DeepEval 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 | DeepEval | OpenLLMetry |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 95 · Excellent | 91 · Excellent |
| Category | Self-Hosted AI | Self-Hosted AI |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Python | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 18,419 | ★ 7,445 |
| First released | 2023 | 2023 |
| Replaces | LangSmith, Braintrust | LangSmith, Datadog LLM Observability |
What are DeepEval and OpenLLMetry?
DeepEval
DeepEval is an open-source evaluation framework that brings unit-testing-style assertions to large language model outputs. It includes metrics for hallucination, relevancy, and bias and integrates with pytest for local CI.
- Pytest-style LLM tests
- 14+ built-in metrics
- Synthetic dataset generation
- CI/CD integration
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
DeepEval vs OpenLLMetry: key differences
Both projects are written in Python. OpenLLMetry is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for DeepEval. DeepEval has the considerably larger community, at 18,419 GitHub stars versus 7,445. OpenLLMetry lists first-class Docker deployment; DeepEval does not.
Why pick each one
Choose DeepEval if…
- Pytest-style LLM tests
- Rich metric library
- Runs in CI
Watch out for
- LLM judge token costs
- Cloud platform upsell
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 DeepEval or OpenLLMetry better?
Neither is universally better. DeepEval has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are DeepEval and OpenLLMetry free and open-source?
Yes. DeepEval is licensed under Apache-2.0 and OpenLLMetry under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run DeepEval and OpenLLMetry with Docker?
DeepEval: check the project docs for container support. OpenLLMetry: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, DeepEval or OpenLLMetry?
OpenLLMetry has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for DeepEval. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.