---
title: "Prompt-Engineering-Guide vs awesome-free-llm-apis"
type: "comparison"
canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/dair-ai-prompt-engineering-guide-vs-mnfst-awesome-free-llm-apis"
tools: ["dair-ai-prompt-engineering-guide", "mnfst-awesome-free-llm-apis"]
---

# Prompt-Engineering-Guide vs awesome-free-llm-apis

*GraphCanon updated Jul 15, 2026*

## Verdict

Pick Prompt-Engineering-Guide when prompt-Engineering-Guide is primarily MDX; awesome-free-llm-apis is JavaScript; pick awesome-free-llm-apis when awesome-free-llm-apis is primarily JavaScript; Prompt-Engineering-Guide is MDX.

[Prompt-Engineering-Guide](https://www.promptingguide.ai/) reports 76k GitHub stars, 8.4k forks, and 274 open issues, last pushed Mar 11, 2026. [awesome-free-llm-apis](https://github.com/mnfst/awesome-free-llm-apis) has 5.8k stars, 545 forks, and 16 open issues, last pushed Jun 16, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [Prompt-Engineering-Guide's repository](https://github.com/dair-ai/Prompt-Engineering-Guide) and [awesome-free-llm-apis's repository](https://github.com/mnfst/awesome-free-llm-apis).

| | [Prompt-Engineering-Guide](/tools/dair-ai-prompt-engineering-guide.md) | [awesome-free-llm-apis](/tools/mnfst-awesome-free-llm-apis.md) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Tagline | Guides, papers, lessons, notebooks and resources for prompt engineering, context engineering, RAG, and AI Agents | List of Permanent Free LLM API (API Keys) |
| Stars | 76,349 | 5,751 |
| Forks | 8,361 | 545 |
| Open issues | 274 | 16 |
| Language | MDX | JavaScript |
| Adopt for | Decision-critical facts for Prompt-Engineering-Guide | - |
| Persona | - | - |
| Runtime | - | - |
| License | MIT | CC0-1.0 |
| Categories | AI Agents, LLM Frameworks | AI Agents, LLM Frameworks, Model Training |

## Trust and health

_Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._

| | [Prompt-Engineering-Guide](/tools/dair-ai-prompt-engineering-guide.md) | [awesome-free-llm-apis](/tools/mnfst-awesome-free-llm-apis.md) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Maintenance | Slowing (36%) | Active (82%) |
| Days since push | 121d | 28d |
| Open issues (now) | 274 | 16 |
| Full report | [trust report](/tools/dair-ai-prompt-engineering-guide/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/mnfst-awesome-free-llm-apis/trust.md) |

## Decision facts: Prompt-Engineering-Guide

- **Adopt for:** Decision-critical facts for Prompt-Engineering-Guide

## Choose when

### Choose Prompt-Engineering-Guide if…

- Prompt-Engineering-Guide is primarily MDX; awesome-free-llm-apis is JavaScript.
- License: Prompt-Engineering-Guide is MIT, awesome-free-llm-apis is CC0-1.0.
- Tags unique to Prompt-Engineering-Guide: agent, agents, chatgpt, deep-learning.
- When you seek comprehensive documentation and educational materials specifically focused on the nuance of prompt engineering techniques.

### Choose awesome-free-llm-apis if…

- awesome-free-llm-apis is primarily JavaScript; Prompt-Engineering-Guide is MDX.
- License: awesome-free-llm-apis is CC0-1.0, Prompt-Engineering-Guide is MIT.
- Tags unique to awesome-free-llm-apis: anthropic, awesome, awesome-list, gemini.
- Also covers Model Training.

## When NOT to use Prompt-Engineering-Guide

- Avoid using if your focus is entirely on deep-learning frameworks without a need for detailed instructions or examples related to prompt crafting.
- Not suitable when you require tools that go beyond guiding materials, such as custom prompts or direct software plugins provided by competitors focused more on practical implementation over learning.

## When NOT to use awesome-free-llm-apis

- AI Agents: Don't use an agent loop when a deterministic workflow would do; agents add latency, cost, and non-determinism.
- LLM Frameworks: Avoid a framework for a single prompt-and-retrieve call; the abstraction can cost more than it saves.
- Model Training: Try prompting and RAG first; fine-tuning is the answer to style/format, not missing knowledge.

## Common questions

### What is the difference between Prompt-Engineering-Guide and awesome-free-llm-apis?

Prompt-Engineering-Guide: Guides, papers, lessons, notebooks and resources for prompt engineering, context engineering, RAG, and AI Agents. awesome-free-llm-apis: List of Permanent Free LLM API (API Keys). See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories.

### When should I choose Prompt-Engineering-Guide over awesome-free-llm-apis?

Choose Prompt-Engineering-Guide over awesome-free-llm-apis when Prompt-Engineering-Guide is primarily MDX; awesome-free-llm-apis is JavaScript; License: Prompt-Engineering-Guide is MIT, awesome-free-llm-apis is CC0-1.0; Tags unique to Prompt-Engineering-Guide: agent, agents, chatgpt, deep-learning; When you seek comprehensive documentation and educational materials specifically focused on the nuance of prompt engineering techniques.

### When should I choose awesome-free-llm-apis over Prompt-Engineering-Guide?

Choose awesome-free-llm-apis over Prompt-Engineering-Guide when awesome-free-llm-apis is primarily JavaScript; Prompt-Engineering-Guide is MDX; License: awesome-free-llm-apis is CC0-1.0, Prompt-Engineering-Guide is MIT; Tags unique to awesome-free-llm-apis: anthropic, awesome, awesome-list, gemini; Also covers Model Training.

### When should I avoid Prompt-Engineering-Guide?

Avoid using if your focus is entirely on deep-learning frameworks without a need for detailed instructions or examples related to prompt crafting. Not suitable when you require tools that go beyond guiding materials, such as custom prompts or direct software plugins provided by competitors focused more on practical implementation over learning.

### When should I avoid awesome-free-llm-apis?

AI Agents: Don't use an agent loop when a deterministic workflow would do; agents add latency, cost, and non-determinism. LLM Frameworks: Avoid a framework for a single prompt-and-retrieve call; the abstraction can cost more than it saves. Model Training: Try prompting and RAG first; fine-tuning is the answer to style/format, not missing knowledge.

### Is Prompt-Engineering-Guide or awesome-free-llm-apis more popular on GitHub?

Prompt-Engineering-Guide has more GitHub stars (76,349 vs 5,751). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints.

### Are Prompt-Engineering-Guide and awesome-free-llm-apis open source?

Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (Prompt-Engineering-Guide: MIT, awesome-free-llm-apis: CC0-1.0).

### Where can I find alternatives to Prompt-Engineering-Guide or awesome-free-llm-apis?

GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [Prompt-Engineering-Guide alternatives](/tools/dair-ai-prompt-engineering-guide/alternatives) and [awesome-free-llm-apis alternatives](/tools/mnfst-awesome-free-llm-apis/alternatives) ([Prompt-Engineering-Guide markdown twin](/tools/dair-ai-prompt-engineering-guide/alternatives.md), [awesome-free-llm-apis markdown twin](/tools/mnfst-awesome-free-llm-apis/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/dair-ai-prompt-engineering-guide-vs-mnfst-awesome-free-llm-apis.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers.

### Which is better maintained, Prompt-Engineering-Guide or awesome-free-llm-apis?

Prompt-Engineering-Guide: Slowing. awesome-free-llm-apis: 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 Prompt-Engineering-Guide and awesome-free-llm-apis?

GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [Prompt-Engineering-Guide trust report](/tools/dair-ai-prompt-engineering-guide/trust); [awesome-free-llm-apis trust report](/tools/mnfst-awesome-free-llm-apis/trust).

---

**Machine-readable endpoints**

- JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=dair-ai-prompt-engineering-guide`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=dair-ai-prompt-engineering-guide)
- 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/_
