head to head · open source
llama.cpp vs LLPhant
llama.cpp has 128,619 GitHub stars, 23,351 forks, 2,464 open issues and last shipped today. LLPhant has 1,708 stars, 172 forks, 36 open issues and last shipped 11 days ago. llama.cpp leads on adoption by 7,430% (128,619 vs 1,708 stars). llama.cpp is written in C++ under MIT; LLPhant is written in PHP under MIT. llama.cpp has attracted 18% as many forks as stars, LLPhant 10%. llama.cpp was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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
| llama.cpp | LLPhant | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 129K | ★ 1.7K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | C++ | PHP |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-07 |
| Forks | ⑂ 23K | ⑂ 172 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick llama.cpp if
- You weight community size — 129K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick LLPhant if
- You want the LLPhant feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You evaluated both and LLPhant fits your workflow better
About llama.cpp
llama.cpp is a C/C++ library and set of command line tools for running large language models (LLMs) and vision language models (VLMs) locally. It enables inference without external dependencies, targeting diverse hardware including Apple Silicon, x86 CPUs, NVIDIA GPUs (via CUDA), AMD GPUs (via HIP), and other accelerators. The project lives in the ggml ecosystem, leveraging the ggml tensor computation library for low level operations and quantized model execution.
read the full llama.cpp overview →
About LLPhant
LLPhant The PHP library for Gen AI and Vector Databases We designed this framework to be as simple as possible, while still providing you with the tools you need to build powerful apps. It is compatible with Symfony and Laravel. We are working to expand the support of different LLMs. Right now, we are supporting OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral, Ollama, llmman, LM Studio, Atlas Cloud and services compatible with the OpenAI API such as LocalAI. Ollama that can be used to run LLM locally such as Llama 2. We want to thank few amazing projects that we use here or inspired us: the learnings from using LangChain and LLamaInd…
read the full LLPhant overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is llama.cpp or LLPhant more popular?
llama.cpp has 128,619 GitHub stars and LLPhant has 1,708. llama.cpp has the larger community by that measure.
Are llama.cpp and LLPhant free?
Both are open source. llama.cpp is licensed under MIT and LLPhant under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between llama.cpp and LLPhant?
llama.cpp is written in C++ and LLPhant in PHP. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, llama.cpp or LLPhant?
Choose llama.cpp if you want the larger community (128,619 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose LLPhant if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.