head to head · open source
llama.cpp vs qdrant-client
llama.cpp has 128,619 GitHub stars, 23,351 forks, 2,464 open issues and last shipped today. qdrant-client has 1,357 stars, 303 forks, 191 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. llama.cpp leads on adoption by 9,378% (128,619 vs 1,357 stars). llama.cpp is written in C++ under MIT; qdrant-client is written in Python under Apache-2.0. llama.cpp has attracted 18% as many forks as stars, qdrant-client 22%. 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 | qdrant-client | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 129K | ★ 1.4K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | C++ | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 23K | ⑂ 303 |
| 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 qdrant-client if
- You want the qdrant-client 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 qdrant-client 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 qdrant-client
Python Client library for the Qdrant vector search engine. Python Qdrant Client Client library and SDK for the Qdrant vector search engine. Library contains type definitions for all Qdrant API and allows to make both Sync and Async requests. Client allows calls for all Qdrant API methods directly. It also provides some additional helper methods for frequently required operations, e.g. initial collection uploading. See QuickStart for more details! Installation Features Type hints for all API methods Local mode use same API without running server REST and gRPC support Minimal dependencies Extensive Test Coverage Lo…
read the full qdrant-client overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is llama.cpp or qdrant-client more popular?
llama.cpp has 128,619 GitHub stars and qdrant-client has 1,357. llama.cpp has the larger community by that measure.
Are llama.cpp and qdrant-client free?
Both are open source. llama.cpp is licensed under MIT and qdrant-client under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between llama.cpp and qdrant-client?
llama.cpp is written in C++ and qdrant-client 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 qdrant-client?
Choose llama.cpp if you want the larger community (128,619 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose qdrant-client if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.