SHSelfHostIndex

FastChat vs Text Embeddings Inference

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 TE Text Embeddings Inference Fast inference server for text embedding models
FeatureFastChatText Embeddings Inference
CategoryLocal LLM RunnersLocal LLM Runners
LicenseApache-2.0Apache-2.0
LanguagePythonRust
Setup difficultyHardMedium
Min. RAM8,192 MB2,048 MB
Deploymentdocker, sourcedocker
GitHub stars★ 39,516★ 4,985
First released20232023
ReplacesOpenAI APIOpenAI Embeddings 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
FastChat details

Choose Text Embeddings Inference if…

  • Released under the Apache-2.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Active community (5k GitHub stars)
  • Written in Rust
Text Embeddings Inference details

Frequently asked questions

Is FastChat or Text Embeddings Inference better?

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

Are FastChat and Text Embeddings Inference free and open-source?

Yes. FastChat is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Text Embeddings Inference under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run FastChat and Text Embeddings Inference with Docker?

FastChat: yes. Text Embeddings Inference: yes.

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