head to head · open source
llama_index vs OpenLIT
llama_index has 52,202 GitHub stars, 8,162 forks, 770 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenLIT has 2,770 stars, 388 forks, 60 open issues and last shipped yesterday. llama_index leads on adoption by 1,785% (52,202 vs 2,770 stars). llama_index is written in Python under MIT; OpenLIT is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. llama_index has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, OpenLIT 14%. llama_index 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_index | OpenLIT | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 52K | ★ 2.8K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 8.2K | ⑂ 388 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick llama_index if
- You weight community size — 52K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick OpenLIT if
- You want the OpenLIT feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and OpenLIT fits your workflow better
About llama_index
LlamaIndex is an MIT licensed, open source Python framework for building agentic applications — retrieval augmented generation systems, agents and multi agent workflows — on top of private documents and data, and it is aimed at AI engineers and teams who need to connect large language models to their own sources of context.
read the full llama_index overview →
About OpenLIT
OpenLIT is an open source, OpenTelemetry native observability and evaluation platform for AI applications, AI agents and coding agents, built for engineers who run LLM backed systems and need to see what those systems actually did.
read the full OpenLIT overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is llama_index or OpenLIT more popular?
llama_index has 52,202 GitHub stars and OpenLIT has 2,770. llama_index has the larger community by that measure.
Are llama_index and OpenLIT free?
Both are open source. llama_index is licensed under MIT and OpenLIT under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between llama_index and OpenLIT ?
llama_index is written in Python and OpenLIT in TypeScript. 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 OpenLIT ?
Choose llama_index if you want the larger community (52,202 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose OpenLIT if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.