head to head · open source
gpt-load vs macai
gpt-load has 7,199 GitHub stars, 798 forks, 21 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. macai has 939 stars, 75 forks, 44 open issues and last shipped 3 months ago. gpt-load leads on adoption by 667% (7,199 vs 939 stars). gpt-load is written in Go under MIT; macai is written in Swift under Apache-2.0. gpt-load has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, macai 8%. gpt-load was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (claude, gemini, llm), 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 | macai | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 7.2K | ★ 939 |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | Swift |
| Last push | 2026-11-03 | 2026-08-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 798 | ⑂ 75 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick gpt-load if
- You weight community size — 7.2K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick macai if
- You want the macai feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Swift
- You evaluated both and macai fits your workflow better
About gpt-load
GPT Load A self hosted AI gateway for multi channel, multi credential setups API keys, subscription accounts, traffic scheduling, failure handling, request logs, and usage accounting — behind a single entry point. English · 中文 · 日本語 Official Website Sponsors Become a sponsor Sponsor details (collapsible) OfoxAI: Text, image, and video AI in one platform OfoxAI is a unified AI API platform bringing together text, image, and video models from multiple providers. With OpenAI compatible endpoints and native Anthropic and Gemini interfaces, developers can access models for AI applications, agents, and content…
read the full gpt-load overview →
About macai
macai macai (macOS AI) is a simple yet powerful native macOS AI chat client that supports most AI providers: ChatGPT, Claude, xAI (Grok), Google Gemini, Perplexity, Ollama, OpenRouter, and almost any OpenAI compatible APIs. Table of Contents Downloads Manual Homebrew Contributions Why macai Run with ChatGPT, Claude, xAI or Google Gemini Run with Ollama System requirements Project status Build from source iCloud Sync Configuration License Downloads Manual Download latest universal binary, notarized by Apple. Homebrew Install macai cask with homebrew: brew install cask macai Contributions Contributions are…
read the full macai overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is gpt-load or macai more popular?
gpt-load has 7,199 GitHub stars and macai has 939. gpt-load has the larger community by that measure.
Are gpt-load and macai free?
Both are open source. gpt-load is licensed under MIT and macai under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between gpt-load and macai?
gpt-load is written in Go and macai in Swift. 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 macai?
Choose gpt-load if you want the larger community (7,199 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose macai if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.