head to head · open source
llama_index vs gpustack
llama_index has 52,779 GitHub stars, 8,500 forks, 770 open issues and last shipped 8 days ago. gpustack has 5,949 stars, 708 forks, 696 open issues and last shipped yesterday. llama_index leads on adoption by 787% (52,779 vs 5,949 stars). llama_index is written in Python under MIT; gpustack is written in Python under Apache-2.0. llama_index has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, gpustack 12%. gpustack was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (llm), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
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_index | gpustack | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 53K | ★ 5.9K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-10-26 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 8.5K | ⑂ 708 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick llama_index if
- You weight community size — 53K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick gpustack if
- You want the gpustack 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 gpustack fits your workflow better
About llama_index
🗂️ LlamaIndex (OSS Framework) 🦙 [!NOTE] The current focus of LlamaIndex is to build the best AI powered engine for document parsing and extraction. LlamaParse is our enterprise platform for agentic OCR, parsing, extraction, indexing and more. LiteParse represents our efforts to build the best free, fast, cheap text parser in the market. ParseBench and ExtractBench represent our commitment towards open benchmarking for parsing and extraction. The company itself has undergone an evolution since when this OSS framework first launched 3 years ago in 2023. Since the early days, the framework has consisted of a…
read the full llama_index overview →
About gpustack
English 简体中文 日本語 Overview GPUStack is an open source GPU cluster manager for AI model serving and GPU instance provisioning. It configures and orchestrates inference engines — vLLM, SGLang, TensorRT LLM, or your own — and lets you launch SSH accessible GPU instances on demand. Its core features include: Multi Cluster GPU Management. Manages GPU clusters across multiple environments. This includes on premises servers, Kubernetes clusters, and cloud providers. Pluggable Inference Engines. Automatically configures high performance inference engines such as vLLM, SGLang, and TensorRT LLM. You can also add custom…
read the full gpustack overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is llama_index or gpustack more popular?
llama_index has 52,779 GitHub stars and gpustack has 5,949. llama_index has the larger community by that measure.
Are llama_index and gpustack free?
Both are open source. llama_index is licensed under MIT and gpustack under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between llama_index and gpustack?
llama_index is written in Python and gpustack 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_index or gpustack?
Choose llama_index if you want the larger community (52,779 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose gpustack if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.