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 xinference is a unified production-ready inference API for deploying and running various models, including LLMs, on different environments.
Markdown twin · ai-gateway alternatives · inference alternatives
GraphCanon updated Sep 20, 2026
14views this month
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Trust & integrity
| Signal | ai-gateway | inference |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance | Very active (2d since push) As of Sep 12, 2026 · github_public_v1 | Very active (0d since push) As of Sep 18, 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 18, 2026 · github_public_v1 |
| OSV dependency advisories | Published findings As of Jul 15, 2026 · osv@v1 | No lockfile (source not queried) As of Sep 18, 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
- inference
- Unified production-ready inference API for various LLMs and models
Stars
- ai-gateway
- 256
- inference
- 9.6k
Forks
- ai-gateway
- 35
- inference
- 866
Open issues
- ai-gateway
- 68
- inference
- 39
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
- Xinference is a unified production-ready inference API for deploying and running various models, including LLMs, on different environments.
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
- Sep 10, 2026
- inference
- Sep 18, 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
- 68
- inference
- 39
Stars delta
- ai-gateway
- +37 (30d)
- inference
- +105 (30d)
Open issues delta
- ai-gateway
- +5 (30d)
- inference
- -3 (30d)
OSV dependency advisories
- ai-gateway
- Published findings
- inference
- No lockfile (source not queried)
Full report
- ai-gateway
- Trust report
- inference
- Trust report
Shared compatibility
- Python · ai-gateway: Python runtime · inference: Python runtime
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: The tool is open-source under the Apache-2.0 license, but additional services or support might incur costs..
- Requirements: Min 4 GB RAM; Requires Docker; Docker and CUDA setup are required for Nvidia GPU users.; For Kubernetes deployment, Helm is required..
- Tags unique to inference: artificial-intelligence, deployment, diffusers, gemma.
- When you need a single API to deploy and run a variety of models, including LLMs, on cloud, on-premises, or local machines.
When NOT to use inference
- If you are looking for a tool that supports only a specific type of model or environment, as Xinference is designed to be versatile across multiple models and deployment environments.
- When you need a tool that does not require setting up Docker or Kubernetes for deployment, as Xinference provides detailed instructions for these setups but may not be suitable for users preferring a
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 Sep 20, 2026
- GitHub forks (ferro-labs/ai-gateway) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- Last push (ferro-labs/ai-gateway) · observed Sep 10, 2026
- License file (Apache-2.0) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Jul 17, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Jul 15, 2026
- GitHub stars (xorbitsai/inference) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- GitHub forks (xorbitsai/inference) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- Last push (xorbitsai/inference) · observed Sep 18, 2026
- License file (Apache-2.0) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Sep 18, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Sep 18, 2026
GitHub stars on cards: ai-gateway 256 · inference 9.6k (synced Sep 20, 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 LLMs and 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: The tool is open-source under the Apache-2.0 license, but additional services or support might incur costs.; Requirements: Min 4 GB RAM; Requires Docker; Docker and CUDA setup are required for Nvidia GPU users.; For Kubernetes deployment, Helm is required.; Tags unique to inference: artificial-intelligence, deployment, diffusers, gemma; When you need a single API to deploy and run a variety of models, including LLMs, on cloud, on-premises, or local machines.
- 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?
- If you are looking for a tool that supports only a specific type of model or environment, as Xinference is designed to be versatile across multiple models and deployment environments. When you need a tool that does not require setting up Docker or Kubernetes for deployment, as Xinference provides detailed instructions for these setups but may not be suitable for users preferring a
- Is ai-gateway or inference more popular on GitHub?
- inference has more GitHub stars (9,575 vs 256). 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.