--- title: "ai-gateway vs gpustack" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/ferro-labs-ai-gateway-vs-gpustack-gpustack" tools: ["ferro-labs-ai-gateway", "gpustack-gpustack"] --- # ai-gateway vs gpustack *GraphCanon updated Aug 9, 2026* ## Verdict 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; pick gpustack if gpustack is a Python-based tool for managing GPU clusters focused on efficient AI model inference and on-demand SSH-accessible GPU instances. [ai-gateway](https://docs.ferrolabs.ai) reports 219 GitHub stars, 33 forks, and 63 open issues, last pushed Aug 7, 2026. [gpustack](https://gpustack.ai) has 5.5k stars, 609 forks, and 673 open issues, last pushed Aug 7, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [ai-gateway's repository](https://github.com/ferro-labs/ai-gateway) and [gpustack's repository](https://github.com/gpustack/gpustack). | | [ai-gateway](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway.md) | [gpustack](/tools/gpustack-gpustack.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Unified AI Gateway for multiple LLMs with caching, guardrails, A/B testing, and cost controls | A GPU cluster manager for high-performance AI model serving and on-demand SSH-accessible GPU instances | | Stars | 219 | 5,454 | | Forks | 33 | 609 | | Open issues | 63 | 673 | | Language | Go | Python | | 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. | gpustack is a Python-based tool for managing GPU clusters focused on efficient AI model inference and on-demand SSH-accessible GPU instances. | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | Apache-2.0 - a permissive free software license | Apache-2.0 | | Categories | Inference & Serving, Model Training | Inference & Serving | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [ai-gateway](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway.md) | [gpustack](/tools/gpustack-gpustack.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Days since push | 2d | 0d | | Open issues (now) | 63 | 673 | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/gpustack-gpustack/trust.md) | ## 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 ## Decision facts: gpustack - **Pricing:** freemium - **Requirements:** Requires Docker - **Adopt for:** gpustack is a Python-based tool for managing GPU clusters focused on efficient AI model inference and on-demand SSH-accessible GPU instances. - **License detail:** Apache-2.0 ## Choose when ### Choose ai-gateway if… - ai-gateway is primarily Go; gpustack is Python. - 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 ### Choose gpustack if… - gpustack is primarily Python; ai-gateway is Go. - Requirements: Requires Docker. - Tags unique to gpustack: ascend, cuda, deepseek, distributed-inference. - When you need to manage multiple GPUs for high-performance inference tasks with models like vLLM or SGLang. ## 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 ## When NOT to use gpustack - If your deployment constraints do not permit the use of Docker containers and there is a need for bare-metal deployments without containerized solutions. - When the tool-specific focus on certain models like vLLM or SGLang does not align with the model ecosystem preferred by your team. ## Common questions ### What is the difference between ai-gateway and gpustack? ai-gateway: Unified AI Gateway for multiple LLMs with caching, guardrails, A/B testing, and cost controls. gpustack: A GPU cluster manager for high-performance AI model serving and on-demand SSH-accessible GPU instances. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose ai-gateway over gpustack? Choose ai-gateway over gpustack when ai-gateway is primarily Go; gpustack is Python; 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 choose gpustack over ai-gateway? Choose gpustack over ai-gateway when gpustack is primarily Python; ai-gateway is Go; Requirements: Requires Docker; Tags unique to gpustack: ascend, cuda, deepseek, distributed-inference; When you need to manage multiple GPUs for high-performance inference tasks with models like vLLM or SGLang. ### 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 ### When should I avoid gpustack? If your deployment constraints do not permit the use of Docker containers and there is a need for bare-metal deployments without containerized solutions. When the tool-specific focus on certain models like vLLM or SGLang does not align with the model ecosystem preferred by your team. ### Is ai-gateway or gpustack more popular on GitHub? gpustack has more GitHub stars (5,454 vs 219). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are ai-gateway and gpustack open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (ai-gateway: Apache-2.0, gpustack: Apache-2.0). ### Where can I find alternatives to ai-gateway or gpustack? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [ai-gateway alternatives](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway/alternatives) and [gpustack alternatives](/tools/gpustack-gpustack/alternatives) ([ai-gateway markdown twin](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway/alternatives.md), [gpustack markdown twin](/tools/gpustack-gpustack/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/ferro-labs-ai-gateway-vs-gpustack-gpustack.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, ai-gateway or gpustack? ai-gateway: Very active. gpustack: 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 ai-gateway and gpustack? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [ai-gateway trust report](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway/trust); [gpustack trust report](/tools/gpustack-gpustack/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=ferro-labs-ai-gateway`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=ferro-labs-ai-gateway) - 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/_