--- title: "ai-gateway vs paddler" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/ferro-labs-ai-gateway-vs-intentee-paddler" tools: ["ferro-labs-ai-gateway", "intentee-paddler"] --- # ai-gateway vs paddler *GraphCanon updated Aug 20, 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 paddler if paddler offers a streamlined approach to serve LLMs/VLMs with minimal setup complexity, focusing on scaling through simplicity. [ai-gateway](https://docs.ferrolabs.ai) reports 219 GitHub stars, 33 forks, and 63 open issues, last pushed Aug 7, 2026. [paddler](https://paddler.intentee.com) has 1.7k stars, 97 forks, and 29 open issues, last pushed Jul 19, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [ai-gateway's repository](https://github.com/ferro-labs/ai-gateway) and [paddler's repository](https://github.com/intentee/paddler). | | [ai-gateway](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway.md) | [paddler](/tools/intentee-paddler.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Unified AI Gateway for multiple LLMs with caching, guardrails, A/B testing, and cost controls | Open-source LLM/VLM load balancer and serving platform for self-hosting at scale | | Stars | 219 | 1,663 | | Forks | 33 | 97 | | Open issues | 63 | 29 | | Language | Go | Rust | | 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. | Paddler offers a streamlined approach to serve LLMs/VLMs with minimal setup complexity, focusing on scaling through simplicity. | | 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) | [paddler](/tools/intentee-paddler.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Maintenance | Very active (96%) | Steady (60%) | | Days since push | 2d | 31d | | Open issues (now) | 63 | 29 | | Stars delta | Unknown | +21 (30d) | | Open issues delta | Unknown | +3 (30d) | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/intentee-paddler/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: paddler - **Adopt for:** Paddler offers a streamlined approach to serve LLMs/VLMs with minimal setup complexity, focusing on scaling through simplicity. ## Choose when ### Choose ai-gateway if… - ai-gateway is primarily Go; paddler is Rust. - 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 paddler if… - paddler is primarily Rust; ai-gateway is Go. - Tags unique to paddler: ai, cpu, gpu, llamacpp. - paddler ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment. - Need a platform that simplifies deployments around the ggml ecosystem for self-hosting at scale ## 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 paddler - Require extensive customization options in model serving infrastructure that Paddler's minimalistic design does not support - Seek complex feature sets beyond simple scale-out capabilities, which might be found in more comprehensive platforms ## Common questions ### What is the difference between ai-gateway and paddler? ai-gateway: Unified AI Gateway for multiple LLMs with caching, guardrails, A/B testing, and cost controls. paddler: Open-source LLM/VLM load balancer and serving platform for self-hosting at scale. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose ai-gateway over paddler? Choose ai-gateway over paddler when ai-gateway is primarily Go; paddler is Rust; 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 paddler over ai-gateway? Choose paddler over ai-gateway when paddler is primarily Rust; ai-gateway is Go; Tags unique to paddler: ai, cpu, gpu, llamacpp; paddler ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment; Need a platform that simplifies deployments around the ggml ecosystem for self-hosting at scale. ### 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 paddler? Require extensive customization options in model serving infrastructure that Paddler's minimalistic design does not support Seek complex feature sets beyond simple scale-out capabilities, which might be found in more comprehensive platforms ### Is ai-gateway or paddler more popular on GitHub? paddler has more GitHub stars (1,663 vs 219). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are ai-gateway and paddler open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (ai-gateway: Apache-2.0, paddler: Apache-2.0). ### Where can I find alternatives to ai-gateway or paddler? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [ai-gateway alternatives](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway/alternatives) and [paddler alternatives](/tools/intentee-paddler/alternatives) ([ai-gateway markdown twin](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway/alternatives.md), [paddler markdown twin](/tools/intentee-paddler/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-intentee-paddler.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, ai-gateway or paddler? ai-gateway: Very active. paddler: Steady. 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 paddler? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [ai-gateway trust report](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway/trust); [paddler trust report](/tools/intentee-paddler/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/_