Dify vs ExLlama
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?
Dify
Open-source platform for building production LLM apps
VS
ExLlama
Memory-efficient inference library for quantized Llama models
| Feature | Dify | ExLlama |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Self-Hosted AI | Self-Hosted AI |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 4,096 MB | 8,192 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, helm | source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 151,746 | ★ 2,937 |
| First released | 2023 | 2023 |
| Replaces | OpenAI Assistants, Vertex AI Agent Builder | OpenAI API |
Why pick each one
Choose Dify if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 151.7k GitHub stars
Choose ExLlama if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Active community (2.9k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is Dify or ExLlama better?
Dify is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider ExLlama if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Dify and ExLlama free and open-source?
Yes. Dify is licensed under Apache-2.0 and ExLlama under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dify and ExLlama with Docker?
Dify: yes. ExLlama: check the project docs for container support.