--- title: "yalm vs litellm" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/andrewkchan-yalm-vs-berriai-litellm" tools: ["andrewkchan-yalm", "berriai-litellm"] --- # yalm vs litellm *GraphCanon updated Jul 11, 2026* ## Verdict Pick yalm when yalm is primarily C++; litellm is Python; pick litellm when litellm is primarily Python; yalm is C++. [yalm](https://github.com/andrewkchan/yalm) reports 591 GitHub stars, 64 forks, and 4 open issues, last pushed Sep 13, 2025. [litellm](https://docs.litellm.ai/docs/) has 53k stars, 9.7k forks, and 3.9k open issues, last pushed Jul 11, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [yalm's repository](https://github.com/andrewkchan/yalm) and [litellm's repository](https://github.com/BerriAI/litellm). | | [yalm](/tools/andrewkchan-yalm.md) | [litellm](/tools/berriai-litellm.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Yet Another Language Model: LLM inference in C++/CUDA, no libraries except for I/O | Python SDK and Proxy Server for calling multiple LLM APIs | | Stars | 591 | 53,271 | | Forks | 64 | 9,671 | | Open issues | 4 | 3,915 | | Language | C++ | Python | | Adopt for | - | litellm is a Python SDK and Proxy Server that facilitates the interaction with over 100 LLM APIs, offering features such as cost tracking, guardrails, load balancing, and logging. | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | - | The licensing terms for LiteLLM are provided under a license type categorized as 'Other'; details of the exact license should be referenced directly from its source. | | Categories | LLM Frameworks, Inference & Serving | LLM Frameworks, Inference & Serving | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [yalm](/tools/andrewkchan-yalm.md) | [litellm](/tools/berriai-litellm.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Maintenance | Slowing (36%) | Very active (96%) | | Days since push | 301d | 0d | | Open issues (now) | 4 | 3.9k | | Owner type | User | Organization | | Security scan | No lockfile | 2 low (2 low) | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/andrewkchan-yalm/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/berriai-litellm/trust.md) | ## Decision facts: litellm - **Pricing:** freemium - While the core functionality is provided free, specific extended features might require a paid plan. - **Requirements:** Requires Docker - **Adopt for:** litellm is a Python SDK and Proxy Server that facilitates the interaction with over 100 LLM APIs, offering features such as cost tracking, guardrails, load balancing, and logging. - **License detail:** The licensing terms for LiteLLM are provided under a license type categorized as 'Other'; details of the exact license should be referenced directly from its source. ## Choose when ### Choose yalm if… - yalm is primarily C++; litellm is Python. - Tags unique to yalm: llama, machine-learning, cpp, cuda. - Leaner open-issue backlog (4). ### Choose litellm if… - litellm is primarily Python; yalm is C++. - Pricing: While the core functionality is provided free, specific extended features might require a paid plan.. - Requirements: Requires Docker. - Tags unique to litellm: bedrock, ai-gateway, openai, vertex-ai. - litellm ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment. - When you need to integrate multiple LLM (Language Learning Modelling) APIs into your application across different providers like Bedrock, Azure, OpenAI, VertexAI, Cohere, Anthropic, Sagemaker, Hugging ## When NOT to use yalm - Last GitHub push was 301 days ago (slowing maintenance, Sep 13, 2025). Validate activity before betting a new project on yalm. - LLM Frameworks: Avoid a framework for a single prompt-and-retrieve call; the abstraction can cost more than it saves. - Inference & Serving: Self-hosting rarely beats a hosted API on cost until you have steady, high-volume traffic. ## When NOT to use litellm - If your project only requires interaction with a single LLM API and basic functionalities, litellm may be overkill. ## Common questions ### What is the difference between yalm and litellm? yalm: Yet Another Language Model: LLM inference in C++/CUDA, no libraries except for I/O. litellm: Python SDK and Proxy Server for calling multiple LLM APIs. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose yalm over litellm? Choose yalm over litellm when yalm is primarily C++; litellm is Python; Tags unique to yalm: llama, machine-learning, cpp, cuda; Leaner open-issue backlog (4). ### When should I choose litellm over yalm? Choose litellm over yalm when litellm is primarily Python; yalm is C++; Pricing: While the core functionality is provided free, specific extended features might require a paid plan.; Requirements: Requires Docker; Tags unique to litellm: bedrock, ai-gateway, openai, vertex-ai; litellm ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment; When you need to integrate multiple LLM (Language Learning Modelling) APIs into your application across different providers like Bedrock, Azure, OpenAI, VertexAI, Cohere, Anthropic, Sagemaker, Hugging. ### When should I avoid yalm? Last GitHub push was 301 days ago (slowing maintenance, Sep 13, 2025). Validate activity before betting a new project on yalm. LLM Frameworks: Avoid a framework for a single prompt-and-retrieve call; the abstraction can cost more than it saves. Inference & Serving: Self-hosting rarely beats a hosted API on cost until you have steady, high-volume traffic. ### When should I avoid litellm? If your project only requires interaction with a single LLM API and basic functionalities, litellm may be overkill. ### Is yalm or litellm more popular on GitHub? litellm has more GitHub stars (53,271 vs 591). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are yalm and litellm open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub. ### Where can I find alternatives to yalm or litellm? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [yalm alternatives](/tools/andrewkchan-yalm/alternatives) and [litellm alternatives](/tools/berriai-litellm/alternatives) ([yalm markdown twin](/tools/andrewkchan-yalm/alternatives.md), [litellm markdown twin](/tools/berriai-litellm/alternatives.md)), ranked by typed relationship edges rather than popularity votes. ### Is there a machine-readable version of this comparison? Yes. The markdown twin at [this comparison](/compare/andrewkchan-yalm-vs-berriai-litellm.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, yalm or litellm? yalm: Slowing. litellm: Very active. Compare maintenance labels, days since push, and release cadence in the trust section below - stars alone do not measure maintenance. ### Where are the full trust reports for yalm and litellm? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [yalm trust report](/tools/andrewkchan-yalm/trust); [litellm trust report](/tools/berriai-litellm/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=andrewkchan-yalm`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=andrewkchan-yalm) - LLM index: [/llms.txt](/llms.txt) - Full corpus: [/llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt) _GraphCanon - The knowledge graph for AI development. https://www.graphcanon.com/_