--- title: "LlamaFactory vs rellm" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/hiyouga-llamafactory-vs-r2d4-rellm" tools: ["hiyouga-llamafactory", "r2d4-rellm"] --- # LlamaFactory vs rellm *GraphCanon updated Jul 12, 2026* ## Verdict Pick LlamaFactory if llamaFactory is a sophisticated tool for fine-tuning numerous large language models and visual language models efficiently using various methods such as LoRA, QLoRA, RLHF, and quantization; pick rellm if rellm is a Python tool that guarantees structured outputs from language model completions by leveraging the Hugging Face Transformers library. [LlamaFactory](https://llamafactory.readthedocs.io) reports 73k GitHub stars, 8.9k forks, and 1.1k open issues, last pushed Jul 10, 2026. [rellm](https://github.com/r2d4/rellm) has 513 stars, 23 forks, and 5 open issues, last pushed Aug 10, 2023. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [LlamaFactory's repository](https://github.com/hiyouga/LlamaFactory) and [rellm's repository](https://github.com/r2d4/rellm). | | [LlamaFactory](/tools/hiyouga-llamafactory.md) | [rellm](/tools/r2d4-rellm.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Unified Efficient Fine-Tuning of 100+ LLMs & VLMs | Exact structure out of any language model completion | | Stars | 73,157 | 513 | | Forks | 8,937 | 23 | | Open issues | 1,067 | 5 | | Language | Python | Python | | Adopt for | LlamaFactory is a sophisticated tool for fine-tuning numerous large language models and visual language models efficiently using various methods such as LoRA, QLoRA, RLHF, and quantization. | rellm is a Python tool that guarantees structured outputs from language model completions by leveraging the Hugging Face Transformers library. | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | Apache-2.0 | MIT | | Categories | LLM Frameworks, Model Training | LLM Frameworks, Model Training | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [LlamaFactory](/tools/hiyouga-llamafactory.md) | [rellm](/tools/r2d4-rellm.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Maintenance | Very active (96%) | Dormant (18%) | | Days since push | 0d | 1065d | | Open issues (now) | 1.1k | 5 | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/hiyouga-llamafactory/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/r2d4-rellm/trust.md) | ## Decision facts: LlamaFactory - **Adopt for:** LlamaFactory is a sophisticated tool for fine-tuning numerous large language models and visual language models efficiently using various methods such as LoRA, QLoRA, RLHF, and quantization. ## Decision facts: rellm - **Adopt for:** rellm is a Python tool that guarantees structured outputs from language model completions by leveraging the Hugging Face Transformers library. ## Choose when ### Choose LlamaFactory if… - License: LlamaFactory is Apache-2.0, rellm is MIT. - Tags unique to LlamaFactory: agent, ai, deepseek, fine-tuning. - When you need to fine-tune over 100 different LLMs or VLMs with efficient methods like LoRA or QLoRA. ### Choose rellm if… - License: rellm is MIT, LlamaFactory is Apache-2.0. - Tags unique to rellm: huggingface-transformers, llm, transformers. - - When you require precise and exact structure in output data generated from any language model, utilizing rellm can ensure consistency. ## When NOT to use LlamaFactory - When you are looking to fine-tune less popular or niche models that are not supported within the 100+ models covered by LlamaFactory. - If your project specifically requires custom fine-tuning methods not available in this repository, such as certain versions of PEFT (Parameter Efficient Fine-Tuning) techniques excluding LoRA and QLoa ## When NOT to use rellm - - Avoid using rellm if you are not working with the Hugging Face Transformers library or do not need structured output formats. - - If your project can tolerate some level of unstructured or less rigidly formatted outputs from language models, other solutions might be more appropriate. ## Common questions ### What is the difference between LlamaFactory and rellm? LlamaFactory: Unified Efficient Fine-Tuning of 100+ LLMs & VLMs. rellm: Exact structure out of any language model completion. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose LlamaFactory over rellm? Choose LlamaFactory over rellm when License: LlamaFactory is Apache-2.0, rellm is MIT; Tags unique to LlamaFactory: agent, ai, deepseek, fine-tuning; When you need to fine-tune over 100 different LLMs or VLMs with efficient methods like LoRA or QLoRA. ### When should I choose rellm over LlamaFactory? Choose rellm over LlamaFactory when License: rellm is MIT, LlamaFactory is Apache-2.0; Tags unique to rellm: huggingface-transformers, llm, transformers; - When you require precise and exact structure in output data generated from any language model, utilizing rellm can ensure consistency. ### When should I avoid LlamaFactory? When you are looking to fine-tune less popular or niche models that are not supported within the 100+ models covered by LlamaFactory. If your project specifically requires custom fine-tuning methods not available in this repository, such as certain versions of PEFT (Parameter Efficient Fine-Tuning) techniques excluding LoRA and QLoa ### When should I avoid rellm? - Avoid using rellm if you are not working with the Hugging Face Transformers library or do not need structured output formats. - If your project can tolerate some level of unstructured or less rigidly formatted outputs from language models, other solutions might be more appropriate. ### Is LlamaFactory or rellm more popular on GitHub? LlamaFactory has more GitHub stars (73,157 vs 513). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are LlamaFactory and rellm open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (LlamaFactory: Apache-2.0, rellm: MIT). ### Where can I find alternatives to LlamaFactory or rellm? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [LlamaFactory alternatives](/tools/hiyouga-llamafactory/alternatives) and [rellm alternatives](/tools/r2d4-rellm/alternatives) ([LlamaFactory markdown twin](/tools/hiyouga-llamafactory/alternatives.md), [rellm markdown twin](/tools/r2d4-rellm/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/hiyouga-llamafactory-vs-r2d4-rellm.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, LlamaFactory or rellm? LlamaFactory: Very active. rellm: Dormant. 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 LlamaFactory and rellm? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [LlamaFactory trust report](/tools/hiyouga-llamafactory/trust); [rellm trust report](/tools/r2d4-rellm/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=hiyouga-llamafactory`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=hiyouga-llamafactory) - 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/_