Langfuse vs promptfoo
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted self-hosted ai options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Langfuse
Open-source observability and analytics for LLM apps
VS
promptfoo
Test, evaluate, and red-team LLM applications
| Feature | Langfuse | promptfoo |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Self-Hosted AI | Self-Hosted AI |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, helm | bare-metal, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 32,717 | ★ 24,063 |
| First released | 2023 | 2023 |
| Replaces | LangSmith | LangSmith |
Why pick each one
Choose Langfuse if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 32.7k GitHub stars
Choose promptfoo if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Mature project with 24.1k GitHub stars
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Langfuse or promptfoo better?
Neither is universally better. Langfuse has the larger community, while promptfoo is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Langfuse and promptfoo free and open-source?
Yes. Langfuse is licensed under MIT and promptfoo under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Langfuse and promptfoo with Docker?
Langfuse: yes. promptfoo: check the project docs for container support.