llamafile vs SGLang
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
llamafile
Distribute and run LLMs with a single executable file
VS
SGLang
Fast serving framework for LLMs and vision-language models
| Feature | llamafile | SGLang |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Local LLM Runners | Self-Hosted AI |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | C++ | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 8,192 MB | 16,384 MB |
| Deployment | binary | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 25,512 | ★ 31,514 |
| First released | 2023 | 2024 |
| Replaces | OpenAI API, ChatGPT | OpenAI API |
Why pick each one
Choose SGLang if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 31.5k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is llamafile or SGLang better?
Neither is universally better. SGLang has the larger community, while llamafile is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are llamafile and SGLang free and open-source?
Yes. llamafile is licensed under Apache-2.0 and SGLang under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run llamafile and SGLang with Docker?
llamafile: check the project docs for container support. SGLang: yes.