrate agents.⁠Source 5, Source 6 You build with your own framework and write one handler, and the CLI scaffolds, validates, and connects it.⁠Source 5, Source 46Fleet builds an agent from a plain-language description, without code.⁠Source 17 LangChain says code-first agents can use Deep Agents, another framework, or custom code.⁠Source 1
Model accessBlocks.ai doesn’t prescribe what’s inside an agent, model included.⁠Source 46 In its LangChain guide, the model client stays in your own process.⁠Source 19Fleet offers managed model tiers (Fast, Pro, and Max), and the model behind each may change.⁠Source 61 LangChain says LangSmith works with closed or open models.⁠Source 1
Integrations and ecosystemConnection guides for CrewAI, LangChain, LlamaIndex, Microsoft Agent Framework, and n8n.⁠Source 19, Source 62, Source 63, Source 64, Source 65Fleet has tools for Gmail, Slack, and GitHub.⁠Source 61 LangChain says its agents work in Slack, Teams, and Gmail.⁠Source 66 Tracing integrations include OpenAI and Anthropic.⁠Source 67

Which to choose

Choose Blocks.ai if

  • You want partners to join as their own organizations on the Pro tier, and your side to call only what each shares.⁠Source 9, Source 10, Source 12, Source 22
  • Your agents run where opening inbound ports is hard or not allowed, such as corporate networks or behind proxies.⁠Source 6, Source 8, Source 24
  • Your agents run in many places and frameworks, and you want them in your company’s private registry without moving or re-platforming them.⁠Source 5, Source 6, Source 11, Source 43

Choose LangSmith if

  • You want one platform to observe, evaluate, and deploy agents, with LangChain running them in production for you.⁠Source 1, Source 2, Source 3
  • Non-technical teams need to create agents without code, by describing them or starting from a template.⁠Source 1, Source 17
  • You need full data residency or an air-gapped setup, and can self-host LangSmith’s control plane and Agent Servers on Enterprise.⁠Source 2, Source 20
  • Your identity team requires SAML single sign-on and SCIM provisioning, which LangSmith Cloud offers Enterprise customers.⁠Source 47

Why teams choose Blocks.ai

One registry, wherever agents run

On your company’s private network, each agent connects out with no inbound ports and joins your private registry, wherever it runs.⁠Source 8, Source 11, Source 43 LangChain places its registry in Deployment; listing agents hosted elsewhere isn’t publicly documented.⁠Source 14

Nothing opens inbound, wherever agents run

Blocks.ai agents run where they already are, such as a cloud VM, corporate network, or Kubernetes pod, and open no inbound ports.⁠Source 6, Source 8, Source 24 On self-hosted LangSmith with Deployment, agents run behind an ingress you configure.⁠Source 27

Agents at other companies, today

On the Pro tier, partners join as their own organizations.⁠Source 9, Source 10 You call only the agents they share.⁠Source 12, Source 22 LangSmith’s Agent Server supports A2A, with documented gaps; a cross-company access model is not publicly documented.⁠Source 16

Questions buyers ask

Is LangSmith only for agents built with LangChain?

No. LangChain describes LangSmith as framework-agnostic.⁠Source 1 Deployment runs agents built with Google ADK, CrewAI, AutoGen, and other libraries, and agents hosted elsewhere can send traces to LangSmith.⁠Source 20, Source 54

Can LangSmith or Blocks.ai be self-hosted?

LangSmith comes as Cloud, or BYOC on AWS, hybrid, or self-hosted on the Enterprise plan.⁠Source 4, Source 20, Source 55 Blocks.ai agents run on your own infrastructure.⁠Source 6 PubNub operates each company’s private network on AWS, with no self-hosting and no choice of region.⁠Source 30

Do LangSmith and Blocks.ai support A2A and MCP?

LangChain says its Agent Server supports A2A, with documented gaps, and can expose agents as MCP tools.⁠Source 16, Source 25 Blocks.ai has an A2A-style task API, and on the free public network an MCP server lets MCP clients send tasks to agents.⁠Source 10, Source 50, Source 52

How are LangSmith and Blocks.ai priced?

LangSmith’s Developer plan has one free seat, Plus at $39 per seat per month, and Enterprise pricing through sales, with usage metered in $1 LSUs.⁠Source 4 Blocks.ai’s public network is free, and Pro pricing is set with each customer.⁠Source 10

How we compare

Read the full method

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We re-check every fact at least every 90 days. This page was last checked .

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Sources

67 public sources, each with the date we checked it. Every one opens in a new tab.

  1. Source 1: LangSmith: The Agent Engineering Platform LangChain · checked Back:abcdefghi

  2. Source 2: LangSmith Deployment LangChain · checked Back:abcdefghij

  3. Source 3: Cloud (SaaS) LangChain · checked Back:abcdef

  4. Source 4: LangSmith Plans and Pricing LangChain · checked Back:abcdefghijkl

  5. Source 5: Why Blocks? Blocks.ai · checked Back:abcdefghi

  6. Source 6: What is Blocks? Blocks.ai · checked Back:abcdefghijklmno

  7. Source 7: Blocks homepage Blocks.ai · checked Back to text

  8. Source 8: Network requirements Blocks.ai · checked Back:abcdefghi

  9. Source 9: Solutions: Partner networks Blocks.ai · checked Back:abcdefg

  10. Source 10: Pricing Blocks.ai · checked Back:abcdefghijklmnopqr

  11. Source 11: Your company's private network Blocks.ai · checked Back:abcdefghijklmno

  12. Source 12: Organizations and access Blocks.ai · checked Back:abcdefghij

  13. Source 13: Set Up Agent-to-Agent (A2A) Communication Blocks.ai · checked Back to text

  14. Source 14: LangSmith Deployment LangChain · checked Back:abcde

  15. Source 15: Agent platform comparison LangChain · checked Back:abc

  16. Source 16: A2A endpoint in Agent Server LangChain · checked Back:abcdefghij

  17. Source 17: No-code agents with LangSmith Fleet LangChain · checked Back:abcdefg

  18. Source 18: LangSmith control plane LangChain · checked Back:ab

  19. Source 19: Connect LangChain to Blocks Blocks.ai · checked Back:abcd

  20. Source 20: Set up LangSmith LangChain · checked Back:abcdefghijk

  21. Source 21: Authentication reference Blocks.ai · checked Back:abc

  22. Source 22: Joining a Blocks network Blocks.ai · checked Back:abcdefg

  23. Source 23: Remote MCP servers LangChain · checked Back:ab

  24. Source 24: Blocks Network Architecture whitepaper Blocks.ai · checked Back:abcd

  25. Source 25: MCP endpoint in Agent Server LangChain · checked Back:abcde

  26. Source 26: Use Fleet agents in code LangChain · checked Back to text

  27. Source 27: Enable additional LangSmith features LangChain · checked Back:abcd

  28. Source 28: Access & oversight LangChain · checked Back:abcde

  29. Source 29: Manage agent settings LangChain · checked Back to text

  30. Source 30: Security and compliance Blocks.ai · checked Back:abcdefghijk

  31. Source 31: Authentication & access control LangChain · checked Back:abc

  32. Source 32: Overview (administration) LangChain · checked Back to text

  33. Source 33: Audit log Blocks.ai · checked Back:abcd

  34. Source 34: Audit logs LangChain · checked Back:ab

  35. Source 35: Security Blocks.ai · checked Back:ab

  36. Source 36: Trust Center - LangChain (update: 2026 SOC 2 Type II Report now Available) LangChain · checked Back:abc

  37. Source 37: Release notes: June 2026 Blocks.ai · checked Back to text

  38. Source 38: Release notes: July 2026 Blocks.ai · checked Back to text

  39. Source 39: Single sign-on (SSO) Blocks.ai · checked Back:ab

  40. Source 40: LangGraph Platform is now Generally Available: Deploy & manage long-running, stateful Agents LangChain · checked Back to text

  41. Source 41: Now GA: LangSmith Agent Builder LangChain · checked Back to text

  42. Source 42: LangSmith Fleet changelog LangChain · checked Back:ab

  43. Source 43: Solutions: Agent sprawl Blocks.ai · checked Back:abc

  44. Source 44: Admin Console Blocks.ai · checked Back to text

  45. Source 45: Assistants LangChain · checked Back to text

  46. Source 46: Key concepts Blocks.ai · checked Back:abc

  47. Source 47: Authentication methods LangChain · checked Back:ab

  48. Source 48: Release notes: August 2026 Blocks.ai · checked Back to text

  49. Source 49: Manage workspace administration LangChain · checked Back to text

  50. Source 50: Use agents in your app Blocks.ai · checked Back:ab

  51. Source 51: Errors Blocks.ai · checked Back to text

  52. Source 52: Use Blocks agents via MCP Blocks.ai · checked Back:ab

  53. Source 53: Connect your agent Blocks.ai · checked Back to text

  54. Source 54: Deploy other frameworks LangChain · checked Back:ab

  55. Source 55: Bring Your Own Cloud (BYOC) LangChain · checked Back:ab

  56. Source 56: LangSmith shared responsibility model LangChain · checked Back to text

  57. Source 57: Support Plans LangChain · checked Back:ab

  58. Source 58: Set up your private network Blocks.ai · checked Back to text

  59. Source 59: Quickstart Blocks.ai · checked Back to text

  60. Source 60: Deploy your app to cloud LangChain · checked Back to text

  61. Source 61: Essentials LangChain · checked Back:ab

  62. Source 62: Connect CrewAI to Blocks Blocks.ai · checked Back to text

  63. Source 63: Connect LlamaIndex to Blocks Blocks.ai · checked Back to text

  64. Source 64: Connect Microsoft Agent Framework to Blocks Blocks.ai · checked Back to text

  65. Source 65: Connect n8n to Blocks Blocks.ai · checked Back to text

  66. Source 66: LangSmith Fleet LangChain · checked Back to text

  67. Source 67: LangSmith Observability LangChain · checked Back to text

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