Agenta vs OpenLLMetry
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted self-hosted ai options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Agenta | OpenLLMetry |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 89 · Excellent | 91 · Excellent |
| Category | Self-Hosted AI | Self-Hosted AI |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,777 | ★ 7,445 |
| First released | 2023 | 2023 |
| Replaces | LangSmith | LangSmith, Datadog LLM Observability |
What are Agenta and OpenLLMetry?
Agenta
Agenta is an end-to-end LLMOps platform that combines prompt management, evaluation and observability for building production LLM applications. It can be fully self-hosted with Docker Compose.
- Prompt playground
- Evaluation suite
- Observability tracing
- Self-hosted with Docker
OpenLLMetry
OpenLLMetry is a set of OpenTelemetry extensions from Traceloop that add observability to LLM applications. It instruments calls to model providers and vector databases so traces and metrics can be sent to any self-hosted backend.
- OpenTelemetry-based tracing
- Instruments popular LLM SDKs
- Vendor-neutral export
- Vector database instrumentation
Agenta vs OpenLLMetry: key differences
Agenta is written in TypeScript, while OpenLLMetry is built with Python. Licensing differs — MIT for Agenta versus Apache-2.0 for OpenLLMetry. OpenLLMetry is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Agenta.
Why pick each one
Choose Agenta if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (4.8k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Choose OpenLLMetry if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 7.4k GitHub stars
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is Agenta or OpenLLMetry better?
Neither is universally better. OpenLLMetry has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Agenta and OpenLLMetry free and open-source?
Yes. Agenta is licensed under MIT and OpenLLMetry under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Agenta and OpenLLMetry with Docker?
Agenta: yes. OpenLLMetry: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Agenta or OpenLLMetry?
OpenLLMetry has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Agenta. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.