--- title: "AgentGuard vs ai-gateway" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/dipampaul17-agentguard-vs-ferro-labs-ai-gateway" tools: ["dipampaul17-agentguard", "ferro-labs-ai-gateway"] --- # AgentGuard vs ai-gateway *GraphCanon updated Sep 20, 2026* ## Verdict Pick AgentGuard if agentGuard is a budget-conscious observer for real-time token spending by AI agents and LLMs, integrating with major providers like OpenAI and Anthropic; 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 models in a production environment. [AgentGuard](https://github.com/dipampaul17/AgentGuard) reports 173 GitHub stars, 11 forks, and 2 open issues, last pushed Jul 31, 2025. [ai-gateway](https://docs.ferrolabs.ai) has 256 stars, 35 forks, and 68 open issues, last pushed Sep 10, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [AgentGuard's repository](https://github.com/dipampaul17/AgentGuard) and [ai-gateway's repository](https://github.com/ferro-labs/ai-gateway). | | [AgentGuard](/tools/dipampaul17-agentguard.md) | [ai-gateway](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Real-time guardrail that monitors token spend and manages LLM/agent loops in real time | Unified AI Gateway for multiple LLMs with caching, guardrails, A/B testing, and cost controls | | Stars | 173 | 256 | | Forks | 11 | 35 | | Open issues | 2 | 68 | | Language | JavaScript | Go | | Adopt for | AgentGuard is a budget-conscious observer for real-time token spending by AI agents and LLMs, integrating with major providers like OpenAI and Anthropic. | 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 | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | MIT | Apache-2.0 - a permissive free software license | | Categories | Evaluation & Observability, Inference & Serving | Inference & Serving, Model Training | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [AgentGuard](/tools/dipampaul17-agentguard.md) | [ai-gateway](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Maintenance | Dormant (18%) | Very active (96%) | | Days since push | 407d | 2d | | Open issues (now) | 2 | 68 | | Stars delta | +2 (30d) | +37 (30d) | | Open issues delta | +1 (30d) | +5 (30d) | | Owner type | User | Organization | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/dipampaul17-agentguard/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway/trust.md) | ## Shared compatibility - **Node.js**: [AgentGuard](/tools/dipampaul17-agentguard.md) - Node.js runtime; [ai-gateway](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway.md) - Node.js runtime ## Decision facts: AgentGuard - **Adopt for:** AgentGuard is a budget-conscious observer for real-time token spending by AI agents and LLMs, integrating with major providers like OpenAI and Anthropic. ## Decision facts: ai-gateway - **Adopt for:** 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. - **License detail:** Apache-2.0 - a permissive free software license ## Choose when ### Choose AgentGuard if… - AgentGuard is primarily JavaScript; ai-gateway is Go. - License: AgentGuard is MIT, ai-gateway is Apache-2.0. - Tags unique to AgentGuard: ai-agents, anthropic, cost-monitoring, observability. - Also covers Evaluation & Observability. - When you need precise control over spend and want live updates on token prices ### Choose ai-gateway if… - ai-gateway is primarily Go; AgentGuard is JavaScript. - License: ai-gateway is Apache-2.0, AgentGuard is MIT. - Tags unique to ai-gateway: ai-gateway, litellm, llm-cost, llm-proxy. - Also covers Model Training. - When you need to integrate more than 30 different LLM services including OpenAI and Anthropic ## When NOT to use AgentGuard - If you prioritize a different language for your project and cannot use JavaScript - In cases requiring more elaborate fallback mechanisms than what AgentGuard offers ## 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 ## Common questions ### What is the difference between AgentGuard and ai-gateway? AgentGuard: Real-time guardrail that monitors token spend and manages LLM/agent loops in real time. 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 AgentGuard over ai-gateway? Choose AgentGuard over ai-gateway when AgentGuard is primarily JavaScript; ai-gateway is Go; License: AgentGuard is MIT, ai-gateway is Apache-2.0; Tags unique to AgentGuard: ai-agents, anthropic, cost-monitoring, observability; Also covers Evaluation & Observability; When you need precise control over spend and want live updates on token prices. ### When should I choose ai-gateway over AgentGuard? Choose ai-gateway over AgentGuard when ai-gateway is primarily Go; AgentGuard is JavaScript; License: ai-gateway is Apache-2.0, AgentGuard is MIT; Tags unique to ai-gateway: ai-gateway, litellm, llm-cost, llm-proxy; Also covers Model Training; When you need to integrate more than 30 different LLM services including OpenAI and Anthropic. ### When should I avoid AgentGuard? If you prioritize a different language for your project and cannot use JavaScript In cases requiring more elaborate fallback mechanisms than what AgentGuard offers ### 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 AgentGuard or ai-gateway more popular on GitHub? ai-gateway has more GitHub stars (256 vs 173). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are AgentGuard and ai-gateway open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (AgentGuard: MIT, ai-gateway: Apache-2.0). ### Where can I find alternatives to AgentGuard or ai-gateway? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [AgentGuard alternatives](/tools/dipampaul17-agentguard/alternatives) and [ai-gateway alternatives](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway/alternatives) ([AgentGuard markdown twin](/tools/dipampaul17-agentguard/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/dipampaul17-agentguard-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, AgentGuard or ai-gateway? AgentGuard: Dormant. 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 AgentGuard and ai-gateway? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [AgentGuard trust report](/tools/dipampaul17-agentguard/trust); [ai-gateway trust report](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=dipampaul17-agentguard`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=dipampaul17-agentguard) - 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/_