Comparison
ai-gateway vs awesome-free-llm-apis
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 awesome-free-llm-apis if awesome-free-llm-apis curates permanent free Large Language Model APIs with notable details on their limitations and access methods.
Markdown twin · ai-gateway alternatives · awesome-free-llm-apis alternatives
GraphCanon updated Sep 20, 2026
9views this month
Trust & integrity
| Signal | ai-gateway | awesome-free-llm-apis |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance | Very active (2d since push) As of Sep 12, 2026 · github_public_v1 | Active (29d since push) As of Sep 20, 2026 · github_public_v1 |
| Provenance | Not a fork · Organization account As of Sep 12, 2026 · github_public_v1 | Not a fork · Organization account As of Sep 20, 2026 · github_public_v1 |
| OSV dependency advisories | Published findings As of Jul 15, 2026 · osv@v1 | No lockfile (source not queried) As of Jul 15, 2026 · osv@v1 |
| deps.dev advisories | Not queried deps.dev@v1 | Not queried deps.dev@v1 |
| OpenSSF Scorecard | Not queried openssf-scorecard@v1 | Not queried openssf-scorecard@v1 |
Tagline
- ai-gateway
- Unified AI Gateway for multiple LLMs with caching, guardrails, A/B testing, and cost controls
- awesome-free-llm-apis
- List of Permanent Free LLM API
Stars
- ai-gateway
- 256
- awesome-free-llm-apis
- 7.9k
Forks
- ai-gateway
- 35
- awesome-free-llm-apis
- 746
Open issues
- ai-gateway
- 68
- awesome-free-llm-apis
- 17
Language
- ai-gateway
- Go
- awesome-free-llm-apis
- JavaScript
Adopt for
- ai-gateway
- 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.
- awesome-free-llm-apis
- awesome-free-llm-apis curates permanent free Large Language Model APIs with notable details on their limitations and access methods.
Persona
- ai-gateway
- -
- awesome-free-llm-apis
- -
Runtime
- ai-gateway
- -
- awesome-free-llm-apis
- -
License
- ai-gateway
- Apache-2.0 - a permissive free software license
- awesome-free-llm-apis
- This resource is distributed under the Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication (CC0-1.0) license.
Last pushed
- ai-gateway
- Sep 10, 2026
- awesome-free-llm-apis
- Aug 21, 2026
Categories
- ai-gateway
- Inference & Serving, Model Training
- awesome-free-llm-apis
- Inference & Serving
Trust and health
Maintenance
- ai-gateway
- Very active (96%)
- awesome-free-llm-apis
- Active (82%)
Days since push
- ai-gateway
- 2d
- awesome-free-llm-apis
- 29d
Open issues (now)
- ai-gateway
- 68
- awesome-free-llm-apis
- 17
Stars delta
- ai-gateway
- +37 (30d)
- awesome-free-llm-apis
- +1.3k (30d)
Open issues delta
- ai-gateway
- +5 (30d)
- awesome-free-llm-apis
- -8 (30d)
OSV dependency advisories
- ai-gateway
- Published findings
- awesome-free-llm-apis
- No lockfile (source not queried)
Full report
- ai-gateway
- Trust report
- awesome-free-llm-apis
- Trust report
Choose ai-gateway if…
- ai-gateway is primarily Go; awesome-free-llm-apis is JavaScript.
- License: ai-gateway is Apache-2.0, awesome-free-llm-apis is CC0-1.0.
- 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 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
Choose awesome-free-llm-apis if…
- awesome-free-llm-apis is primarily JavaScript; ai-gateway is Go.
- License: awesome-free-llm-apis is CC0-1.0, ai-gateway is Apache-2.0.
- Pricing: The repository lists APIs with permanent free tiers, detailing rate and token limits for those interested in using free Large Language Model services..
- Requirements: Before integration, ensure that the specific requirements for API access are met to utilize these models without restriction.; Users should review the rate and token limits associated with each API provider to determine suitability based on their project's needs..
- Tags unique to awesome-free-llm-apis: ai-agents, anthropic, gemini, llm.
- When you need text inference with specialized capabilities like roleplay and storytelling, the Aion Labs API offers a dedicated free tier specifically designed for these purposes.
When NOT to use awesome-free-llm-apis
- Avoid using Aion Labs if your project involves heavy commercial activity, given its limited rate and token limits.
- Do not use Cohere for projects that will scale beyond 1,000 API calls per month or require credit card details for access to higher-tier plans.
- Google Gemini's free tier is inaccessible in the EU/UK/Switzerland regions and requires consent to let Google improve their products through your usage.
- Mistral AI should be avoided if you need strict confidentiality, as they use prompts from users' interactions to refine and train additional model iterations.
Explore
Sources
Every stat on this page traces to a dated GitHub sync, license file, enrichment field, or trust scan.
- GitHub stars (ferro-labs/ai-gateway) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- GitHub forks (ferro-labs/ai-gateway) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- Last push (ferro-labs/ai-gateway) · observed Sep 10, 2026
- License file (Apache-2.0) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Jul 17, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Jul 15, 2026
- GitHub stars (mnfst/awesome-free-llm-apis) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- GitHub forks (mnfst/awesome-free-llm-apis) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- Last push (mnfst/awesome-free-llm-apis) · observed Aug 21, 2026
- License file (CC0-1.0) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Jul 17, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Jul 15, 2026
GitHub stars on cards: ai-gateway 256 · awesome-free-llm-apis 7.9k (synced Sep 20, 2026).
Common questions
- What is the difference between ai-gateway and awesome-free-llm-apis?
- ai-gateway: Unified AI Gateway for multiple LLMs with caching, guardrails, A/B testing, and cost controls. awesome-free-llm-apis: List of Permanent Free LLM API. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories.
- When should I choose ai-gateway over awesome-free-llm-apis?
- Choose ai-gateway over awesome-free-llm-apis when ai-gateway is primarily Go; awesome-free-llm-apis is JavaScript; License: ai-gateway is Apache-2.0, awesome-free-llm-apis is CC0-1.0; 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 awesome-free-llm-apis over ai-gateway?
- Choose awesome-free-llm-apis over ai-gateway when awesome-free-llm-apis is primarily JavaScript; ai-gateway is Go; License: awesome-free-llm-apis is CC0-1.0, ai-gateway is Apache-2.0; Pricing: The repository lists APIs with permanent free tiers, detailing rate and token limits for those interested in using free Large Language Model services.; Requirements: Before integration, ensure that the specific requirements for API access are met to utilize these models without restriction.; Users should review the rate and token limits associated with each API provider to determine suitability based on their project's needs.; Tags unique to awesome-free-llm-apis: ai-agents, anthropic, gemini, llm; When you need text inference with specialized capabilities like roleplay and storytelling, the Aion Labs API offers a dedicated free tier specifically designed for these purposes.
- 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 awesome-free-llm-apis?
- Avoid using Aion Labs if your project involves heavy commercial activity, given its limited rate and token limits. Do not use Cohere for projects that will scale beyond 1,000 API calls per month or require credit card details for access to higher-tier plans. Google Gemini's free tier is inaccessible in the EU/UK/Switzerland regions and requires consent to let Google improve their products through your usage. Mistral AI should be avoided if you need strict confidentiality, as they use prompts from users' interactions to refine and train additional model iterations.
- Is ai-gateway or awesome-free-llm-apis more popular on GitHub?
- awesome-free-llm-apis has more GitHub stars (7,852 vs 256). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints.
- Are ai-gateway and awesome-free-llm-apis open source?
- Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (ai-gateway: Apache-2.0, awesome-free-llm-apis: CC0-1.0).
- Where can I find alternatives to ai-gateway or awesome-free-llm-apis?
- GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at ai-gateway alternatives and awesome-free-llm-apis alternatives (ai-gateway markdown twin, awesome-free-llm-apis 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, ai-gateway or awesome-free-llm-apis?
- ai-gateway: Very active. awesome-free-llm-apis: 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 awesome-free-llm-apis?
- GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: ai-gateway trust report; awesome-free-llm-apis trust report.