exo vs Petals
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted local llm runners options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | exo | Petals |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 98 · Excellent | 24 · At risk |
| Category | Local LLM Runners | Local LLM Runners |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Python | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 8,192 MB | 8,192 MB |
| Deployment | source | source, docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 47,611 | ★ 10,585 |
| First released | 2024 | 2022 |
| Replaces | OpenAI API | OpenAI API |
What are exo and Petals?
exo
exo is an open-source project that unifies multiple everyday devices into a single AI compute cluster for running large language models. It splits models across phones, laptops, and desktops and exposes an OpenAI-compatible API.
- Distributes models across devices
- OpenAI-compatible API
- Automatic device discovery
- No master node required
Petals
Petals lets you run and fine-tune large language models in a distributed, BitTorrent-style network where each participant hosts part of the model. It enables self-hosting models too large for a single machine.
- Distributed model hosting
- Run models larger than one GPU
- Collaborative inference swarm
- Fine-tuning support
exo vs Petals: key differences
Both projects are written in Python. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for exo versus MIT for Petals. Petals is the more established project (first released 2022), while exo arrived in 2024. Exo has the considerably larger community, at 47,611 GitHub stars versus 10,585. Petals lists first-class Docker deployment; exo does not.
Why pick each one
Choose exo if…
- Pools everyday devices
- OpenAI-compatible API
- Runs fully offline
Watch out for
- Experimental and evolving
- Network limits performance
Choose Petals if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 10.6k GitHub stars
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is exo or Petals better?
exo is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Petals if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are exo and Petals free and open-source?
Yes. exo is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Petals under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run exo and Petals with Docker?
exo: check the project docs for container support. Petals: yes.