Home/Compare/ai-gateway vs awesome-free-llm-apis

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

ai-gateway logo

ai-gateway

ferro-labs/ai-gateway

256pushed Sep 10, 2026
vs
awesome-free-llm-apis logo

awesome-free-llm-apis

mnfst/awesome-free-llm-apis

7.9kpushed Aug 21, 2026

Trust & integrity

Signalai-gatewayawesome-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 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.

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