LiteLLM vs vLLM
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?
LiteLLM
Unified proxy and gateway for 100+ LLM APIs
VS
vLLM
High-throughput LLM serving engine with PagedAttention
| Feature | LiteLLM | vLLM |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Local LLM Runners | Local LLM Runners |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Python | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 16,384 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 55,843 | ★ 88,482 |
| First released | 2023 | 2023 |
| Replaces | OpenRouter | OpenAI API |
Why pick each one
Choose LiteLLM if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 55.8k GitHub stars
Choose vLLM if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 88.5k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is LiteLLM or vLLM better?
Neither is universally better. vLLM has the larger community, while LiteLLM is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are LiteLLM and vLLM free and open-source?
Yes. LiteLLM is licensed under MIT and vLLM under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run LiteLLM and vLLM with Docker?
LiteLLM: yes. vLLM: yes.