--- title: "litgpt vs exllama" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/lightning-ai-litgpt-vs-turboderp-exllama" tools: ["lightning-ai-litgpt", "turboderp-exllama"] --- # litgpt vs exllama *GraphCanon updated Jul 12, 2026* ## Verdict Pick litgpt when license: litgpt is Apache-2.0, exllama is MIT; pick exllama when license: exllama is MIT, litgpt is Apache-2.0. [litgpt](https://lightning.ai) reports 13k GitHub stars, 1.5k forks, and 267 open issues, last pushed Jul 6, 2026. [exllama](https://github.com/turboderp/exllama) has 2.9k stars, 223 forks, and 65 open issues, last pushed Sep 30, 2023. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [litgpt's repository](https://github.com/Lightning-AI/litgpt) and [exllama's repository](https://github.com/turboderp/exllama). | | [litgpt](/tools/lightning-ai-litgpt.md) | [exllama](/tools/turboderp-exllama.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | High-performance LLMs with recipes for pretraining, finetuning and deployment | More memory-efficient rewrite of HF transformers for Llama with quantized weights | | Stars | 13,473 | 2,930 | | Forks | 1,468 | 223 | | Open issues | 267 | 65 | | Language | Python | Python | | Adopt for | LitGPT offers extensive support for high-performance LLMs with comprehensive workflows for pretraining, fine-tuning, and deployment. | - | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | LitGPT operates under the open-source Apache-2.0 license, providing permissive terms for use and modification. | MIT | | Categories | Inference & Serving, LLM Frameworks, Model Training | Inference & Serving, LLM Frameworks | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [litgpt](/tools/lightning-ai-litgpt.md) | [exllama](/tools/turboderp-exllama.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Maintenance | Very active (96%) | Dormant (18%) | | Days since push | 4d | 1014d | | Open issues (now) | 267 | 65 | | Owner type | Organization | User | | Security scan | No lockfile | 29 low (29 low) | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/lightning-ai-litgpt/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/turboderp-exllama/trust.md) | ## Decision facts: litgpt - **Pricing:** freemium - The core LitGPT framework is free to use under an open source license, but users might encounter costs when deploying at scale or using high-performance models. - **Requirements:** Min 16 GB RAM - **Adopt for:** LitGPT offers extensive support for high-performance LLMs with comprehensive workflows for pretraining, fine-tuning, and deployment. - **License detail:** LitGPT operates under the open-source Apache-2.0 license, providing permissive terms for use and modification. ## Choose when ### Choose litgpt if… - License: litgpt is Apache-2.0, exllama is MIT. - Pricing: The core LitGPT framework is free to use under an open source license, but users might encounter costs when deploying at scale or using high-performance models.. - Requirements: Min 16 GB RAM. - Tags unique to litgpt: ai, artificial-intelligence, deep-learning, large-language-models. - Also covers Model Training. - If you are focusing on a project that requires rapid prototyping or experimentation with over 20 different LLMs to find the best fit for your application. ### Choose exllama if… - License: exllama is MIT, litgpt is Apache-2.0. - Tags unique to exllama: docker container support, gpu optimization, memory efficiency, nvidia support. - exllama ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment. ## When NOT to use litgpt - If you need a tool specifically optimized for resource-constrained devices, as LitGPT focuses on high-performance LLMs and may require more resources. - When your project is strictly limited to only one or two types of specific LLMs; in this case, another specialized framework that caters narrowly might be preferable. ## When NOT to use exllama - Last GitHub push was 1015 days ago (dormant maintenance, Sep 30, 2023). Validate activity before betting a new project on exllama. - Inference & Serving: Self-hosting rarely beats a hosted API on cost until you have steady, high-volume traffic. - LLM Frameworks: Avoid a framework for a single prompt-and-retrieve call; the abstraction can cost more than it saves. ## Common questions ### What is the difference between litgpt and exllama? litgpt: High-performance LLMs with recipes for pretraining, finetuning and deployment. exllama: More memory-efficient rewrite of HF transformers for Llama with quantized weights. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose litgpt over exllama? Choose litgpt over exllama when License: litgpt is Apache-2.0, exllama is MIT; Pricing: The core LitGPT framework is free to use under an open source license, but users might encounter costs when deploying at scale or using high-performance models.; Requirements: Min 16 GB RAM; Tags unique to litgpt: ai, artificial-intelligence, deep-learning, large-language-models; Also covers Model Training; If you are focusing on a project that requires rapid prototyping or experimentation with over 20 different LLMs to find the best fit for your application. ### When should I choose exllama over litgpt? Choose exllama over litgpt when License: exllama is MIT, litgpt is Apache-2.0; Tags unique to exllama: docker container support, gpu optimization, memory efficiency, nvidia support; exllama ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment. ### When should I avoid litgpt? If you need a tool specifically optimized for resource-constrained devices, as LitGPT focuses on high-performance LLMs and may require more resources. When your project is strictly limited to only one or two types of specific LLMs; in this case, another specialized framework that caters narrowly might be preferable. ### When should I avoid exllama? Last GitHub push was 1015 days ago (dormant maintenance, Sep 30, 2023). Validate activity before betting a new project on exllama. Inference & Serving: Self-hosting rarely beats a hosted API on cost until you have steady, high-volume traffic. LLM Frameworks: Avoid a framework for a single prompt-and-retrieve call; the abstraction can cost more than it saves. ### Is litgpt or exllama more popular on GitHub? litgpt has more GitHub stars (13,473 vs 2,930). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are litgpt and exllama open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (litgpt: Apache-2.0, exllama: MIT). ### Where can I find alternatives to litgpt or exllama? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [litgpt alternatives](/tools/lightning-ai-litgpt/alternatives) and [exllama alternatives](/tools/turboderp-exllama/alternatives) ([litgpt markdown twin](/tools/lightning-ai-litgpt/alternatives.md), [exllama markdown twin](/tools/turboderp-exllama/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/lightning-ai-litgpt-vs-turboderp-exllama.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, litgpt or exllama? litgpt: Very active. exllama: 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 litgpt and exllama? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [litgpt trust report](/tools/lightning-ai-litgpt/trust); [exllama trust report](/tools/turboderp-exllama/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=lightning-ai-litgpt`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=lightning-ai-litgpt) - 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/_