LLM Frameworks vs. the Raw SDK in Java

📰 Dev.to · Puneet Gupta

Learn to evaluate LLM frameworks by building the same tool twice, once with the raw SDK and once with a framework, and comparing the costs and benefits

intermediate Published 5 Jul 2026

Action Steps

Build a small tool using an agent on the raw Anthropic Java SDK
Build the same tool using a framework such as LangChain4j or Spring AI
Compare the costs and benefits of each approach
Evaluate the trade-offs between abstraction and control
Choose the best framework for your specific use case

Who Needs to Know This

Software engineers and AI developers can benefit from this approach to evaluate LLM frameworks and make informed decisions about which ones to use

Key Insight

💡 Evaluating LLM frameworks requires a hands-on approach, building the same tool twice to compare costs and benefits

Key Takeaways

Learn to evaluate LLM frameworks by building the same tool twice, once with the raw SDK and once with a framework, and comparing the costs and benefits

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Title: LLM Frameworks vs. the Raw SDK in Java

URL Source: https://dev.to/gpuneet/llm-frameworks-vs-the-raw-sdk-in-java-1ldj

Published Time: 2026-07-05T18:42:15Z

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Posted on Jul 5 • Originally published at [pg-blogs.netlify.app](https://pg-blogs.netlify.app/posts/26-llm-frameworks-vs-the-raw-sdk-in-java/)

# LLM Frameworks vs. the Raw SDK in Java

[#java](https://dev.to/t/java)[#ai](https://dev.to/t/ai)[#llm](https://dev.to/t/llm)[#langchain4j](https://dev.to/t/langchain4j)

## [](https://dev.to/gpuneet/llm-frameworks-vs-the-raw-sdk-in-java-1ldj#introduction) Introduction

Every LLM ecosystem now has at least one framework promising to make agents easier to build, and every framework post either oversells the abstraction or dismisses it outright. Neither is useful. The only honest way to evaluate a framework is to build the same thing twice — once on the vendor's raw SDK, once on the framework — and compare what each version actually cost you and actually gave you back.

This post builds the small tool-using agent from [Building Agentic Workflows in Java](https://pg-blogs.netlify.app/posts/14-building-agentic-workflows-in-java/) three ways: on the raw Anthropic Java SDK, on [

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LLM Frameworks vs. the Raw SDK in Java

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