head to head · open source
vllm vs zvec
vllm has 92,202 GitHub stars, 22,428 forks, 7,953 open issues and last shipped today. zvec has 15,972 stars, 998 forks, 56 open issues and last shipped today. vllm leads on adoption by 477% (92,202 vs 15,972 stars). vllm is written in Python under Apache-2.0; zvec is written in C++ under Apache-2.0. vllm has attracted 24% as many forks as stars, zvec 6%. vllm 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
| vllm | zvec | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 92K | ★ 16K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-20 | 2026-09-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 22K | ⑂ 998 |
| 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 zvec if
- You want the zvec feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and zvec 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 zvec
Zvec is an open source, in process vector database written in C++ and licensed under Apache 2.0, built to embed directly into applications so that vector search, full text search, and hybrid retrieval run inside the developer's own process instead of behind a separate service.
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Frequently asked questions
Is vllm or zvec more popular?
vllm has 92,202 GitHub stars and zvec has 15,972. vllm has the larger community by that measure.
Are vllm and zvec free?
Both are open source. vllm is licensed under Apache-2.0 and zvec under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between vllm and zvec?
vllm is written in Python and zvec in C++. 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 zvec?
Choose vllm if you want the larger community (92,202 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose zvec if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.