head to head · open source
LocalAI vs envd
LocalAI has 50,187 GitHub stars, 4,574 forks, 201 open issues and last shipped yesterday. envd has 2,242 stars, 169 forks, 139 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. LocalAI leads on adoption by 2,138% (50,187 vs 2,242 stars). LocalAI is written in Go under MIT; envd is written in Go under Apache-2.0. LocalAI has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, envd 8%. LocalAI 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
| LocalAI | envd | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 50K | ★ 2.2K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | Go |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.6K | ⑂ 169 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick LocalAI if
- You weight community size — 50K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick envd if
- You want the envd feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and envd fits your workflow better
About LocalAI
Deutsch Español français 日本語 한국어 Português Русский 中文 LocalAI is the open source AI engine. Run any model LLMs, vision, voice, image, video on any hardware. No GPU required. A small core, not a bundle. Each backend wraps a best in class engine (llama.cpp, vLLM, whisper.cpp, stable diffusion, MLX...) in its own image, pulled only when a model needs it. You install nothing you don't use. Composable by design : backends are separate and pulled on demand, so you install only what your model needs Open and extensible : load any model, or build your own backend in any language against an open interface Drop in API…
read the full LocalAI overview →
About envd
Development environment for AI/ML What is envd? envd ( ɪnˈvdɪ ) is a command line tool that helps you create the container based development environment for AI/ML. Creating development environments is not easy, especially with today's complex systems and dependencies. With everything from Python to CUDA, BASH scripts, and Dockerfiles constantly breaking, it can feel like a nightmare until now! Instantly get your environment running exactly as you need with a simple declaration of the packages you seek in build.envd and just one command: envd up ! Why use envd ? Environments built with envd provide the following…
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Frequently asked questions
Is LocalAI or envd more popular?
LocalAI has 50,187 GitHub stars and envd has 2,242. LocalAI has the larger community by that measure.
Are LocalAI and envd free?
Both are open source. LocalAI is licensed under MIT and envd under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between LocalAI and envd?
LocalAI is written in Go and envd in Go. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, LocalAI or envd?
Choose LocalAI if you want the larger community (50,187 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose envd if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.