--- title: "litellm vs MCP-Bridge" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/berriai-litellm-vs-secretiveshell-mcp-bridge" tools: ["berriai-litellm", "secretiveshell-mcp-bridge"] --- # litellm vs MCP-Bridge *GraphCanon updated Aug 1, 2026* ## Verdict Pick litellm if 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; pick MCP-Bridge if mCP-Bridge facilitates integration of MCP tools with systems expecting an OpenAI API interface via Python. [litellm](https://docs.litellm.ai/docs/) reports 55k GitHub stars, 10k forks, and 4.6k open issues, last pushed Aug 1, 2026. [MCP-Bridge](https://github.com/SecretiveShell/MCP-Bridge) has 928 stars, 117 forks, and 36 open issues, last pushed Dec 8, 2025. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [litellm's repository](https://github.com/BerriAI/litellm) and [MCP-Bridge's repository](https://github.com/SecretiveShell/MCP-Bridge). | | [litellm](/tools/berriai-litellm.md) | [MCP-Bridge](/tools/secretiveshell-mcp-bridge.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Python SDK and Proxy Server for calling multiple LLM APIs | A middleware for an openAI compatible endpoint to call MCP tools | | Stars | 55,221 | 928 | | Forks | 10,231 | 117 | | Open issues | 4,634 | 36 | | Language | Python | Python | | 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. | MCP-Bridge facilitates integration of MCP tools with systems expecting an OpenAI API interface via Python. | | 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. | MIT | | Categories | Inference & Serving, LLM Frameworks | Inference & Serving | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [litellm](/tools/berriai-litellm.md) | [MCP-Bridge](/tools/secretiveshell-mcp-bridge.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Maintenance | Very active (96%) | Slowing (36%) | | Days since push | 0d | 230d | | Open issues (now) | 4.6k | 36 | | Owner type | Organization | User | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/berriai-litellm/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/secretiveshell-mcp-bridge/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. ## Decision facts: MCP-Bridge - **Adopt for:** MCP-Bridge facilitates integration of MCP tools with systems expecting an OpenAI API interface via Python. ## Choose when ### Choose litellm if… - License: litellm is Other, MCP-Bridge is MIT. - Pricing: While the core functionality is provided free, specific extended features might require a paid plan.. - Requirements: Requires Docker. - Tags unique to litellm: ai-gateway, azure-openai, bedrock, llm. - Also covers LLM Frameworks. - 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 MCP-Bridge if… - License: MCP-Bridge is MIT, litellm is Other. - Tags unique to MCP-Bridge: ai, claude, mcp, model-context-protocol. - When needing to interact with MCP tools through an OpenAI-compatible endpoint ## 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 MCP-Bridge - If your system can natively support and communicate directly with MCP protocols without API translation - For scenarios where OpenAI compatibility is not required, as using MCP-Bridge would introduce unnecessary complexity ## Common questions ### What is the difference between litellm and MCP-Bridge? litellm: Python SDK and Proxy Server for calling multiple LLM APIs. MCP-Bridge: A middleware for an openAI compatible endpoint to call MCP tools. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose litellm over MCP-Bridge? Choose litellm over MCP-Bridge when License: litellm is Other, MCP-Bridge is MIT; Pricing: While the core functionality is provided free, specific extended features might require a paid plan.; Requirements: Requires Docker; Tags unique to litellm: ai-gateway, azure-openai, bedrock, llm; Also covers LLM Frameworks; 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 MCP-Bridge over litellm? Choose MCP-Bridge over litellm when License: MCP-Bridge is MIT, litellm is Other; Tags unique to MCP-Bridge: ai, claude, mcp, model-context-protocol; When needing to interact with MCP tools through an OpenAI-compatible endpoint. ### 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 MCP-Bridge? If your system can natively support and communicate directly with MCP protocols without API translation For scenarios where OpenAI compatibility is not required, as using MCP-Bridge would introduce unnecessary complexity ### Is litellm or MCP-Bridge more popular on GitHub? litellm has more GitHub stars (55,221 vs 928). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are litellm and MCP-Bridge open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (litellm: Other, MCP-Bridge: MIT). ### Where can I find alternatives to litellm or MCP-Bridge? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [litellm alternatives](/tools/berriai-litellm/alternatives) and [MCP-Bridge alternatives](/tools/secretiveshell-mcp-bridge/alternatives) ([litellm markdown twin](/tools/berriai-litellm/alternatives.md), [MCP-Bridge markdown twin](/tools/secretiveshell-mcp-bridge/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-secretiveshell-mcp-bridge.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, litellm or MCP-Bridge? litellm: Very active. MCP-Bridge: Slowing. 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 MCP-Bridge? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [litellm trust report](/tools/berriai-litellm/trust); [MCP-Bridge trust report](/tools/secretiveshell-mcp-bridge/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/_