--- title: "harbor vs ai-gateway" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/av-harbor-vs-ferro-labs-ai-gateway" tools: ["av-harbor", "ferro-labs-ai-gateway"] --- # harbor vs ai-gateway *GraphCanon updated Sep 20, 2026* ## 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. [harbor](https://discord.gg/8nDRphrhSF) reports 3.2k GitHub stars, 227 forks, and 67 open issues, last pushed Sep 19, 2026. [ai-gateway](https://docs.ferrolabs.ai) has 256 stars, 35 forks, and 68 open issues, last pushed Sep 10, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [harbor's repository](https://github.com/av/harbor) and [ai-gateway's repository](https://github.com/ferro-labs/ai-gateway). | | [harbor](/tools/av-harbor.md) | [ai-gateway](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Complete pre-wired LLM stack via one command | Unified AI Gateway for multiple LLMs with caching, guardrails, A/B testing, and cost controls | | Stars | 3,217 | 256 | | Forks | 227 | 35 | | Open issues | 67 | 68 | | Language | Python | Go | | Adopt for | Harbor is a rapid deployment tool for AI stacks using Docker and docker-compose. | 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 | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 - a permissive free software license | | Categories | Inference & Serving, LLM Frameworks, Model Training | Inference & Serving, Model Training | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [harbor](/tools/av-harbor.md) | [ai-gateway](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Days since push | 0d | 2d | | Open issues (now) | 67 | 68 | | Stars delta | +55 (30d) | +37 (30d) | | Open issues delta | +3 (30d) | +5 (30d) | | Owner type | User | Organization | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/av-harbor/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway/trust.md) | ## Decision facts: harbor - **Adopt for:** Harbor is a rapid deployment tool for AI stacks using Docker and docker-compose. ## Decision facts: ai-gateway - **Adopt for:** 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. - **License detail:** Apache-2.0 - a permissive free software license ## Choose when ### 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 ### 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 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 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 ## 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 (3,217 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](/tools/av-harbor/alternatives) and [ai-gateway alternatives](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway/alternatives) ([harbor markdown twin](/tools/av-harbor/alternatives.md), [ai-gateway markdown twin](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway/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/av-harbor-vs-ferro-labs-ai-gateway.md) 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: Very 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](/tools/av-harbor/trust); [ai-gateway trust report](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=av-harbor`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=av-harbor) - 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/_