head to head · open source
vllm vs LocalAI
vllm has 96,158 GitHub stars, 24,317 forks, 7,953 open issues and last shipped yesterday. LocalAI has 50,140 stars, 4,569 forks, 201 open issues and last shipped yesterday. vllm leads on adoption by 92% (96,158 vs 50,140 stars). vllm is written in Python under Apache-2.0; LocalAI is written in Go under MIT. vllm has attracted 25% as many forks as stars, LocalAI 9%. LocalAI was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (llama, 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
| vllm | LocalAI | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 96K | ★ 50K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Go |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 24K | ⑂ 4.6K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick vllm if
- You weight community size — 96K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick LocalAI if
- You want the LocalAI feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and LocalAI fits your workflow better
About vllm
Easy, fast, and cheap LLM serving for everyone 🔥 We have built a vLLM website to help you get started with vLLM. Please visit vllm.ai to learn more. For events, please visit vllm.ai/events to join us. About vLLM is a fast and easy to use library for LLM inference and serving. Originally developed in the Sky Computing Lab at UC Berkeley, vLLM has grown into one of the most active open source AI projects built and maintained by a diverse community of many dozens of academic institutions and companies from over 2000 contributors. vLLM is fast with: State of the art serving throughput Efficient management of…
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 →
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Frequently asked questions
Is vllm or LocalAI more popular?
vllm has 96,158 GitHub stars and LocalAI has 50,140. vllm has the larger community by that measure.
Are vllm and LocalAI free?
Both are open source. vllm is licensed under Apache-2.0 and LocalAI under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between vllm and LocalAI?
vllm is written in Python and LocalAI 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, vllm or LocalAI?
Choose vllm if you want the larger community (96,158 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose LocalAI if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.