Arize Phoenix vs promptfoo
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted self-hosted ai options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Arize Phoenix
Open-source AI observability and evaluation platform
VS
promptfoo
Test, evaluate, and red-team LLM applications
| Feature | Arize Phoenix | promptfoo |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Self-Hosted AI | Self-Hosted AI |
| License | Elastic-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Python | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | bare-metal, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 10,939 | ★ 24,063 |
| First released | 2023 | 2023 |
| Replaces | LangSmith, Helicone | LangSmith |
Why pick each one
Choose Arize Phoenix if…
- Released under the Elastic-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 10.9k GitHub stars
- Written in Python
Choose promptfoo if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Mature project with 24.1k GitHub stars
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Arize Phoenix or promptfoo better?
promptfoo is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Arize Phoenix if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Arize Phoenix and promptfoo free and open-source?
Yes. Arize Phoenix is licensed under Elastic-2.0 and promptfoo under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Arize Phoenix and promptfoo with Docker?
Arize Phoenix: yes. promptfoo: check the project docs for container support.