head to head · open source
langchain vs LLM Gateway
langchain has 146,538 GitHub stars, 24,504 forks, 492 open issues and last shipped yesterday. LLM Gateway has 1,643 stars, 185 forks, 77 open issues and last shipped yesterday. langchain leads on adoption by 8,819% (146,538 vs 1,643 stars). langchain is written in Python under MIT; LLM Gateway is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence. langchain has attracted 17% as many forks as stars, LLM Gateway 11%. langchain was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (ai, anthropic, enterprise), 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
| langchain | LLM Gateway | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 147K | ★ 1.6K |
| License | MIT | Custom / other |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 25K | ⑂ 185 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick langchain if
- You weight community size — 147K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick LLM Gateway if
- You want the LLM Gateway feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and LLM Gateway fits your workflow better
About langchain
LangChain is an open source framework for building agents and LLM powered applications, written in Python and released under the MIT license. It lives in the AI and machine learning ecosystem, specifically among AI development platforms, and it works by chaining together interoperable components and third party integrations so that AI application development becomes simpler. The project describes itself as the agent engineering platform, and its abstractions are designed to keep applications working as the underlying technology evolves.
read the full langchain overview →
About LLM Gateway
LLM Gateway is an open source API gateway for large language models. It acts as middleware between applications and model providers, and it is categorized in the AI and Machine Learning / AI Development Platforms ecosystem. The project is written in TypeScript, and its core functionality is licensed under AGPLv3, while features in the ee directory require an Enterprise license.
read the full LLM Gateway overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is langchain or LLM Gateway more popular?
langchain has 146,538 GitHub stars and LLM Gateway has 1,643. langchain has the larger community by that measure.
Are langchain and LLM Gateway free?
Both are open source. langchain is licensed under MIT, and LLM Gateway has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between langchain and LLM Gateway?
langchain is written in Python and LLM Gateway 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, langchain or LLM Gateway?
Choose langchain if you want the larger community (146,538 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose LLM Gateway if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.