llama.cpp vs LMDeploy
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?
llama.cpp
High-performance LLM inference in plain C/C++
VS
LMDeploy
Toolkit for compressing and serving large language models
| Feature | llama.cpp | LMDeploy |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Local LLM Runners | Local LLM Runners |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | C++ | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 8,192 MB | 16,384 MB |
| Deployment | binary, bare-metal, docker | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 123,039 | ★ 7,998 |
| First released | 2023 | 2023 |
| Replaces | OpenAI API | OpenAI API, Hugging Face Inference Endpoints |
Why pick each one
Choose llama.cpp if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 123k GitHub stars
- Written in C++
Choose LMDeploy if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 8k GitHub stars
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is llama.cpp or LMDeploy better?
Neither is universally better. llama.cpp has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are llama.cpp and LMDeploy free and open-source?
Yes. llama.cpp is licensed under MIT and LMDeploy under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run llama.cpp and LMDeploy with Docker?
llama.cpp: yes. LMDeploy: yes.