head to head · open source
llama.cpp vs selfhost-ai
llama.cpp has 133,181 GitHub stars, 25,063 forks, 2,464 open issues and last shipped yesterday. selfhost-ai has 953 stars, 238 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped 7 days ago. llama.cpp leads on adoption by 13,875% (133,181 vs 953 stars). llama.cpp is written in C++ under MIT; selfhost-ai is written in Shell under Apache-2.0. llama.cpp has attracted 19% as many forks as stars, selfhost-ai 25%. 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 | selfhost-ai | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 133K | ★ 953 |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | C++ | Shell |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-27 |
| Forks | ⑂ 25K | ⑂ 238 |
| 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 selfhost-ai if
- You want the selfhost-ai feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You evaluated both and selfhost-ai 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 selfhost-ai
Selfhost AI — Self Hosted AI Automation Platform Deploy 30+ AI and automation tools with a single command. This open source Docker Compose template creates a complete self hosted environment with n8n (workflow automation), Flowise (AI agents), Ollama (local LLMs), vector databases (Qdrant, Weaviate), RAG engines, Supabase, monitoring stack, and more — all pre configured behind Caddy reverse proxy with automatic HTTPS. Plus, optionally import 300+ community workflows during setup! Table of Contents Key Features Why This Setup? What's Included Installation Quick Start and Usage Upgrading Quick Commands…
read the full selfhost-ai overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is llama.cpp or selfhost-ai more popular?
llama.cpp has 133,181 GitHub stars and selfhost-ai has 953. llama.cpp has the larger community by that measure.
Are llama.cpp and selfhost-ai free?
Both are open source. llama.cpp is licensed under MIT and selfhost-ai under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between llama.cpp and selfhost-ai?
llama.cpp is written in C++ and selfhost-ai in Shell. 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 selfhost-ai?
Choose llama.cpp if you want the larger community (133,181 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose selfhost-ai if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.