# Guaardvark vs Shimmy

> Two self-hosted [Ollama alternatives](https://selfhost.directory/alternative-to/ollama), compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | Guaardvark | Shimmy |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 53/100 | 54/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #81 of 209 in AI Agents | #16 of 25 in LLM Inference |
| GitHub stars | 292 | 5 997 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | — | +94 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 10 | 19 ✓ |
| Latest release | v3.4.2 · 27 Oct 2026 ✓ | v2.6.5 · 19 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | No |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Python | Rust |

## Which one should you pick?

Shimmy scores 54/100 against 53/100 for Guaardvark, so it is the safer default.

Shimmy ships more often: 19 stable releases in the past year, against 10 for Guaardvark.

If you want the quickest setup, Shimmy is easier to run; Guaardvark needs more configuration.

Shimmy is growing faster right now (+94 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [Guaardvark](https://selfhost.directory/project/guaardvark) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/guaardvark.md)
- [Shimmy](https://selfhost.directory/project/shimmy) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/shimmy.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/guaardvark-vs-shimmy