New API vs Hugging Face Transformers

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

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FeatureNew APIHugging Face Transformers
CategoryLocal LLM RunnersSelf-Hosted AI
LicenseMITApache-2.0
LanguageGoPython
Setup difficultyMediumHard
Min. RAM512 MB8,192 MB
Deploymentdockerbare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 44,636★ 163,456
First released20242018
ReplacesOpenRouter, OpenAI APIOpenAI API

Why pick each one

Choose New API if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Mature project with 44.6k GitHub stars
  • Written in Go
New API details

Choose Hugging Face Transformers if…

  • Released under the Apache-2.0 license
  • Mature project with 163.5k GitHub stars
  • Written in Python
Hugging Face Transformers details

Frequently asked questions

Is New API or Hugging Face Transformers better?

Neither is universally better. Hugging Face Transformers has the larger community, while New API is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are New API and Hugging Face Transformers free and open-source?

Yes. New API is licensed under MIT and Hugging Face Transformers under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run New API and Hugging Face Transformers with Docker?

New API: yes. Hugging Face Transformers: check the project docs for container support.

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