Comparison
litellm vs ai-gateway
Verdict
Pick litellm if litellm is a Rust core with a Python SDK that serves as an AI gateway for over 100 LLM APIs, offering features like cost tracking, guardrails, load balancing, and logging; 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.
Markdown twin · litellm alternatives · ai-gateway alternatives
GraphCanon updated Sep 18, 2026
12views this month
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Trust & integrity
| Signal | litellm | ai-gateway |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance | Very active (0d since push) As of Sep 18, 2026 · github_public_v1 | Very active (2d since push) As of Sep 12, 2026 · github_public_v1 |
| Provenance | Not a fork · Organization account As of Sep 18, 2026 · github_public_v1 | Not a fork · Organization account As of Sep 12, 2026 · github_public_v1 |
| OSV dependency advisories | Published findings As of Sep 18, 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
- litellm
- The fastest, lightest AI Gateway
- ai-gateway
- Unified AI Gateway for multiple LLMs with caching, guardrails, A/B testing, and cost controls
Stars
- litellm
- 59k
- ai-gateway
- 256
Forks
- litellm
- 12k
- ai-gateway
- 35
Open issues
- litellm
- 5.2k
- ai-gateway
- 68
Language
- litellm
- Python
- ai-gateway
- Go
Adopt for
- litellm
- litellm is a Rust core with a Python SDK that serves as an AI gateway for over 100 LLM APIs, offering features like cost tracking, guardrails, load balancing, and logging.
- 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
- litellm
- -
- ai-gateway
- -
Runtime
- litellm
- -
- ai-gateway
- -
License
- litellm
- Other
- ai-gateway
- Apache-2.0 - a permissive free software license
Last pushed
- litellm
- Sep 18, 2026
- ai-gateway
- Sep 10, 2026
Categories
- litellm
- Inference & Serving
- ai-gateway
- Inference & Serving, Model Training
Trust and health
Days since push
- litellm
- 0d
- ai-gateway
- 2d
Open issues (now)
- litellm
- 5.2k
- ai-gateway
- 68
Stars delta
- litellm
- +3.8k (30d)
- ai-gateway
- +37 (30d)
Open issues delta
- litellm
- +578 (30d)
- ai-gateway
- +5 (30d)
Full report
- litellm
- Trust report
- ai-gateway
- Trust report
Typed relationship
litellm alternative ai-gatewayBoth are AI gateways that allow calling multiple LLM APIs with features like guardrails and cost controls.
Choose litellm if…
- litellm is primarily Python; ai-gateway is Go.
- License: litellm is Other, ai-gateway is Apache-2.0.
- Both are AI gateways that allow calling multiple LLM APIs with features like guardrails and cost controls.
- Tags unique to litellm: anthropic, azure-openai, bedrock, langchain.
- litellm ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment.
- When you need a fast and lightweight AI gateway that supports over 100 LLM APIs in OpenAI or native format.
When NOT to use litellm
- If you are working in an environment where Rust or Python is not supported or preferred.
- When you need a tool that is not focused on performance and lightweight operations, as litellm is optimized for speed and efficiency.
- If you require a tool that does not support a wide range of LLM APIs and providers, as litellm is designed to work with over 100 APIs.
- When you need a tool that does not offer cost tracking, guardrails, load balancing, and logging, as these are key features of litellm.
Choose ai-gateway if…
- ai-gateway is primarily Go; litellm is Python.
- License: ai-gateway is Apache-2.0, litellm is Other.
- Both are AI gateways that allow calling multiple LLM APIs with features like guardrails and cost controls.
- Tags unique to ai-gateway: llm-cost, llm-proxy, openai-compatible.
- Also covers Model Training.
- 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 (BerriAI/litellm) · observed Sep 18, 2026
- GitHub forks (BerriAI/litellm) · observed Sep 18, 2026
- Last push (BerriAI/litellm) · observed Sep 18, 2026
- License file (Other) · observed Sep 18, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Sep 18, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Sep 18, 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: litellm 59k · ai-gateway 256 (synced Sep 18, 2026).
Common questions
- What is the difference between litellm and ai-gateway?
- litellm: The fastest, lightest AI Gateway. 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 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; Both are AI gateways that allow calling multiple LLM APIs with features like guardrails and cost controls; Tags unique to litellm: anthropic, azure-openai, bedrock, langchain; litellm ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment; When you need a fast and lightweight AI gateway that supports over 100 LLM APIs in OpenAI or native format.
- 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; Both are AI gateways that allow calling multiple LLM APIs with features like guardrails and cost controls; Tags unique to ai-gateway: llm-cost, llm-proxy, openai-compatible; Also covers Model Training; When you need to integrate more than 30 different LLM services including OpenAI and Anthropic.
- When should I avoid litellm?
- If you are working in an environment where Rust or Python is not supported or preferred. When you need a tool that is not focused on performance and lightweight operations, as litellm is optimized for speed and efficiency. If you require a tool that does not support a wide range of LLM APIs and providers, as litellm is designed to work with over 100 APIs. When you need a tool that does not offer cost tracking, guardrails, load balancing, and logging, as these are key features of litellm.
- 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 litellm or ai-gateway more popular on GitHub?
- litellm has more GitHub stars (59,051 vs 256). 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.