head to head · open source
vllm vs LiteLLM
vllm has 92,055 GitHub stars, 22,349 forks, 7,953 open issues and last shipped today. LiteLLM has 59,036 stars, 11,545 forks, 5,022 open issues and last shipped today. vllm leads on adoption by 56% (92,055 vs 59,036 stars). vllm is written in Python under Apache-2.0; LiteLLM is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence. vllm has attracted 24% as many forks as stars, LiteLLM 20%. LiteLLM 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
| vllm | LiteLLM | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 92K | ★ 59K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 22K | ⑂ 12K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick vllm if
- You weight community size — 92K 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 LiteLLM if
- You want the LiteLLM feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and LiteLLM fits your workflow better
About vllm
vLLM is a high throughput, memory efficient Python library for LLM inference and serving, built for ML engineers and platform teams who need to run open weight models on their own hardware at production scale.
About LiteLLM
LiteLLM is an open source AI gateway that provides a unified interface to call over 100 large language model (LLM) providers—including OpenAI, Anthropic, Azure OpenAI, Amazon Bedrock, Google VertexAI, and vLLM—using the OpenAI compatible API format. It runs as both a Python SDK for direct integration and as a standalone proxy server for centralized, team or organization wide use.
read the full LiteLLM overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is vllm or LiteLLM more popular?
vllm has 92,055 GitHub stars and LiteLLM has 59,036. vllm has the larger community by that measure.
Are vllm and LiteLLM free?
Both are open source. vllm is licensed under Apache-2.0, and LiteLLM has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between vllm and LiteLLM?
vllm is written in Python and LiteLLM 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, vllm or LiteLLM?
Choose vllm if you want the larger community (92,055 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose LiteLLM if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.