head to head · open source

llama.cpp vs LocalAI

llama.cpp has 133,181 GitHub stars, 25,063 forks, 2,464 open issues and last shipped yesterday. LocalAI has 50,140 stars, 4,569 forks, 201 open issues and last shipped yesterday. llama.cpp leads on adoption by 166% (133,181 vs 50,140 stars). llama.cpp is written in C++ under MIT; LocalAI is written in Go under MIT. llama.cpp has attracted 19% as many forks as stars, LocalAI 9%. LocalAI 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.

llama.cpp ★ 133K LocalAI ★ 50K category AI & Machine Learning

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Side by side

	llama.cpp	LocalAI
GitHub stars	★ 133K	★ 50K
License	MIT	MIT
Written in	C++	Go
Last push	2026-11-02	2026-11-02
Forks	⑂ 25K	⑂ 4.6K
Self-hosting	Yes	Yes
Data ownership	Your server	Your server

pick llama.cpp if

You weight community size — 133K stars and counting
You want the MIT license terms
Your stack matches C++
You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance

full llama.cpp profile →

pick LocalAI if

You want the LocalAI feature set and don't need the biggest community
You prefer the MIT license terms
Your stack matches Go
You evaluated both and LocalAI fits your workflow better

full LocalAI profile →

About llama.cpp

llama.cpp LLM inference in C/C++ ggml / ops / maintainer PRs%20sort%3Aupdated desc) / dev stats / lib llama API / llama server REST API Quick start A few options to get llama.cpp installed on your machine: Visit and follow the instructions Run with Docker see our Docker documentation Download pre built binaries from the releases page Build from source by cloning this repository check out our build guide Once installed: VLM session with llama cli Built in web UI against llama serve Description The main goal of llama.cpp is to enable LLM (and VLM) inference with minimal setup and state of the art performance on a…

read the full llama.cpp overview →

About LocalAI

Deutsch Español français 日本語 한국어 Português Русский 中文 LocalAI is the open source AI engine. Run any model LLMs, vision, voice, image, video on any hardware. No GPU required. A small core, not a bundle. Each backend wraps a best in class engine (llama.cpp, vLLM, whisper.cpp, stable diffusion, MLX...) in its own image, pulled only when a model needs it. You install nothing you don't use. Composable by design : backends are separate and pulled on demand, so you install only what your model needs Open and extensible : load any model, or build your own backend in any language against an open interface Drop in API…

read the full LocalAI overview →

More in AI & Machine Learning

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Frequently asked questions

Is llama.cpp or LocalAI more popular?

llama.cpp has 133,181 GitHub stars and LocalAI has 50,140. llama.cpp has the larger community by that measure.

Are llama.cpp and LocalAI free?

Both are open source. llama.cpp is licensed under MIT and LocalAI under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.

What is the difference between llama.cpp and LocalAI?

llama.cpp is written in C++ and LocalAI 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, llama.cpp or LocalAI?

Choose llama.cpp if you want the larger community (133,181 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose LocalAI if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.