--- title: "sherpa-onnx vs LocalAI" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/k2-fsa-sherpa-onnx-vs-mudler-localai" tools: ["k2-fsa-sherpa-onnx", "mudler-localai"] --- # sherpa-onnx vs LocalAI *GraphCanon updated Jul 11, 2026* ## Verdict Pick sherpa-onnx when sherpa-onnx is primarily C++; LocalAI is Go; pick LocalAI when localAI is primarily Go; sherpa-onnx is C++. [sherpa-onnx](https://k2-fsa.github.io/sherpa/onnx/index.html) reports 13k GitHub stars, 1.5k forks, and 600 open issues, last pushed Jul 10, 2026. [LocalAI](https://localai.io) has 47k stars, 4.2k forks, and 207 open issues, last pushed Jul 11, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [sherpa-onnx's repository](https://github.com/k2-fsa/sherpa-onnx) and [LocalAI's repository](https://github.com/mudler/LocalAI). | | [sherpa-onnx](/tools/k2-fsa-sherpa-onnx.md) | [LocalAI](/tools/mudler-localai.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Speech-to-text, text-to-speech, speaker diarization, speech enhancement, source separation, and VAD using next-gen Kaldi with onnxruntime without Internet connection. Support embedded systems, Android | Run any model - LLMs, vision, voice, image, video - on any hardware. No GPU required. | | Stars | 13,499 | 47,477 | | Forks | 1,545 | 4,221 | | Open issues | 600 | 207 | | Language | C++ | Go | | Adopt for | - | LocalAI is an open-source AI engine that supports the deployment of various models including LLMs and applications related to vision and audio across multiple hardware types without needing a GPU. | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | Apache-2.0 | MIT | | Categories | Computer Vision, Inference & Serving, Speech & Audio | Computer Vision, LLM Frameworks, Speech & Audio | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [sherpa-onnx](/tools/k2-fsa-sherpa-onnx.md) | [LocalAI](/tools/mudler-localai.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Days since push | 1d | 0d | | Open issues (now) | 600 | 207 | | Owner type | Organization | User | | Security scan | No lockfile | No MCP manifest | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/k2-fsa-sherpa-onnx/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/mudler-localai/trust.md) | ## Decision facts: LocalAI - **Pricing:** freemium - As an open-source project under the MIT license, it is free to use and distribute. - **Adopt for:** LocalAI is an open-source AI engine that supports the deployment of various models including LLMs and applications related to vision and audio across multiple hardware types without needing a GPU. ## Choose when ### Choose sherpa-onnx if… - sherpa-onnx is primarily C++; LocalAI is Go. - License: sherpa-onnx is Apache-2.0, LocalAI is MIT. - Tags unique to sherpa-onnx: aarch64, android, arm32, asr. - Also covers Inference & Serving. ### Choose LocalAI if… - LocalAI is primarily Go; sherpa-onnx is C++. - License: LocalAI is MIT, sherpa-onnx is Apache-2.0. - Pricing: As an open-source project under the MIT license, it is free to use and distribute.. - Tags unique to LocalAI: agents, ai, api, audio-generation. - Also covers LLM Frameworks. - LocalAI ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment. - Use LocalAI when you need model flexibility, as it can run different types of models (LLMs, computer vision, speech & audio) on any type of hardware. ## When NOT to use sherpa-onnx - Inference & Serving: Self-hosting rarely beats a hosted API on cost until you have steady, high-volume traffic. ## When NOT to use LocalAI - Avoid LocalAI if you need to leverage GPU-specific optimizations for performance acceleration as it promotes no-GPU usage, potentially sacrificing speed for accessibility. - Do not use LocalAI where specific language runtime environments are required that do not align with Go (the language in which LocalAI is written). ## Common questions ### What is the difference between sherpa-onnx and LocalAI? sherpa-onnx: Speech-to-text, text-to-speech, speaker diarization, speech enhancement, source separation, and VAD using next-gen Kaldi with onnxruntime without Internet connection. Support embedded systems, Android. LocalAI: Run any model - LLMs, vision, voice, image, video - on any hardware. No GPU required.. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose sherpa-onnx over LocalAI? Choose sherpa-onnx over LocalAI when sherpa-onnx is primarily C++; LocalAI is Go; License: sherpa-onnx is Apache-2.0, LocalAI is MIT; Tags unique to sherpa-onnx: aarch64, android, arm32, asr; Also covers Inference & Serving. ### When should I choose LocalAI over sherpa-onnx? Choose LocalAI over sherpa-onnx when LocalAI is primarily Go; sherpa-onnx is C++; License: LocalAI is MIT, sherpa-onnx is Apache-2.0; Pricing: As an open-source project under the MIT license, it is free to use and distribute.; Tags unique to LocalAI: agents, ai, api, audio-generation; Also covers LLM Frameworks; LocalAI ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment; Use LocalAI when you need model flexibility, as it can run different types of models (LLMs, computer vision, speech & audio) on any type of hardware. ### When should I avoid sherpa-onnx? Inference & Serving: Self-hosting rarely beats a hosted API on cost until you have steady, high-volume traffic. ### When should I avoid LocalAI? Avoid LocalAI if you need to leverage GPU-specific optimizations for performance acceleration as it promotes no-GPU usage, potentially sacrificing speed for accessibility. Do not use LocalAI where specific language runtime environments are required that do not align with Go (the language in which LocalAI is written). ### Is sherpa-onnx or LocalAI more popular on GitHub? LocalAI has more GitHub stars (47,477 vs 13,499). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are sherpa-onnx and LocalAI open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (sherpa-onnx: Apache-2.0, LocalAI: MIT). ### Where can I find alternatives to sherpa-onnx or LocalAI? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [sherpa-onnx alternatives](/tools/k2-fsa-sherpa-onnx/alternatives) and [LocalAI alternatives](/tools/mudler-localai/alternatives) ([sherpa-onnx markdown twin](/tools/k2-fsa-sherpa-onnx/alternatives.md), [LocalAI markdown twin](/tools/mudler-localai/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/k2-fsa-sherpa-onnx-vs-mudler-localai.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, sherpa-onnx or LocalAI? sherpa-onnx: Very active. LocalAI: 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 sherpa-onnx and LocalAI? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [sherpa-onnx trust report](/tools/k2-fsa-sherpa-onnx/trust); [LocalAI trust report](/tools/mudler-localai/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=k2-fsa-sherpa-onnx`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=k2-fsa-sherpa-onnx) - 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/_