--- title: "mlx-tune vs LlamaFactory" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/arahim3-mlx-tune-vs-hiyouga-llamafactory" tools: ["arahim3-mlx-tune", "hiyouga-llamafactory"] --- # mlx-tune vs LlamaFactory *GraphCanon updated Jul 11, 2026* ## Verdict Pick mlx-tune when tags unique to mlx-tune: deep-learning, llm-finetuning, lora, llm; pick LlamaFactory when tags unique to LlamaFactory: gemma, fine-tuning, deepseek, ai. [mlx-tune](https://arahim3.github.io/mlx-tune/) reports 1.4k GitHub stars, 88 forks, and 11 open issues, last pushed Jun 23, 2026. [LlamaFactory](https://llamafactory.readthedocs.io) has 73k stars, 8.9k forks, and 1.1k open issues, last pushed Jul 10, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [mlx-tune's repository](https://github.com/ARahim3/mlx-tune) and [LlamaFactory's repository](https://github.com/hiyouga/LlamaFactory). | | [mlx-tune](/tools/arahim3-mlx-tune.md) | [LlamaFactory](/tools/hiyouga-llamafactory.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Fine-tune LLMs on your Mac with Apple Silicon. SFT, DPO, GRPO, Vision, TTS, STT, Embedding, and OCR fine-tuning — natively on MLX. Unsloth-compatible API. | Unified Efficient Fine-Tuning of 100+ LLMs & VLMs | | Stars | 1,351 | 73,157 | | Forks | 88 | 8,937 | | Open issues | 11 | 1,067 | | Language | Python | Python | | Adopt for | - | LlamaFactory is a sophisticated tool for fine-tuning numerous large language models and visual language models efficiently using various methods such as LoRA, QLoRA, RLHF, and quantization. | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 | | Categories | LLM Frameworks, Model Training, Vector Databases | LLM Frameworks, Model Training | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [mlx-tune](/tools/arahim3-mlx-tune.md) | [LlamaFactory](/tools/hiyouga-llamafactory.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Maintenance | Active (82%) | Very active (96%) | | Days since push | 17d | 0d | | Open issues (now) | 11 | 1.1k | | Security scan | 46 low (46 low) | No lockfile | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/arahim3-mlx-tune/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/hiyouga-llamafactory/trust.md) | ## Decision facts: LlamaFactory - **Adopt for:** LlamaFactory is a sophisticated tool for fine-tuning numerous large language models and visual language models efficiently using various methods such as LoRA, QLoRA, RLHF, and quantization. ## Choose when ### Choose mlx-tune if… - Tags unique to mlx-tune: deep-learning, llm-finetuning, lora, llm. - Also covers Vector Databases. - Leaner open-issue backlog (11). ### Choose LlamaFactory if… - Tags unique to LlamaFactory: gemma, fine-tuning, deepseek, ai. - When you need to fine-tune over 100 different LLMs or VLMs with efficient methods like LoRA or QLoRA. - More GitHub stars (73k vs 1.4k) - visibility, not fit. ## When NOT to use mlx-tune - LLM Frameworks: Avoid a framework for a single prompt-and-retrieve call; the abstraction can cost more than it saves. - Model Training: Try prompting and RAG first; fine-tuning is the answer to style/format, not missing knowledge. - Vector Databases: Don't reach for a dedicated vector DB under ~100k vectors; pgvector on your existing Postgres is simpler to operate. ## When NOT to use LlamaFactory - When you are looking to fine-tune less popular or niche models that are not supported within the 100+ models covered by LlamaFactory. - If your project specifically requires custom fine-tuning methods not available in this repository, such as certain versions of PEFT (Parameter Efficient Fine-Tuning) techniques excluding LoRA and QLoa ## Common questions ### What is the difference between mlx-tune and LlamaFactory? mlx-tune: Fine-tune LLMs on your Mac with Apple Silicon. SFT, DPO, GRPO, Vision, TTS, STT, Embedding, and OCR fine-tuning — natively on MLX. Unsloth-compatible API.. LlamaFactory: Unified Efficient Fine-Tuning of 100+ LLMs & VLMs. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose mlx-tune over LlamaFactory? Choose mlx-tune over LlamaFactory when Tags unique to mlx-tune: deep-learning, llm-finetuning, lora, llm; Also covers Vector Databases; Leaner open-issue backlog (11). ### When should I choose LlamaFactory over mlx-tune? Choose LlamaFactory over mlx-tune when Tags unique to LlamaFactory: gemma, fine-tuning, deepseek, ai; When you need to fine-tune over 100 different LLMs or VLMs with efficient methods like LoRA or QLoRA; More GitHub stars (73k vs 1.4k) - visibility, not fit. ### When should I avoid mlx-tune? LLM Frameworks: Avoid a framework for a single prompt-and-retrieve call; the abstraction can cost more than it saves. Model Training: Try prompting and RAG first; fine-tuning is the answer to style/format, not missing knowledge. Vector Databases: Don't reach for a dedicated vector DB under ~100k vectors; pgvector on your existing Postgres is simpler to operate. ### When should I avoid LlamaFactory? When you are looking to fine-tune less popular or niche models that are not supported within the 100+ models covered by LlamaFactory. If your project specifically requires custom fine-tuning methods not available in this repository, such as certain versions of PEFT (Parameter Efficient Fine-Tuning) techniques excluding LoRA and QLoa ### Is mlx-tune or LlamaFactory more popular on GitHub? LlamaFactory has more GitHub stars (73,157 vs 1,351). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are mlx-tune and LlamaFactory open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (mlx-tune: Apache-2.0, LlamaFactory: Apache-2.0). ### Where can I find alternatives to mlx-tune or LlamaFactory? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [mlx-tune alternatives](/tools/arahim3-mlx-tune/alternatives) and [LlamaFactory alternatives](/tools/hiyouga-llamafactory/alternatives) ([mlx-tune markdown twin](/tools/arahim3-mlx-tune/alternatives.md), [LlamaFactory markdown twin](/tools/hiyouga-llamafactory/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/arahim3-mlx-tune-vs-hiyouga-llamafactory.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, mlx-tune or LlamaFactory? mlx-tune: Active. LlamaFactory: 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 mlx-tune and LlamaFactory? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [mlx-tune trust report](/tools/arahim3-mlx-tune/trust); [LlamaFactory trust report](/tools/hiyouga-llamafactory/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=arahim3-mlx-tune`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=arahim3-mlx-tune) - 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/_