Fabric vs PrivateGPT
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted self-hosted ai options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Fabric | PrivateGPT |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 99 · Excellent | 100 · Excellent |
| Category | Self-Hosted AI | Self-Hosted AI |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 8,192 MB |
| Deployment | binary, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 44,053 | ★ 57,526 |
| First released | 2024 | 2023 |
| Replaces | ChatGPT | ChatGPT |
What are Fabric and PrivateGPT?
Fabric
Fabric is an open-source framework that organizes AI prompts into reusable patterns for everyday tasks. It provides a command-line tool and a library of crowdsourced prompts that work with local or remote models.
- Reusable prompt patterns
- Command-line workflow
- Works with local models
- Composable AI tasks
PrivateGPT
PrivateGPT is a production-ready AI project that lets you ask questions about documents using LLMs entirely offline. It provides an API following the OpenAI standard and a Gradio UI for local RAG.
- Fully offline RAG
- OpenAI-compatible API
- Document ingestion
- No data leaves the host
Fabric vs PrivateGPT: key differences
Fabric is written in Go, while PrivateGPT is built with Python. Licensing differs — MIT for Fabric versus Apache-2.0 for PrivateGPT. Fabric is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 8,192 MB for PrivateGPT. PrivateGPT lists first-class Docker deployment; Fabric does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Fabric if…
- Huge prompt pattern library
- Simple CLI pipelines
- Works with local models
Watch out for
- CLI comfort required
- Patterns vary in quality
Choose PrivateGPT if…
- Fully offline capable
- OpenAI-compatible API
- Privacy-focused design
Watch out for
- GPU recommended
- Setup can be fiddly
Frequently asked questions
Is Fabric or PrivateGPT better?
Neither is universally better. PrivateGPT has the larger community, while Fabric is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Fabric and PrivateGPT free and open-source?
Yes. Fabric is licensed under MIT and PrivateGPT under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Fabric and PrivateGPT with Docker?
Fabric: check the project docs for container support. PrivateGPT: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Fabric or PrivateGPT?
Fabric has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 8,192 MB for PrivateGPT. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.