--- title: "ai-gateway vs SillyTavern" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/ferro-labs-ai-gateway-vs-sillytavern-sillytavern" tools: ["ferro-labs-ai-gateway", "sillytavern-sillytavern"] --- # ai-gateway vs SillyTavern *GraphCanon updated Aug 16, 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 SillyTavern if sillyTavern is a JavaScript-based frontend for managing and interacting with large language models (LLMs) that focuses on providing a user-friendly experience tailored to power users. [ai-gateway](https://docs.ferrolabs.ai) reports 219 GitHub stars, 33 forks, and 63 open issues, last pushed Aug 7, 2026. [SillyTavern](https://sillytavern.app) has 32k stars, 6.1k forks, and 583 open issues, last pushed Jul 11, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [ai-gateway's repository](https://github.com/ferro-labs/ai-gateway) and [SillyTavern's repository](https://github.com/SillyTavern/SillyTavern). | | [ai-gateway](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway.md) | [SillyTavern](/tools/sillytavern-sillytavern.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Unified AI Gateway for multiple LLMs with caching, guardrails, A/B testing, and cost controls | LLM Frontend for Power Users | | Stars | 219 | 32,190 | | Forks | 33 | 6,069 | | Open issues | 63 | 583 | | Language | Go | JavaScript | | 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. | SillyTavern is a JavaScript-based frontend for managing and interacting with large language models (LLMs) that focuses on providing a user-friendly experience tailored to power users. Given its license and functionality, | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | Apache-2.0 - a permissive free software license | AGPL-3.0 | | 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) | [SillyTavern](/tools/sillytavern-sillytavern.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Maintenance | Very active (96%) | Steady (60%) | | Days since push | 2d | 35d | | Open issues (now) | 63 | 583 | | Stars delta | Unknown | +1.4k (30d) | | Open issues delta | Unknown | +52 (30d) | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/sillytavern-sillytavern/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: SillyTavern - **Pricing:** freemium - **Requirements:** Min 4 GB RAM; Requires Docker; It is essential to have familiarity with Docker for setup and maintenance. - **Adopt for:** SillyTavern is a JavaScript-based frontend for managing and interacting with large language models (LLMs) that focuses on providing a user-friendly experience tailored to power users. Given its license and functionality, - **License detail:** AGPL-3.0 ## Choose when ### Choose ai-gateway if… - ai-gateway is primarily Go; SillyTavern is JavaScript. - License: ai-gateway is Apache-2.0, SillyTavern is AGPL-3.0. - 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 ### Choose SillyTavern if… - SillyTavern is primarily JavaScript; ai-gateway is Go. - License: SillyTavern is AGPL-3.0, ai-gateway is Apache-2.0. - Requirements: Min 4 GB RAM; Requires Docker; It is essential to have familiarity with Docker for setup and maintenance.. - Tags unique to SillyTavern: ai, chat, llm. - SillyTavern ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment. - SillyTavern is a JavaScript-based frontend for managing and interacting with large language models (LLMs) that focuses on providing a user-friendly experience tailored to power users. Given its license and functionality, ## 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 SillyTavern - Inference & Serving: Self-hosting rarely beats a hosted API on cost until you have steady, high-volume traffic. ## Common questions ### What is the difference between ai-gateway and SillyTavern? ai-gateway: Unified AI Gateway for multiple LLMs with caching, guardrails, A/B testing, and cost controls. SillyTavern: LLM Frontend for Power Users. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose ai-gateway over SillyTavern? Choose ai-gateway over SillyTavern when ai-gateway is primarily Go; SillyTavern is JavaScript; License: ai-gateway is Apache-2.0, SillyTavern is AGPL-3.0; 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 SillyTavern over ai-gateway? Choose SillyTavern over ai-gateway when SillyTavern is primarily JavaScript; ai-gateway is Go; License: SillyTavern is AGPL-3.0, ai-gateway is Apache-2.0; Requirements: Min 4 GB RAM; Requires Docker; It is essential to have familiarity with Docker for setup and maintenance.; Tags unique to SillyTavern: ai, chat, llm; SillyTavern ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment; SillyTavern is a JavaScript-based frontend for managing and interacting with large language models (LLMs) that focuses on providing a user-friendly experience tailored to power users. Given its license and functionality,. ### 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 SillyTavern? Inference & Serving: Self-hosting rarely beats a hosted API on cost until you have steady, high-volume traffic. ### Is ai-gateway or SillyTavern more popular on GitHub? SillyTavern has more GitHub stars (32,190 vs 219). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are ai-gateway and SillyTavern open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (ai-gateway: Apache-2.0, SillyTavern: AGPL-3.0). ### Where can I find alternatives to ai-gateway or SillyTavern? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [ai-gateway alternatives](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway/alternatives) and [SillyTavern alternatives](/tools/sillytavern-sillytavern/alternatives) ([ai-gateway markdown twin](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway/alternatives.md), [SillyTavern markdown twin](/tools/sillytavern-sillytavern/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-sillytavern-sillytavern.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, ai-gateway or SillyTavern? ai-gateway: Very active. SillyTavern: 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 SillyTavern? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [ai-gateway trust report](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway/trust); [SillyTavern trust report](/tools/sillytavern-sillytavern/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/_