head to head · open source
gpt-load vs RWKV-Runner
gpt-load has 6,865 GitHub stars, 759 forks, 21 open issues and last shipped today. RWKV-Runner has 6,482 stars, 601 forks, 178 open issues and last shipped 16 days ago. gpt-load leads on adoption by 6% (6,865 vs 6,482 stars). gpt-load is written in Go under MIT; RWKV-Runner is written in TypeScript under MIT. gpt-load has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, RWKV-Runner 9%. gpt-load was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (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 | RWKV-Runner | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 6.9K | ★ 6.5K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Go | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-20 | 2026-09-04 |
| Forks | ⑂ 759 | ⑂ 601 |
| 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 RWKV-Runner if
- You want the RWKV-Runner feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and RWKV-Runner 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 RWKV-Runner
RWKV Runner is a management and startup tool for RWKV, an open source large language model that is available for commercial use. It ships as a lightweight executable of only a few megabytes and automates the work of getting a model running, so that the user does not have to assemble the runtime, dependencies, and serving stack by hand. The project is written in TypeScript and built with Wails, and it is distributed under the MIT license from the josStorer repository. It lives in the RWKV ecosystem and in the broader local inference tooling space, with a companion site at rwkv.com.
read the full RWKV-Runner overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is gpt-load or RWKV-Runner more popular?
gpt-load has 6,865 GitHub stars and RWKV-Runner has 6,482. gpt-load has the larger community by that measure.
Are gpt-load and RWKV-Runner free?
Both are open source. gpt-load is licensed under MIT and RWKV-Runner under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between gpt-load and RWKV-Runner?
gpt-load is written in Go and RWKV-Runner in TypeScript. 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 RWKV-Runner?
Choose gpt-load if you want the larger community (6,865 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose RWKV-Runner if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.