--- title: "glide vs ai-gateway" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/einstack-glide-vs-ferro-labs-ai-gateway" tools: ["einstack-glide", "ferro-labs-ai-gateway"] --- # glide vs ai-gateway *GraphCanon updated Aug 9, 2026* ## Verdict Pick glide if glide is an open-source Gateway tool built with Go for deploying and managing generative AI applications; 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. [glide](https://docs.einstack.ai/glide/) reports 159 GitHub stars, 26 forks, and 68 open issues, last pushed Aug 12, 2024. [ai-gateway](https://docs.ferrolabs.ai) has 219 stars, 33 forks, and 63 open issues, last pushed Aug 7, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [glide's repository](https://github.com/EinStack/glide) and [ai-gateway's repository](https://github.com/ferro-labs/ai-gateway). | | [glide](/tools/einstack-glide.md) | [ai-gateway](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | A fast, simple model gateway for rapid development of production GenAI apps | Unified AI Gateway for multiple LLMs with caching, guardrails, A/B testing, and cost controls | | Stars | 159 | 219 | | Forks | 26 | 33 | | Open issues | 68 | 63 | | Language | Go | Go | | Adopt for | Glide is an open-source Gateway tool built with Go for deploying and managing generative AI applications. | 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 | Glide operates under the Apache-2.0 license. | Apache-2.0 - a permissive free software license | | Categories | Inference & Serving | Inference & Serving, Model Training | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [glide](/tools/einstack-glide.md) | [ai-gateway](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Maintenance | Dormant (18%) | Very active (96%) | | Days since push | 719d | 2d | | Open issues (now) | 68 | 63 | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/einstack-glide/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway/trust.md) | ## Decision facts: glide - **Hosting:** self hosted - A self-hosted gateway that requires Docker for setting up and managing environments across different OS images. - **Pricing:** freemium - Free to use and open-source under the Apache-2.0 license, but additional cost might be incurred based on infrastructure where Glide is deployed. - **Adopt for:** Glide is an open-source Gateway tool built with Go for deploying and managing generative AI applications. - **License detail:** Glide operates under the Apache-2.0 license. ## 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 glide if… - A self-hosted gateway that requires Docker for setting up and managing environments across different OS images. - Pricing: Free to use and open-source under the Apache-2.0 license, but additional cost might be incurred based on infrastructure where Glide is deployed.. - Tags unique to glide: ai, gateway-api, genai, generative-ai. - When you need rapid deployment of GenAI apps using a simple model gateway that supports multiple Docker images including Alpine, Ubuntu, Distroless, and RedHat UBI. ### Choose ai-gateway if… - 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 glide - Avoid if your project's deployment environment is strictly Windows-based as Glide does not natively support Windows OS, requiring manual workaround steps from the demo README file. - Not suitable when you require a more versatile language choice for development other than Go, since Glide itself is fully developed in this language. ## 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 glide and ai-gateway? glide: A fast, simple model gateway for rapid development of production GenAI apps. 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 glide over ai-gateway? Choose glide over ai-gateway when A self-hosted gateway that requires Docker for setting up and managing environments across different OS images; Pricing: Free to use and open-source under the Apache-2.0 license, but additional cost might be incurred based on infrastructure where Glide is deployed.; Tags unique to glide: ai, gateway-api, genai, generative-ai; When you need rapid deployment of GenAI apps using a simple model gateway that supports multiple Docker images including Alpine, Ubuntu, Distroless, and RedHat UBI. ### When should I choose ai-gateway over glide? Choose ai-gateway over glide when 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 glide? Avoid if your project's deployment environment is strictly Windows-based as Glide does not natively support Windows OS, requiring manual workaround steps from the demo README file. Not suitable when you require a more versatile language choice for development other than Go, since Glide itself is fully developed in this language. ### 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 glide or ai-gateway more popular on GitHub? ai-gateway has more GitHub stars (219 vs 159). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are glide and ai-gateway open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (glide: Apache-2.0, ai-gateway: Apache-2.0). ### Where can I find alternatives to glide or ai-gateway? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [glide alternatives](/tools/einstack-glide/alternatives) and [ai-gateway alternatives](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway/alternatives) ([glide markdown twin](/tools/einstack-glide/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/einstack-glide-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, glide or ai-gateway? glide: 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 glide and ai-gateway? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [glide trust report](/tools/einstack-glide/trust); [ai-gateway trust report](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=einstack-glide`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=einstack-glide) - 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/_