head to head · open source
llama.cpp vs OpenLLMetry
llama.cpp has 133,181 GitHub stars, 25,063 forks, 2,464 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenLLMetry has 7,516 stars, 1,183 forks, 676 open issues and last shipped yesterday. llama.cpp leads on adoption by 1,672% (133,181 vs 7,516 stars). llama.cpp is written in C++ under MIT; OpenLLMetry is written in Python under Apache-2.0. llama.cpp has attracted 19% as many forks as stars, OpenLLMetry 16%. 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 | OpenLLMetry | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 133K | ★ 7.5K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | C++ | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 25K | ⑂ 1.2K |
| 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
pick OpenLLMetry if
- You want the OpenLLMetry feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and OpenLLMetry fits your workflow better
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 OpenLLMetry
Open source observability for your LLM application Get started » Slack Docs Website 🎉 New : Our semantic conventions are now part of OpenTelemetry! Join the discussion and help us shape the future of LLM observability. Looking for the JS/TS version? Check out OpenLLMetry JS. OpenLLMetry is a set of extensions built on top of OpenTelemetry that gives you complete observability over your LLM application. Because it uses OpenTelemetry under the hood, it can be connected to your existing observability solutions Datadog, Honeycomb, and others. It's built and maintained by Traceloop under the Apache 2.0 license. The…
read the full OpenLLMetry overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is llama.cpp or OpenLLMetry more popular?
llama.cpp has 133,181 GitHub stars and OpenLLMetry has 7,516. llama.cpp has the larger community by that measure.
Are llama.cpp and OpenLLMetry free?
Both are open source. llama.cpp is licensed under MIT and OpenLLMetry under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between llama.cpp and OpenLLMetry?
llama.cpp is written in C++ and OpenLLMetry in Python. 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 OpenLLMetry?
Choose llama.cpp if you want the larger community (133,181 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose OpenLLMetry if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.