--- title: "aisix vs openinfer" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/api7-aisix-vs-openinfer-project-openinfer" tools: ["api7-aisix", "openinfer-project-openinfer"] --- # aisix vs openinfer *GraphCanon updated Aug 25, 2026* ## Verdict Pick aisix if aISIX is a Rust-native AI gateway designed for routing and managing traffic to various AI providers; pick openinfer if high-performance GPU-based inference engine for Rust developers targeting Qwen3 and Kimi-K2 using pure CUDA kernels. [aisix](https://api7.ai/ai-gateway) reports 92 GitHub stars, 15 forks, and 98 open issues, last pushed Aug 8, 2026. [openinfer](https://pegainfer.org/) has 657 stars, 103 forks, and 102 open issues, last pushed Aug 25, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [aisix's repository](https://github.com/api7/aisix) and [openinfer's repository](https://github.com/openinfer-project/openinfer). | | [aisix](/tools/api7-aisix.md) | [openinfer](/tools/openinfer-project-openinfer.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Open-source AI gateway for LLMs & AI agents | Pure Rust CUDA LLM inference engine serving multiple models including Qwen3 and Kimi-K2 | | Stars | 92 | 657 | | Forks | 15 | 103 | | Open issues | 98 | 102 | | Language | Rust | Rust | | Adopt for | AISIX is a Rust-native AI gateway designed for routing and managing traffic to various AI providers | high-performance GPU-based inference engine for Rust developers targeting Qwen3 and Kimi-K2 using pure CUDA kernels | | 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 | Apache-2.0 | | Categories | AI Agents, Inference & Serving | Inference & Serving | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [aisix](/tools/api7-aisix.md) | [openinfer](/tools/openinfer-project-openinfer.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Days since push | 1d | 0d | | Open issues (now) | 98 | 102 | | Stars delta | Unknown | +72 (30d) | | Open issues delta | Unknown | -26 (30d) | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/api7-aisix/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/openinfer-project-openinfer/trust.md) | ## 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: openinfer - **Adopt for:** high-performance GPU-based inference engine for Rust developers targeting Qwen3 and Kimi-K2 using pure CUDA kernels ## Choose when ### Choose aisix if… - 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. - Tags unique to aisix: ai-agents, llm-gateway, observability, openai-compatible. - Also covers AI Agents. - aisix ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment. - When you need an OpenAI-compatible API that can route requests to multiple LLM providers like OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, and Bedrock ### Choose openinfer if… - Tags unique to openinfer: cuda, gpu, llm-inference, openai-api. - When you are working with large language models Qwen3 and/or Kimi-K2 specifically, and want to avoid PyTorch dependencies. - More GitHub stars (657 vs 92) - visibility, not fit. ## 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 openinfer - Avoid if you are developing models other than Qwen3 or Kimi-K2 as support for other models might be limited. - Not recommended for projects where PyTorch integration is crucial as this tool does not depend on it and may require changes in existing workflows. ## Common questions ### What is the difference between aisix and openinfer? aisix: Open-source AI gateway for LLMs & AI agents. openinfer: Pure Rust CUDA LLM inference engine serving multiple models including Qwen3 and Kimi-K2. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose aisix over openinfer? Choose aisix over openinfer when 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; Tags unique to aisix: ai-agents, llm-gateway, observability, openai-compatible; Also covers AI Agents; aisix ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment; 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 openinfer over aisix? Choose openinfer over aisix when Tags unique to openinfer: cuda, gpu, llm-inference, openai-api; When you are working with large language models Qwen3 and/or Kimi-K2 specifically, and want to avoid PyTorch dependencies; More GitHub stars (657 vs 92) - visibility, not fit. ### 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 openinfer? Avoid if you are developing models other than Qwen3 or Kimi-K2 as support for other models might be limited. Not recommended for projects where PyTorch integration is crucial as this tool does not depend on it and may require changes in existing workflows. ### Is aisix or openinfer more popular on GitHub? openinfer has more GitHub stars (657 vs 92). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are aisix and openinfer open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (aisix: Apache-2.0, openinfer: Apache-2.0). ### Where can I find alternatives to aisix or openinfer? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [aisix alternatives](/tools/api7-aisix/alternatives) and [openinfer alternatives](/tools/openinfer-project-openinfer/alternatives) ([aisix markdown twin](/tools/api7-aisix/alternatives.md), [openinfer markdown twin](/tools/openinfer-project-openinfer/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-openinfer-project-openinfer.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, aisix or openinfer? aisix: Very active. openinfer: 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 openinfer? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [aisix trust report](/tools/api7-aisix/trust); [openinfer trust report](/tools/openinfer-project-openinfer/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/_