Comparison
litellm vs ai-gateway
Verdict
Pick litellm when litellm is primarily Python; ai-gateway is Go; pick ai-gateway when ai-gateway is primarily Go; litellm is Python.
Markdown twin · litellm alternatives · ai-gateway alternatives
GraphCanon updated today
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Trust & integrity
| Signal | litellm | ai-gateway |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance | Very active (0d since push) As of 3d · github_public_v1 | Very active (1d since push) As of today · github_public_v1 |
| Provenance | Not a fork · Organization account As of 3d · github_public_v1 | Not a fork · Organization account As of today · github_public_v1 |
| OSV dependency advisories | Published findings As of 4d · osv@v1 | Published findings As of today · 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
- litellm
- Python SDK and Proxy Server for calling multiple LLM APIs
- ai-gateway
- Unified AI Gateway for 30+ LLMs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Bedrock, Azure etc) with Caching, Guardrails, A/B test & cost controls. Go-native Fastest & Scalable AI Gateway LiteLLM & Kong AI Gateway alternativ
Stars
- litellm
- 53k
- ai-gateway
- 180
Forks
- litellm
- 9.7k
- ai-gateway
- 31
Open issues
- litellm
- 3.9k
- ai-gateway
- 47
Language
- litellm
- Python
- ai-gateway
- Go
Adopt for
- litellm
- litellm is a Python SDK and Proxy Server that facilitates the interaction with over 100 LLM APIs, offering features such as cost tracking, guardrails, load balancing, and logging.
- ai-gateway
- -
Persona
- litellm
- -
- ai-gateway
- -
Runtime
- litellm
- -
- ai-gateway
- -
License
- litellm
- The licensing terms for LiteLLM are provided under a license type categorized as 'Other'; details of the exact license should be referenced directly from its source.
- ai-gateway
- Apache-2.0
Last pushed
- litellm
- Jul 11, 2026
- ai-gateway
- Jul 14, 2026
Categories
- litellm
- Inference & Serving, LLM Frameworks
- ai-gateway
- Computer Vision, Inference & Serving, LLM Frameworks
Trust and health
Days since push
- litellm
- 0d
- ai-gateway
- 1d
Open issues (now)
- litellm
- 3.9k
- ai-gateway
- 47
Full report
- litellm
- Trust report
- ai-gateway
- Trust report
Choose litellm if…
- litellm is primarily Python; ai-gateway is Go.
- License: litellm is Other, ai-gateway is Apache-2.0.
- Pricing: While the core functionality is provided free, specific extended features might require a paid plan..
- Requirements: Requires Docker.
- Tags unique to litellm: azure-openai, bedrock, openai, vertex-ai.
- When you need to integrate multiple LLM (Language Learning Modelling) APIs into your application across different providers like Bedrock, Azure, OpenAI, VertexAI, Cohere, Anthropic, Sagemaker, Hugging
When NOT to use litellm
- If your project only requires interaction with a single LLM API and basic functionalities, litellm may be overkill.
Choose ai-gateway if…
- ai-gateway is primarily Go; litellm is Python.
- License: ai-gateway is Apache-2.0, litellm is Other.
- Tags unique to ai-gateway: ai-infrastructure, guardrails, litellm, llm-cost.
- Also covers Computer Vision.
When NOT to use ai-gateway
- Inference & Serving: Self-hosting rarely beats a hosted API on cost until you have steady, high-volume traffic.
- LLM Frameworks: Avoid a framework for a single prompt-and-retrieve call; the abstraction can cost more than it saves.
Explore
Sources
Every stat on this page traces to a dated GitHub sync, license file, enrichment field, or trust scan.
- GitHub stars (BerriAI/litellm) · observed Jul 11, 2026
- GitHub forks (BerriAI/litellm) · observed Jul 11, 2026
- Last push (BerriAI/litellm) · observed Jul 11, 2026
- License file (Other) · observed Jul 11, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Jul 11, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Jul 11, 2026
- GitHub stars (ferro-labs/ai-gateway) · observed Jul 15, 2026
- GitHub forks (ferro-labs/ai-gateway) · observed Jul 15, 2026
- Last push (ferro-labs/ai-gateway) · observed Jul 14, 2026
- License file (Apache-2.0) · observed Jul 15, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Jul 15, 2026
GitHub stars on cards: litellm 53k · ai-gateway 180 (synced Jul 11, 2026).
Common questions
- What is the difference between litellm and ai-gateway?
- litellm: Python SDK and Proxy Server for calling multiple LLM APIs. ai-gateway: Unified AI Gateway for 30+ LLMs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Bedrock, Azure etc) with Caching, Guardrails, A/B test & cost controls. Go-native Fastest & Scalable AI Gateway LiteLLM & Kong AI Gateway alternativ. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories.
- When should I choose litellm over ai-gateway?
- Choose litellm over ai-gateway when litellm is primarily Python; ai-gateway is Go; License: litellm is Other, ai-gateway is Apache-2.0; Pricing: While the core functionality is provided free, specific extended features might require a paid plan.; Requirements: Requires Docker; Tags unique to litellm: azure-openai, bedrock, openai, vertex-ai; When you need to integrate multiple LLM (Language Learning Modelling) APIs into your application across different providers like Bedrock, Azure, OpenAI, VertexAI, Cohere, Anthropic, Sagemaker, Hugging.
- When should I choose ai-gateway over litellm?
- Choose ai-gateway over litellm when ai-gateway is primarily Go; litellm is Python; License: ai-gateway is Apache-2.0, litellm is Other; Tags unique to ai-gateway: ai-infrastructure, guardrails, litellm, llm-cost; Also covers Computer Vision.
- When should I avoid litellm?
- If your project only requires interaction with a single LLM API and basic functionalities, litellm may be overkill.
- When should I avoid ai-gateway?
- Inference & Serving: Self-hosting rarely beats a hosted API on cost until you have steady, high-volume traffic. LLM Frameworks: Avoid a framework for a single prompt-and-retrieve call; the abstraction can cost more than it saves.
- Is litellm or ai-gateway more popular on GitHub?
- litellm has more GitHub stars (53,271 vs 180). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints.
- Are litellm and ai-gateway open source?
- Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (litellm: Other, ai-gateway: Apache-2.0).
- Where can I find alternatives to litellm or ai-gateway?
- GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at litellm alternatives and ai-gateway alternatives (litellm 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, litellm or ai-gateway?
- litellm: 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 litellm and ai-gateway?
- GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: litellm trust report; ai-gateway trust report.