--- title: "ai-gateway vs catai" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/ferro-labs-ai-gateway-vs-withcatai-catai" tools: ["ferro-labs-ai-gateway", "withcatai-catai"] --- # ai-gateway vs catai *GraphCanon updated Sep 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 catai if catai, an AI assistant framework built for local deployment with Node.js, offers developers using TypeScript the ability to create and deploy AI agents through a. [ai-gateway](https://docs.ferrolabs.ai) reports 256 GitHub stars, 35 forks, and 68 open issues, last pushed Sep 10, 2026. [catai](https://withcatai.github.io/catai/) has 500 stars, 39 forks, and 2 open issues, last pushed Nov 16, 2025. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [ai-gateway's repository](https://github.com/ferro-labs/ai-gateway) and [catai's repository](https://github.com/withcatai/catai). | | [ai-gateway](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway.md) | [catai](/tools/withcatai-catai.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Unified AI Gateway for multiple LLMs with caching, guardrails, A/B testing, and cost controls | Run AI assistant locally with Node.js | | Stars | 256 | 500 | | Forks | 35 | 39 | | Open issues | 68 | 2 | | Language | Go | TypeScript | | 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. | catai, an AI assistant framework built for local deployment with Node.js, offers developers using TypeScript the ability to create and deploy AI agents through a simple API. | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | Apache-2.0 - a permissive free software license | MIT | | Categories | Inference & Serving, Model Training | AI Agents, Inference & Serving | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [ai-gateway](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway.md) | [catai](/tools/withcatai-catai.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Maintenance | Very active (96%) | Slowing (36%) | | Days since push | 2d | 307d | | Open issues (now) | 68 | 2 | | Stars delta | +37 (30d) | +2 (30d) | | Open issues delta | +5 (30d) | 0 (30d) | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/withcatai-catai/trust.md) | ## Shared compatibility - **Node.js**: [ai-gateway](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway.md) - Node.js runtime; [catai](/tools/withcatai-catai.md) - Node.js runtime ## 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: catai - **Adopt for:** catai, an AI assistant framework built for local deployment with Node.js, offers developers using TypeScript the ability to create and deploy AI agents through a simple API. ## Choose when ### Choose ai-gateway if… - ai-gateway is primarily Go; catai is TypeScript. - License: ai-gateway is Apache-2.0, catai is MIT. - 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 catai if… - catai is primarily TypeScript; ai-gateway is Go. - License: catai is MIT, ai-gateway is Apache-2.0. - Tags unique to catai: ai-assistant, chatbot, ggmlv3, llama-cpp. - Also covers AI Agents. - - When aiming to deploy a local AI assistant without reliance on cloud-based services; catai is ideal due to its focus on node-llama-cpp integration, allowing for robust offline capabilities. ## 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 catai - - For environments that strictly prohibit or limit Node.js operations on the server side, as catai is engineered to run locally via Node.js only. - - If seeking a cloud-based AI deployment solution that does not require local setup, since catai focuses solely on providing local AI capabilities through an easy-to-use API. ## Common questions ### What is the difference between ai-gateway and catai? ai-gateway: Unified AI Gateway for multiple LLMs with caching, guardrails, A/B testing, and cost controls. catai: Run AI assistant locally with Node.js. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose ai-gateway over catai? Choose ai-gateway over catai when ai-gateway is primarily Go; catai is TypeScript; License: ai-gateway is Apache-2.0, catai is MIT; 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 catai over ai-gateway? Choose catai over ai-gateway when catai is primarily TypeScript; ai-gateway is Go; License: catai is MIT, ai-gateway is Apache-2.0; Tags unique to catai: ai-assistant, chatbot, ggmlv3, llama-cpp; Also covers AI Agents; - When aiming to deploy a local AI assistant without reliance on cloud-based services; catai is ideal due to its focus on node-llama-cpp integration, allowing for robust offline capabilities. ### 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 catai? - For environments that strictly prohibit or limit Node.js operations on the server side, as catai is engineered to run locally via Node.js only. - If seeking a cloud-based AI deployment solution that does not require local setup, since catai focuses solely on providing local AI capabilities through an easy-to-use API. ### Is ai-gateway or catai more popular on GitHub? catai has more GitHub stars (500 vs 256). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are ai-gateway and catai open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (ai-gateway: Apache-2.0, catai: MIT). ### Where can I find alternatives to ai-gateway or catai? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [ai-gateway alternatives](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway/alternatives) and [catai alternatives](/tools/withcatai-catai/alternatives) ([ai-gateway markdown twin](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway/alternatives.md), [catai markdown twin](/tools/withcatai-catai/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-withcatai-catai.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, ai-gateway or catai? ai-gateway: Very active. catai: Slowing. 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 catai? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [ai-gateway trust report](/tools/ferro-labs-ai-gateway/trust); [catai trust report](/tools/withcatai-catai/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/_