Key Finding
47.2M Provider SDK downloads vs 29.0M Framework downloads
Ratio: 1.63x - Direct provider SDKs have 63% more downloads than abstraction frameworks
Data collected: October 29, 2025 from NPM official API
Our latest NPM download analysis reveals a clear trend: developers are choosing direct provider SDKs over abstraction frameworks. OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google's official SDKs collectively receive 47.2 million monthly downloads, while framework alternatives like LangChain and Vercel AI SDK total 29 million.
The Data Breakdown
Provider SDKs (47.2M total)
- OpenAI SDK: 31.6M monthly downloads
- Anthropic SDK: 10.4M monthly downloads
- Google Gemini: 5.2M monthly downloads
Frameworks (29.0M total)
- Vercel AI SDK: 16.3M monthly downloads
- LangChain Core: 7.6M monthly downloads
- LangChain: 5.1M monthly downloads
Why Developers Choose Provider SDKs
The 63% download advantage for provider SDKs suggests several trends in how developers build AI applications:
1. Performance and Control
Direct SDK integration offers developers maximum control over API calls, error handling, and performance optimization. There's no middleware layer introducing latency or abstraction overhead.
2. Feature Access
New features from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google ship directly in their SDKs first. Frameworks require additional development time to expose these features through their abstraction layers.
3. Simpler Dependencies
A single provider SDK means fewer dependencies, smaller bundle sizes, and simpler updates. Framework abstractions add complexity that developers may not need.
4. Official Support
Provider SDKs come with direct support from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. Framework support relies on third-party maintainers who may lag behind provider updates.
When Frameworks Still Matter
Despite the download disparity, frameworks serve important use cases:
- Multi-provider applications: Apps that need to switch between OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google benefit from framework abstractions
- Complex orchestration: LangChain excels at chaining multiple AI operations together
- Full-stack integration: Vercel AI SDK provides React hooks and streaming utilities that simplify frontend integration
The OpenAI Effect
OpenAI's SDK alone accounts for 31.6M downloads - more than all frameworks combined. This dominance reflects:
- OpenAI's market leadership in AI APIs
- GPT-4 and ChatGPT's widespread adoption
- Developer familiarity with OpenAI's API patterns
- Strong documentation and community support
What This Means for AI Developers
The data suggests that most developers prefer direct, provider-specific integration when building AI applications. Start with provider SDKs for:
- Single-provider applications
- Performance-critical systems
- Projects requiring latest features
- Simple API integrations
Consider frameworks when you need:
- Provider-agnostic architecture
- Complex multi-step workflows
- Rich frontend integration patterns
- Pre-built orchestration tools
Methodology
Data collected October 29, 2025 from NPM's official API. We queried the latest snapshot for each package using DISTINCT ON (package_name) ordered by scraped_at DESC to avoid duplicate counts from historical snapshots.
Provider SDKs tracked: openai, @anthropic-ai/sdk, @google/generative-ai
Frameworks tracked: ai (Vercel AI SDK), @langchain/core, langchain
Track the Data Yourself
All NPM download data updates daily on our AI Coding Tools Rankings page. Historical trends and detailed breakdowns available on the Data Hub.
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