Comparison
mteb vs lighteval
Verdict
Pick mteb when license: mteb is Apache-2.0, lighteval is MIT; pick lighteval when license: lighteval is MIT, mteb is Apache-2.0.
Markdown twin · mteb alternatives · lighteval alternatives
GraphCanon updated today
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Trust & integrity
| Signal | mteb | lighteval |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance | Very active (1d since push) As of today · github_public_v1 | Active (11d since push) As of today · github_public_v1 |
| Provenance | Not a fork · Organization account As of today · github_public_v1 | Not a fork · Organization account As of today · github_public_v1 |
| Security (OSV) | No lockfile As of today · none | No lockfile As of today · none |
Tagline
- mteb
- State-of-the-art evaluation of embeddings across languages and modalities
- lighteval
- All-in-one toolkit for evaluating LLMs across multiple backends
Stars
- mteb
- 3.3k
- lighteval
- 2.5k
Forks
- mteb
- 638
- lighteval
- 506
Open issues
- mteb
- 295
- lighteval
- 347
Language
- mteb
- Python
- lighteval
- Python
Adopt for
- mteb
- -
- lighteval
- Lighteval is designed for evaluating language models across multiple backends. It integrates well with Hugging Face and provides a wide range of extras, making it particularly handy in non-Windows environments.
Persona
- mteb
- -
- lighteval
- -
Runtime
- mteb
- -
- lighteval
- -
License
- mteb
- Apache-2.0
- lighteval
- MIT
Last pushed
- mteb
- Jul 9, 2026
- lighteval
- Jun 29, 2026
Categories
- mteb
- Evaluation & Observability
- lighteval
- Evaluation & Observability
Trust and health
Maintenance
- mteb
- Very active (96%)
- lighteval
- Active (82%)
Days since push
- mteb
- 1d
- lighteval
- 11d
Open issues (now)
- mteb
- 295
- lighteval
- 347
Full report
- mteb
- Trust report
- lighteval
- Trust report
Choose mteb if…
- License: mteb is Apache-2.0, lighteval is MIT.
- Tags unique to mteb: embeddings, benchmark, multilingual-nlp, information-retrieval.
- mteb ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment.
When NOT to use mteb
- Evaluation & Observability: Defer heavyweight eval infra only until you have real traffic - never skip it once users depend on answers.
Choose lighteval if…
- License: lighteval is MIT, mteb is Apache-2.0.
- Tags unique to lighteval: python, huggingface, evaluation-metrics, evaluation framework.
- When you need to evaluate the performance of various LLMs on different backend infrastructures, especially if you are working within Mac/Linux environments.
When NOT to use lighteval
- Avoid Lighteval for evaluations on Windows systems as it is currently untested and not supported there.
- Should you require a solution that does not integrate with or depend on the Hugging Face ecosystem, Lighteval might not fulfill your needs.
Explore
Sources
Every stat on this page traces to a dated GitHub sync, license file, enrichment field, or trust scan.
- GitHub stars (embeddings-benchmark/mteb) · observed Jul 11, 2026
- GitHub forks (embeddings-benchmark/mteb) · observed Jul 11, 2026
- Last push (embeddings-benchmark/mteb) · observed Jul 9, 2026
- License file (Apache-2.0) · observed Jul 11, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Jul 11, 2026
- GitHub stars (huggingface/lighteval) · observed Jul 11, 2026
- GitHub forks (huggingface/lighteval) · observed Jul 11, 2026
- Last push (huggingface/lighteval) · observed Jun 29, 2026
- License file (MIT) · observed Jul 11, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Jul 12, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Jul 11, 2026
GitHub stars on cards: mteb 3.3k · lighteval 2.5k (synced Jul 11, 2026).
Common questions
- What is the difference between mteb and lighteval?
- mteb: State-of-the-art evaluation of embeddings across languages and modalities. lighteval: All-in-one toolkit for evaluating LLMs across multiple backends. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories.
- When should I choose mteb over lighteval?
- Choose mteb over lighteval when License: mteb is Apache-2.0, lighteval is MIT; Tags unique to mteb: embeddings, benchmark, multilingual-nlp, information-retrieval; mteb ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment.
- When should I choose lighteval over mteb?
- Choose lighteval over mteb when License: lighteval is MIT, mteb is Apache-2.0; Tags unique to lighteval: python, huggingface, evaluation-metrics, evaluation framework; When you need to evaluate the performance of various LLMs on different backend infrastructures, especially if you are working within Mac/Linux environments.
- When should I avoid mteb?
- Evaluation & Observability: Defer heavyweight eval infra only until you have real traffic - never skip it once users depend on answers.
- When should I avoid lighteval?
- Avoid Lighteval for evaluations on Windows systems as it is currently untested and not supported there. Should you require a solution that does not integrate with or depend on the Hugging Face ecosystem, Lighteval might not fulfill your needs.
- Is mteb or lighteval more popular on GitHub?
- mteb has more GitHub stars (3,349 vs 2,472). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints.
- Are mteb and lighteval open source?
- Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (mteb: Apache-2.0, lighteval: MIT).
- Where can I find alternatives to mteb or lighteval?
- GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at mteb alternatives and lighteval alternatives (mteb markdown twin, lighteval markdown twin), 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 mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers.
- Which is better maintained, mteb or lighteval?
- mteb: Very active. lighteval: 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 mteb and lighteval?
- GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: mteb trust report; lighteval trust report.