Comparison
ai-gateway vs inference
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 inference if unified production-ready inference API that supports a wide range of models and deployment methods.
Markdown twin · ai-gateway alternatives · inference alternatives
GraphCanon updated 2w
vs
Trust & integrity
| Signal | ai-gateway | inference |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance | Very active (2d since push) As of 2w · github_public_v1 | Very active (0d since push) As of 3w · github_public_v1 |
| Provenance | Not a fork · Organization account As of 2w · github_public_v1 | Not a fork · Organization 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
- inference
- Unified production-ready inference API for various models
Stars
- ai-gateway
- 219
- inference
- 9.5k
Forks
- ai-gateway
- 33
- inference
- 851
Open issues
- ai-gateway
- 63
- inference
- 42
Language
- ai-gateway
- Go
- inference
- 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.
- inference
- Unified production-ready inference API that supports a wide range of models and deployment methods.
Persona
- ai-gateway
- -
- inference
- -
Runtime
- ai-gateway
- -
- inference
- -
License
- ai-gateway
- Apache-2.0 - a permissive free software license
- inference
- Apache-2.0
Last pushed
- ai-gateway
- Aug 7, 2026
- inference
- Aug 2, 2026
Categories
- ai-gateway
- Inference & Serving, Model Training
- inference
- Inference & Serving
Trust and health
Days since push
- ai-gateway
- 2d
- inference
- 0d
Open issues (now)
- ai-gateway
- 63
- inference
- 42
OSV dependency advisories
- ai-gateway
- Published findings
- inference
- No lockfile (source not queried)
Full report
- ai-gateway
- Trust report
- inference
- Trust report
Choose ai-gateway if…
- ai-gateway is primarily Go; inference is Python.
- 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 inference if…
- inference is primarily Python; ai-gateway is Go.
- Pricing: Primary core services offer under free Apache-2.0 license; advanced support might incur costs based on the deployment scale and environment complexity..
- Requirements: Min 4 GB RAM; Requires Docker; Compatibility with Nvidia GPUs requires Docker, CUDA setup..
- Tags unique to inference: artificial-intelligence, deployment, machine-learning.
- - When you need to deploy multiple types of models (like speech, text, and multimodal) through a single unified interface.
When NOT to use inference
- - When strict control over individual model interfaces is required and a unified API complicates your workflow.
- - If you’re working with proprietary models that aren’t supported by Xinference’s built-in or custom integration mechanisms.
- - In cases where the project mandates use of specific deployment tools that are not well-aligned with Xinference’s recommended methods (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes), unless you can adapt your setup.
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 (xorbitsai/inference) · observed Aug 2, 2026
- GitHub forks (xorbitsai/inference) · observed Aug 2, 2026
- Last push (xorbitsai/inference) · observed Aug 2, 2026
- License file (Apache-2.0) · observed Aug 2, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Jul 12, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Jul 11, 2026
GitHub stars on cards: ai-gateway 219 · inference 9.5k (synced Aug 9, 2026).
Common questions
- What is the difference between ai-gateway and inference?
- ai-gateway: Unified AI Gateway for multiple LLMs with caching, guardrails, A/B testing, and cost controls. inference: Unified production-ready inference API for various models. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories.
- When should I choose ai-gateway over inference?
- Choose ai-gateway over inference when ai-gateway is primarily Go; inference is Python; 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 inference over ai-gateway?
- Choose inference over ai-gateway when inference is primarily Python; ai-gateway is Go; Pricing: Primary core services offer under free Apache-2.0 license; advanced support might incur costs based on the deployment scale and environment complexity.; Requirements: Min 4 GB RAM; Requires Docker; Compatibility with Nvidia GPUs requires Docker, CUDA setup.; Tags unique to inference: artificial-intelligence, deployment, machine-learning; - When you need to deploy multiple types of models (like speech, text, and multimodal) through a single unified interface.
- 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 inference?
- - When strict control over individual model interfaces is required and a unified API complicates your workflow. - If you’re working with proprietary models that aren’t supported by Xinference’s built-in or custom integration mechanisms. - In cases where the project mandates use of specific deployment tools that are not well-aligned with Xinference’s recommended methods (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes), unless you can adapt your setup.
- Is ai-gateway or inference more popular on GitHub?
- inference has more GitHub stars (9,470 vs 219). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints.
- Are ai-gateway and inference open source?
- Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (ai-gateway: Apache-2.0, inference: Apache-2.0).
- Where can I find alternatives to ai-gateway or inference?
- GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at ai-gateway alternatives and inference alternatives (ai-gateway markdown twin, inference 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 inference?
- ai-gateway: Very active. inference: Very 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 inference?
- GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: ai-gateway trust report; inference trust report.