head to head · open source
gpt-load vs CliRelay
gpt-load has 6,865 GitHub stars, 759 forks, 21 open issues and last shipped today. CliRelay has 1,021 stars, 122 forks, 13 open issues and last shipped yesterday. gpt-load leads on adoption by 572% (6,865 vs 1,021 stars). gpt-load is written in Go under MIT; CliRelay is written in Go under MIT. gpt-load has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, CliRelay 12%. gpt-load was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 6 topic tags (ai-gateway, anthropic, api-gateway, claude-code), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| gpt-load | CliRelay | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 6.9K | ★ 1.0K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Go | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-20 | 2026-09-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 759 | ⑂ 122 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick gpt-load if
- You weight community size — 6.9K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick CliRelay if
- You want the CliRelay feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and CliRelay fits your workflow better
About gpt-load
GPT Load is a self hosted AI gateway written in Go and released under the MIT license. It gives applications a single entry point — one base URL and one AccessKey — for reaching many AI providers at once. Providers, accounts, credentials, models, and routing policy are configured in the bundled management UI rather than in application code.
read the full gpt-load overview →
About CliRelay
CliRelay is a self hosted AI gateway that turns AI CLI subscriptions, OAuth credentials, API keys, and compatible upstream services into one managed endpoint, built for teams rather than solo users.
read the full CliRelay overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is gpt-load or CliRelay more popular?
gpt-load has 6,865 GitHub stars and CliRelay has 1,021. gpt-load has the larger community by that measure.
Are gpt-load and CliRelay free?
Both are open source. gpt-load is licensed under MIT and CliRelay under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between gpt-load and CliRelay?
gpt-load is written in Go and CliRelay in Go. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, gpt-load or CliRelay?
Choose gpt-load if you want the larger community (6,865 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose CliRelay if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.