--- title: "aisix vs catai" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/api7-aisix-vs-withcatai-catai" tools: ["api7-aisix", "withcatai-catai"] --- # aisix vs catai *GraphCanon updated Sep 20, 2026* ## Verdict Pick aisix if aISIX is a Rust-native AI gateway designed for routing and managing traffic to various AI providers; pick catai if catai, an AI assistant framework built for local deployment with Node.js, offers developers using TypeScript the ability to create and deploy AI agents through a simple API. [aisix](https://api7.ai/ai-gateway) reports 151 GitHub stars, 30 forks, and 106 open issues, last pushed Sep 13, 2026. [catai](https://withcatai.github.io/catai/) has 500 stars, 39 forks, and 2 open issues, last pushed Nov 16, 2025. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [aisix's repository](https://github.com/api7/aisix) and [catai's repository](https://github.com/withcatai/catai). | | [aisix](/tools/api7-aisix.md) | [catai](/tools/withcatai-catai.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Open-source AI gateway for LLMs & AI agents | Run AI assistant locally with Node.js | | Stars | 151 | 500 | | Forks | 30 | 39 | | Open issues | 106 | 2 | | Language | Rust | TypeScript | | Adopt for | AISIX is a Rust-native AI gateway designed for routing and managing traffic to various AI providers | catai, an AI assistant framework built for local deployment with Node.js, offers developers using TypeScript the ability to create and deploy AI agents through a simple API. | | 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 | MIT | | Categories | AI Agents, Inference & Serving | AI Agents, Inference & Serving | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [aisix](/tools/api7-aisix.md) | [catai](/tools/withcatai-catai.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Maintenance | Very active (96%) | Slowing (36%) | | Days since push | 0d | 307d | | Open issues (now) | 106 | 2 | | Stars delta | +59 (30d) | +2 (30d) | | Open issues delta | +8 (30d) | 0 (30d) | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/api7-aisix/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/withcatai-catai/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: catai - **Adopt for:** catai, an AI assistant framework built for local deployment with Node.js, offers developers using TypeScript the ability to create and deploy AI agents through a simple API. ## Choose when ### Choose aisix if… - aisix is primarily Rust; catai is TypeScript. - License: aisix is Apache-2.0, catai is MIT. - 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. - 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 catai if… - catai is primarily TypeScript; aisix is Rust. - License: catai is MIT, aisix is Apache-2.0. - Tags unique to catai: ai-assistant, chatbot, ggmlv3, llama-cpp. - - When aiming to deploy a local AI assistant without reliance on cloud-based services; catai is ideal due to its focus on node-llama-cpp integration, allowing for robust offline capabilities. ## 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 catai - - For environments that strictly prohibit or limit Node.js operations on the server side, as catai is engineered to run locally via Node.js only. - - If seeking a cloud-based AI deployment solution that does not require local setup, since catai focuses solely on providing local AI capabilities through an easy-to-use API. ## Common questions ### What is the difference between aisix and catai? aisix: Open-source AI gateway for LLMs & AI agents. catai: Run AI assistant locally with Node.js. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose aisix over catai? Choose aisix over catai when aisix is primarily Rust; catai is TypeScript; License: aisix is Apache-2.0, catai is MIT; 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; 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 catai over aisix? Choose catai over aisix when catai is primarily TypeScript; aisix is Rust; License: catai is MIT, aisix is Apache-2.0; Tags unique to catai: ai-assistant, chatbot, ggmlv3, llama-cpp; - When aiming to deploy a local AI assistant without reliance on cloud-based services; catai is ideal due to its focus on node-llama-cpp integration, allowing for robust offline capabilities. ### 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 catai? - For environments that strictly prohibit or limit Node.js operations on the server side, as catai is engineered to run locally via Node.js only. - If seeking a cloud-based AI deployment solution that does not require local setup, since catai focuses solely on providing local AI capabilities through an easy-to-use API. ### Is aisix or catai more popular on GitHub? catai has more GitHub stars (500 vs 151). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are aisix and catai open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (aisix: Apache-2.0, catai: MIT). ### Where can I find alternatives to aisix or catai? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [aisix alternatives](/tools/api7-aisix/alternatives) and [catai alternatives](/tools/withcatai-catai/alternatives) ([aisix markdown twin](/tools/api7-aisix/alternatives.md), [catai markdown twin](/tools/withcatai-catai/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-withcatai-catai.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, aisix or catai? aisix: Very active. catai: Slowing. 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 catai? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [aisix trust report](/tools/api7-aisix/trust); [catai trust report](/tools/withcatai-catai/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/_