--- title: "aisix vs litellm" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/api7-aisix-vs-berriai-litellm" tools: ["api7-aisix", "berriai-litellm"] --- # aisix vs litellm *GraphCanon updated Jul 17, 2026* ## Verdict Pick aisix if aISIX is a Rust-native AI gateway designed for routing and managing traffic to various AI providers; pick litellm if 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. [aisix](https://api7.ai/ai-gateway) reports 64 GitHub stars, 9 forks, and 77 open issues, last pushed Jul 15, 2026. [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 [aisix's repository](https://github.com/api7/aisix) and [litellm's repository](https://github.com/BerriAI/litellm). | | [aisix](/tools/api7-aisix.md) | [litellm](/tools/berriai-litellm.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Open-source AI gateway for LLMs & AI agents | Python SDK and Proxy Server for calling multiple LLM APIs | | Stars | 64 | 53,271 | | Forks | 9 | 9,671 | | Open issues | 77 | 3,915 | | Language | Rust | Python | | Adopt for | AISIX is a Rust-native AI gateway designed for routing and managing traffic to various AI providers | 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 | AISIX is available under the Apache License, Version 2.0 which allows you to freely use, modify, and distribute it with proper attribution | 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 | AI Agents, Inference & Serving | Inference & Serving, LLM Frameworks | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [aisix](/tools/api7-aisix.md) | [litellm](/tools/berriai-litellm.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Open issues (now) | 77 | 3.9k | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/api7-aisix/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/berriai-litellm/trust.md) | **Typed relationship:** aisix _(alternative)_ litellm AISIX serves as an alternative option for managing requests across many AI models with guardrails, much like litellm does. ## Decision facts: aisix - **Pricing:** freemium - The open-source core (AISIX Gateway) can be used for free. For advanced features like team governance, budgets, and audit dashboard access, the AISIX Cloud is available on a managed SaaS model. - **Requirements:** Requires etcd running to store configurations; Self-hosted setup requires Docker Compose for local testing with example configuration files - **Adopt for:** AISIX is a Rust-native AI gateway designed for routing and managing traffic to various AI providers - **License detail:** AISIX is available under the Apache License, Version 2.0 which allows you to freely use, modify, and distribute it with proper attribution ## 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 aisix if… - aisix is primarily Rust; litellm is Python. - License: aisix is Apache-2.0, litellm is Other. - Pricing: The open-source core (AISIX Gateway) can be used for free. For advanced features like team governance, budgets, and audit dashboard access, the AISIX Cloud is available on a managed SaaS model.. - Requirements: Requires etcd running to store configurations; Self-hosted setup requires Docker Compose for local testing with example configuration files. - AISIX serves as an alternative option for managing requests across many AI models with guardrails, much like litellm does. - Tags unique to aisix: ai-agents, llm-gateway, observability, openai-compatible. - Also covers AI Agents. - When you need an OpenAI-compatible API that can route requests to multiple LLM providers like OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, and Bedrock ### Choose litellm if… - litellm is primarily Python; aisix is Rust. - License: litellm is Other, aisix is Apache-2.0. - Pricing: While the core functionality is provided free, specific extended features might require a paid plan.. - Requirements: Requires Docker. - AISIX serves as an alternative option for managing requests across many AI models with guardrails, much like litellm does. - Tags unique to litellm: ai-gateway, azure-openai, bedrock, llm. - Also covers LLM Frameworks. - 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 aisix - If you require a fully managed service with minimal setup and configuration since AISIX requires self-hosting or connecting to AISIX Cloud for management features - For projects preferring dynamic languages over statically compiled binaries, given that AISIX is built in Rust and ships as one static binary ## 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 aisix and litellm? aisix: Open-source AI gateway for LLMs & AI agents. 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 aisix over litellm? Choose aisix over litellm when aisix is primarily Rust; litellm is Python; License: aisix is Apache-2.0, litellm is Other; Pricing: The open-source core (AISIX Gateway) can be used for free. For advanced features like team governance, budgets, and audit dashboard access, the AISIX Cloud is available on a managed SaaS model.; Requirements: Requires etcd running to store configurations; Self-hosted setup requires Docker Compose for local testing with example configuration files; AISIX serves as an alternative option for managing requests across many AI models with guardrails, much like litellm does; Tags unique to aisix: ai-agents, llm-gateway, observability, openai-compatible; Also covers AI Agents; When you need an OpenAI-compatible API that can route requests to multiple LLM providers like OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, and Bedrock. ### When should I choose litellm over aisix? Choose litellm over aisix when litellm is primarily Python; aisix is Rust; License: litellm is Other, aisix is Apache-2.0; Pricing: While the core functionality is provided free, specific extended features might require a paid plan.; Requirements: Requires Docker; AISIX serves as an alternative option for managing requests across many AI models with guardrails, much like litellm does; Tags unique to litellm: ai-gateway, azure-openai, bedrock, llm; Also covers LLM Frameworks; 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 aisix? If you require a fully managed service with minimal setup and configuration since AISIX requires self-hosting or connecting to AISIX Cloud for management features For projects preferring dynamic languages over statically compiled binaries, given that AISIX is built in Rust and ships as one static binary ### When should I avoid litellm? If your project only requires interaction with a single LLM API and basic functionalities, litellm may be overkill. ### Is aisix or litellm more popular on GitHub? litellm has more GitHub stars (53,271 vs 64). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are aisix and litellm open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (aisix: Apache-2.0, litellm: Other). ### Where can I find alternatives to aisix or litellm? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [aisix alternatives](/tools/api7-aisix/alternatives) and [litellm alternatives](/tools/berriai-litellm/alternatives) ([aisix markdown twin](/tools/api7-aisix/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/api7-aisix-vs-berriai-litellm.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, aisix or litellm? aisix: Very active. 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 aisix and litellm? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [aisix trust report](/tools/api7-aisix/trust); [litellm trust report](/tools/berriai-litellm/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=api7-aisix`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=api7-aisix) - 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/_