head to head · open source
llama_index vs qdrant-client
llama_index has 52,779 GitHub stars, 8,500 forks, 770 open issues and last shipped 8 days ago. qdrant-client has 1,377 stars, 375 forks, 191 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. llama_index leads on adoption by 3,733% (52,779 vs 1,377 stars). llama_index is written in Python under MIT; qdrant-client is written in Python under Apache-2.0. llama_index has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, qdrant-client 27%. qdrant-client was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (vector-database), 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 | qdrant-client | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 53K | ★ 1.4K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-10-26 | 2026-11-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 8.5K | ⑂ 375 |
| 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 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_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 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…
read the full qdrant-client overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is llama_index or qdrant-client more popular?
llama_index has 52,779 GitHub stars and qdrant-client has 1,377. llama_index has the larger community by that measure.
Are llama_index and qdrant-client free?
Both are open source. llama_index is licensed under MIT and qdrant-client under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between llama_index and qdrant-client?
llama_index is written in Python 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_index or qdrant-client?
Choose llama_index if you want the larger community (52,779 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.