Petals vs Serge
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?
Petals
Run large language models collaboratively in a swarm
VS
Serge
Self-hosted LLaMA chat UI with no API keys needed
| Feature | Petals | Serge |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Local LLM Runners | Local LLM Runners |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Python | Svelte |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 8,192 MB | 8,192 MB |
| Deployment | source, docker | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 10,483 | ★ 5,716 |
| First released | 2022 | 2023 |
| Replaces | OpenAI API | ChatGPT |
Why pick each one
Choose Petals if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 10.5k GitHub stars
- Written in Python
Choose Serge if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 5.7k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is Petals or Serge better?
Neither is universally better. Petals has the larger community, while Serge is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Petals and Serge free and open-source?
Yes. Petals is licensed under MIT and Serge under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Petals and Serge with Docker?
Petals: yes. Serge: yes.