--- title: "litellm vs ai-gateway" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/berriai-litellm-vs-ferro-labs-ai-gateway" tools: ["berriai-litellm", "ferro-labs-ai-gateway"] --- # litellm vs ai-gateway *GraphCanon updated Jul 15, 2026* ## Verdict Pick litellm when litellm is primarily Python; ai-gateway is Go; pick ai-gateway when ai-gateway is primarily Go; litellm is Python. [litellm](https://docs.litellm.ai/docs/) reports 53k GitHub stars, 9.7k forks, and 3.9k open issues, last pushed Jul 11, 2026. [ai-gateway](https://docs.ferrolabs.ai) has 180 stars, 31 forks, and 47 open issues, last pushed Jul 14, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [litellm's repository](https://github.com/BerriAI/litellm) and [ai-gateway's repository](https://github.com/ferro-labs/ai-gateway). | | [litellm](/tools/berriai-litellm.md) | [ai-gateway](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Python SDK and Proxy Server for calling multiple LLM APIs | 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 | 53,271 | 180 | | Forks | 9,671 | 31 | | Open issues | 3,915 | 47 | | Language | Python | Go | | Adopt for | 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. | - | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | 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. | Apache-2.0 | | Categories | Inference & Serving, LLM Frameworks | Computer Vision, Inference & Serving, LLM Frameworks | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [litellm](/tools/berriai-litellm.md) | [ai-gateway](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Days since push | 0d | 1d | | Open issues (now) | 3.9k | 47 | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/berriai-litellm/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway/trust.md) | ## Decision facts: litellm - **Pricing:** freemium - While the core functionality is provided free, specific extended features might require a paid plan. - **Requirements:** Requires Docker - **Adopt for:** 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. - **License detail:** 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. ## Choose when ### 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 ### 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 litellm - If your project only requires interaction with a single LLM API and basic functionalities, litellm may be overkill. ## 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. ## 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](/tools/berriai-litellm/alternatives) and [ai-gateway alternatives](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway/alternatives) ([litellm markdown twin](/tools/berriai-litellm/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/berriai-litellm-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, 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](/tools/berriai-litellm/trust); [ai-gateway trust report](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=berriai-litellm`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=berriai-litellm) - 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/_