Comparison
ai-gateway vs vllm-mlx
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 vllm-mlx if vllm-mlx is an open-source inference server that runs large language models and vision-language models on Apple Silicon devices with continuous batching and multimodal support using.
Markdown twin · ai-gateway alternatives · vllm-mlx alternatives
GraphCanon updated 2w
vs
Trust & integrity
| Signal | ai-gateway | vllm-mlx |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance | Very active (2d since push) As of 2w · github_public_v1 | Steady (31d since push) As of 3w · github_public_v1 |
| Provenance | Not a fork · Organization account As of 2w · github_public_v1 | Not a fork · Personal account As of 3w · github_public_v1 |
| OSV dependency advisories | Published findings As of 1mo · osv@v1 | No lockfile (source not queried) As of 1mo · 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
- vllm-mlx
- Server for LLMs and vision-language models compatible with Apple Silicon
Stars
- ai-gateway
- 219
- vllm-mlx
- 1.5k
Forks
- ai-gateway
- 33
- vllm-mlx
- 205
Open issues
- ai-gateway
- 63
- vllm-mlx
- 86
Language
- ai-gateway
- Go
- vllm-mlx
- Python
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.
- vllm-mlx
- vllm-mlx is an open-source inference server that runs large language models and vision-language models on Apple Silicon devices with continuous batching and multimodal support using native MLX backend.
Persona
- ai-gateway
- -
- vllm-mlx
- -
Runtime
- ai-gateway
- -
- vllm-mlx
- -
License
- ai-gateway
- Apache-2.0 - a permissive free software license
- vllm-mlx
- Apache-2.0
Last pushed
- ai-gateway
- Aug 7, 2026
- vllm-mlx
- Jun 28, 2026
Categories
- ai-gateway
- Inference & Serving, Model Training
- vllm-mlx
- Inference & Serving, Model Training
Trust and health
Maintenance
- ai-gateway
- Very active (96%)
- vllm-mlx
- Steady (60%)
Days since push
- ai-gateway
- 2d
- vllm-mlx
- 31d
Open issues (now)
- ai-gateway
- 63
- vllm-mlx
- 86
Owner type
- ai-gateway
- Organization
- vllm-mlx
- User
OSV dependency advisories
- ai-gateway
- Published findings
- vllm-mlx
- No lockfile (source not queried)
Full report
- ai-gateway
- Trust report
- vllm-mlx
- Trust report
Choose ai-gateway if…
- ai-gateway is primarily Go; vllm-mlx is Python.
- Tags unique to ai-gateway: ai-gateway, litellm, llm-cost, llm-proxy.
- 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 vllm-mlx if…
- vllm-mlx is primarily Python; ai-gateway is Go.
- Tags unique to vllm-mlx: anthropic, apple-silicon, audio-processing, claude-code.
- If you need to run LLMs or vision-language models like Llama, Qwen-VL, and LLaVA efficiently on Apple Silicon devices.
When NOT to use vllm-mlx
- If your target environment is not an Apple device equipped with the required hardware to run models via MLX backend.
- When seeking a solution that offers high-speed token throughput beyond 400 tok/s as vllm-mlx may not be adequate for such performance needs.
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 Aug 9, 2026
- GitHub forks (ferro-labs/ai-gateway) · observed Aug 9, 2026
- Last push (ferro-labs/ai-gateway) · observed Aug 7, 2026
- License file (Apache-2.0) · observed Aug 9, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Jul 17, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Jul 15, 2026
- GitHub stars (waybarrios/vllm-mlx) · observed Jul 30, 2026
- GitHub forks (waybarrios/vllm-mlx) · observed Jul 30, 2026
- Last push (waybarrios/vllm-mlx) · observed Jun 28, 2026
- License file (Apache-2.0) · observed Jul 30, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Jul 16, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Jul 11, 2026
GitHub stars on cards: ai-gateway 219 · vllm-mlx 1.5k (synced Aug 9, 2026).
Common questions
- What is the difference between ai-gateway and vllm-mlx?
- ai-gateway: Unified AI Gateway for multiple LLMs with caching, guardrails, A/B testing, and cost controls. vllm-mlx: Server for LLMs and vision-language models compatible with Apple Silicon. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories.
- When should I choose ai-gateway over vllm-mlx?
- Choose ai-gateway over vllm-mlx when ai-gateway is primarily Go; vllm-mlx is Python; Tags unique to ai-gateway: ai-gateway, litellm, llm-cost, llm-proxy; When you need to integrate more than 30 different LLM services including OpenAI and Anthropic.
- When should I choose vllm-mlx over ai-gateway?
- Choose vllm-mlx over ai-gateway when vllm-mlx is primarily Python; ai-gateway is Go; Tags unique to vllm-mlx: anthropic, apple-silicon, audio-processing, claude-code; If you need to run LLMs or vision-language models like Llama, Qwen-VL, and LLaVA efficiently on Apple Silicon devices.
- 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 vllm-mlx?
- If your target environment is not an Apple device equipped with the required hardware to run models via MLX backend. When seeking a solution that offers high-speed token throughput beyond 400 tok/s as vllm-mlx may not be adequate for such performance needs.
- Is ai-gateway or vllm-mlx more popular on GitHub?
- vllm-mlx has more GitHub stars (1,472 vs 219). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints.
- Are ai-gateway and vllm-mlx open source?
- Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (ai-gateway: Apache-2.0, vllm-mlx: Apache-2.0).
- Where can I find alternatives to ai-gateway or vllm-mlx?
- GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at ai-gateway alternatives and vllm-mlx alternatives (ai-gateway markdown twin, vllm-mlx 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 vllm-mlx?
- ai-gateway: Very active. vllm-mlx: 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 vllm-mlx?
- GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: ai-gateway trust report; vllm-mlx trust report.