SHSelfHostIndex

FastChat vs One API

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted local llm runners options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
FA FastChat Platform for serving and evaluating large language models VS ON One API Unified OpenAI-compatible gateway for many LLM providers
FeatureFastChatOne API
CategoryLocal LLM RunnersLocal LLM Runners
LicenseApache-2.0MIT
LanguagePythonJavaScript
Setup difficultyHardMedium
Min. RAM8,192 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, sourcedocker, binary
GitHub stars★ 39,516★ 36,253
First released20232023
ReplacesOpenAI APIOpenAI API, OpenRouter

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
FastChat details

Choose One API if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Mature project with 36.3k GitHub stars
  • Written in JavaScript
One API details

Frequently asked questions

Is FastChat or One API better?

Neither is universally better. FastChat has the larger community, while One API is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are FastChat and One API free and open-source?

Yes. FastChat is licensed under Apache-2.0 and One API under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run FastChat and One API with Docker?

FastChat: yes. One API: yes.

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