Comparison
harbor vs ai-gateway
Verdict
Pick harbor if harbor is a rapid deployment tool for AI stacks using Docker and docker-compose; pick ai-gateway if ai-gateway from Ferro Labs supports over 30 LLMs with integrated caching, guardrails, A/B testing, and cost controls, making it ideal for managing multiple language models in a production environment.
Markdown twin · harbor alternatives · ai-gateway alternatives
GraphCanon updated Sep 12, 2026
11views this month
Trust & integrity
| Signal | harbor | ai-gateway |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance | Active (8d since push) As of Aug 11, 2026 · github_public_v1 | Very active (2d since push) As of Sep 12, 2026 · github_public_v1 |
| Provenance | Not a fork · Personal account As of Aug 11, 2026 · github_public_v1 | Not a fork · Organization account As of Sep 12, 2026 · github_public_v1 |
| OSV dependency advisories | No lockfile (source not queried) As of Jul 15, 2026 · osv@v1 | Published findings As of Jul 15, 2026 · osv@v1 |
| deps.dev advisories | Not queried deps.dev@v1 | Not queried deps.dev@v1 |
| OpenSSF Scorecard | Not queried openssf-scorecard@v1 | Not queried openssf-scorecard@v1 |
Tagline
- harbor
- Complete pre-wired LLM stack via one command
- ai-gateway
- Unified AI Gateway for multiple LLMs with caching, guardrails, A/B testing, and cost controls
Stars
- harbor
- 3.2k
- ai-gateway
- 256
Forks
- harbor
- 220
- ai-gateway
- 35
Open issues
- harbor
- 64
- ai-gateway
- 68
Language
- harbor
- Python
- ai-gateway
- Go
Adopt for
- harbor
- Harbor is a rapid deployment tool for AI stacks using Docker and docker-compose.
- ai-gateway
- ai-gateway from Ferro Labs supports over 30 LLMs with integrated caching, guardrails, A/B testing, and cost controls, making it ideal for managing multiple language models in a production environment.
Persona
- harbor
- -
- ai-gateway
- -
Runtime
- harbor
- -
- ai-gateway
- -
License
- harbor
- Apache-2.0
- ai-gateway
- Apache-2.0 - a permissive free software license
Last pushed
- harbor
- Aug 2, 2026
- ai-gateway
- Sep 10, 2026
Categories
- harbor
- Inference & Serving, LLM Frameworks, Model Training
- ai-gateway
- Inference & Serving, Model Training
Trust and health
Maintenance
- harbor
- Active (82%)
- ai-gateway
- Very active (96%)
Days since push
- harbor
- 8d
- ai-gateway
- 2d
Open issues (now)
- harbor
- 64
- ai-gateway
- 68
Stars delta
- harbor
- Unknown
- ai-gateway
- +37 (30d)
Open issues delta
- harbor
- Unknown
- ai-gateway
- +5 (30d)
Owner type
- harbor
- User
- ai-gateway
- Organization
OSV dependency advisories
- harbor
- No lockfile (source not queried)
- ai-gateway
- Published findings
Full report
- harbor
- Trust report
- ai-gateway
- Trust report
Choose harbor if…
- harbor is primarily Python; ai-gateway is Go.
- Tags unique to harbor: ai, automation, bash, cli.
- Also covers LLM Frameworks.
- - When you need to deploy an AI stack quickly with minimal configuration
When NOT to use harbor
- - If detailed customization at a service level is required beyond what the default setup offers
- - In cases where the project does not align well with the pre-wired services and configurations harbor provides by default
Choose ai-gateway if…
- ai-gateway is primarily Go; harbor is Python.
- Tags unique to ai-gateway: ai-gateway, litellm, llm-cost, llm-proxy.
- When you need to integrate more than 30 different LLM services including OpenAI and Anthropic
When NOT to use ai-gateway
- If your project only involves one or two LLMs which does not necessitate the gateway's broad compatibility features
- For small-scale projects that do not require comprehensive cost analysis tools
- When custom integration for specific guardrails is required, as ai-gateway offers generalized settings
Explore
Sources
Every stat on this page traces to a dated GitHub sync, license file, enrichment field, or trust scan.
- GitHub stars (av/harbor) · observed Aug 11, 2026
- GitHub forks (av/harbor) · observed Aug 11, 2026
- Last push (av/harbor) · observed Aug 2, 2026
- License file (Apache-2.0) · observed Aug 11, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Jul 17, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Jul 15, 2026
- GitHub stars (ferro-labs/ai-gateway) · observed Sep 12, 2026
- GitHub forks (ferro-labs/ai-gateway) · observed Sep 12, 2026
- Last push (ferro-labs/ai-gateway) · observed Sep 10, 2026
- License file (Apache-2.0) · observed Sep 12, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Jul 17, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Jul 15, 2026
GitHub stars on cards: harbor 3.2k · ai-gateway 256 (synced Aug 11, 2026).
Common questions
- What is the difference between harbor and ai-gateway?
- harbor: Complete pre-wired LLM stack via one command. ai-gateway: Unified AI Gateway for multiple LLMs with caching, guardrails, A/B testing, and cost controls. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories.
- When should I choose harbor over ai-gateway?
- Choose harbor over ai-gateway when harbor is primarily Python; ai-gateway is Go; Tags unique to harbor: ai, automation, bash, cli; Also covers LLM Frameworks; - When you need to deploy an AI stack quickly with minimal configuration.
- When should I choose ai-gateway over harbor?
- Choose ai-gateway over harbor when ai-gateway is primarily Go; harbor is Python; Tags unique to ai-gateway: ai-gateway, litellm, llm-cost, llm-proxy; When you need to integrate more than 30 different LLM services including OpenAI and Anthropic.
- When should I avoid harbor?
- - If detailed customization at a service level is required beyond what the default setup offers - In cases where the project does not align well with the pre-wired services and configurations harbor provides by default
- When should I avoid ai-gateway?
- If your project only involves one or two LLMs which does not necessitate the gateway's broad compatibility features For small-scale projects that do not require comprehensive cost analysis tools When custom integration for specific guardrails is required, as ai-gateway offers generalized settings
- Is harbor or ai-gateway more popular on GitHub?
- harbor has more GitHub stars (3,162 vs 256). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints.
- Are harbor and ai-gateway open source?
- Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (harbor: Apache-2.0, ai-gateway: Apache-2.0).
- Where can I find alternatives to harbor or ai-gateway?
- GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at harbor alternatives and ai-gateway alternatives (harbor markdown twin, ai-gateway markdown twin), 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 mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers.
- Which is better maintained, harbor or ai-gateway?
- harbor: Active. ai-gateway: 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 harbor and ai-gateway?
- GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: harbor trust report; ai-gateway trust report.