--- title: "PurpleLlama vs llm-guard" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/meta-llama-purplellama-vs-protectai-llm-guard" tools: ["meta-llama-purplellama", "protectai-llm-guard"] --- # PurpleLlama vs llm-guard *GraphCanon updated Aug 5, 2026* ## Verdict Pick PurpleLlama if purpleLlama provides tools to enhance the security and trust of large language models using MIT licenses for benchmarks and community-specific licenses for safeguard components; pick llm-guard if lLM Guard is a toolkit tailored for securing interactions with large language models, focusing on safeguarding against prompt injection and adversarial attacks. [PurpleLlama](https://github.com/meta-llama/PurpleLlama) reports 4.3k GitHub stars, 766 forks, and 80 open issues, last pushed Jul 27, 2026. [llm-guard](https://protectai.github.io/llm-guard/) has 3.2k stars, 435 forks, and 40 open issues, last pushed Jul 8, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [PurpleLlama's repository](https://github.com/meta-llama/PurpleLlama) and [llm-guard's repository](https://github.com/protectai/llm-guard). | | [PurpleLlama](/tools/meta-llama-purplellama.md) | [llm-guard](/tools/protectai-llm-guard.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Set of tools to assess and improve LLM security | The Security Toolkit for LLM Interactions | | Stars | 4,330 | 3,202 | | Forks | 766 | 435 | | Open issues | 80 | 40 | | Language | Python | Python | | Adopt for | PurpleLlama provides tools to enhance the security and trust of large language models using MIT licenses for benchmarks and community-specific licenses for safeguard components. | LLM Guard is a toolkit tailored for securing interactions with large language models, focusing on safeguarding against prompt injection and adversarial attacks. | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | Other | MIT | | Categories | Developer Tools, Evaluation & Observability | Developer Tools, Evaluation & Observability | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [PurpleLlama](/tools/meta-llama-purplellama.md) | [llm-guard](/tools/protectai-llm-guard.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Maintenance | Active (82%) | Archived (8%) | | Days since push | 8d | 27d | | Archived on GitHub | No | Yes | | Open issues (now) | 80 | 40 | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/meta-llama-purplellama/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/protectai-llm-guard/trust.md) | ## Decision facts: PurpleLlama - **Adopt for:** PurpleLlama provides tools to enhance the security and trust of large language models using MIT licenses for benchmarks and community-specific licenses for safeguard components. ## Decision facts: llm-guard - **Requirements:** Min 2 GB RAM; Ensure you have Python version 3.9 or higher.; Some advanced features require additional libraries which are automatically installed as needed. - **Adopt for:** LLM Guard is a toolkit tailored for securing interactions with large language models, focusing on safeguarding against prompt injection and adversarial attacks. ## Choose when ### Choose PurpleLlama if… - License: PurpleLlama is Other, llm-guard is MIT. - Tags unique to PurpleLlama: benchmarks, evaluations, llm security tools, security. - When you need permissive licenses that fit both research and commercial purposes ### Choose llm-guard if… - License: llm-guard is MIT, PurpleLlama is Other. - Requirements: Min 2 GB RAM; Ensure you have Python version 3.9 or higher.; Some advanced features require additional libraries which are automatically installed as needed.. - Tags unique to llm-guard: adversarial-machine-learning, chatgpt, large language models, llm security. - - You need to secure your application from sophisticated prompt injection techniques. ## When NOT to use PurpleLlama - If your project requires consistent licensing across all components under one standard license like GPL or Apache-2.0 - When you prefer not to adhere to the Llama Community Licenses for safeguard functionalities ## When NOT to use llm-guard - - If you are working in a low-security environment or with small-scale projects where advanced security mechanisms are not necessary. - - In cases where integrating external libraries and ensuring Python version compatibility may introduce complexities that outweigh the benefits. ## Common questions ### What is the difference between PurpleLlama and llm-guard? PurpleLlama: Set of tools to assess and improve LLM security. llm-guard: The Security Toolkit for LLM Interactions. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose PurpleLlama over llm-guard? Choose PurpleLlama over llm-guard when License: PurpleLlama is Other, llm-guard is MIT; Tags unique to PurpleLlama: benchmarks, evaluations, llm security tools, security; When you need permissive licenses that fit both research and commercial purposes. ### When should I choose llm-guard over PurpleLlama? Choose llm-guard over PurpleLlama when License: llm-guard is MIT, PurpleLlama is Other; Requirements: Min 2 GB RAM; Ensure you have Python version 3.9 or higher.; Some advanced features require additional libraries which are automatically installed as needed.; Tags unique to llm-guard: adversarial-machine-learning, chatgpt, large language models, llm security; - You need to secure your application from sophisticated prompt injection techniques. ### When should I avoid PurpleLlama? If your project requires consistent licensing across all components under one standard license like GPL or Apache-2.0 When you prefer not to adhere to the Llama Community Licenses for safeguard functionalities ### When should I avoid llm-guard? - If you are working in a low-security environment or with small-scale projects where advanced security mechanisms are not necessary. - In cases where integrating external libraries and ensuring Python version compatibility may introduce complexities that outweigh the benefits. ### Is PurpleLlama or llm-guard more popular on GitHub? PurpleLlama has more GitHub stars (4,330 vs 3,202). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are PurpleLlama and llm-guard open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (PurpleLlama: Other, llm-guard: MIT). ### Where can I find alternatives to PurpleLlama or llm-guard? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [PurpleLlama alternatives](/tools/meta-llama-purplellama/alternatives) and [llm-guard alternatives](/tools/protectai-llm-guard/alternatives) ([PurpleLlama markdown twin](/tools/meta-llama-purplellama/alternatives.md), [llm-guard markdown twin](/tools/protectai-llm-guard/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/meta-llama-purplellama-vs-protectai-llm-guard.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, PurpleLlama or llm-guard? PurpleLlama: Active. llm-guard: Archived. 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 PurpleLlama and llm-guard? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [PurpleLlama trust report](/tools/meta-llama-purplellama/trust); [llm-guard trust report](/tools/protectai-llm-guard/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=meta-llama-purplellama`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=meta-llama-purplellama) - 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/_