FastChat vs Guidance
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
FastChat
Platform for serving and evaluating large language models
VS
Guidance
Constrained generation language for controlling LLMs
| Feature | FastChat | Guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Local LLM Runners | Self-Hosted AI |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Python | Jupyter Notebook |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 8,192 MB | 8,192 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 39,516 | ★ 21,706 |
| First released | 2023 | 2023 |
| Replaces | OpenAI API | OpenAI API |
Why pick each one
Choose FastChat if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 39.5k GitHub stars
- Written in Python
Choose Guidance if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Mature project with 21.7k GitHub stars
- Written in Jupyter Notebook
Frequently asked questions
Is FastChat or Guidance better?
Neither is universally better. FastChat has the larger community, while Guidance is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are FastChat and Guidance free and open-source?
Yes. FastChat is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Guidance under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run FastChat and Guidance with Docker?
FastChat: yes. Guidance: check the project docs for container support.