# shai vs vLLM

> Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | shai | vLLM |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 44/100 | 91/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #71 of 120 in AI Assistant | #3 of 25 in LLM Inference |
| GitHub stars | 630 | 95 783 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | — | +3 231 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 6 | 14 ✓ |
| Latest release | v0.2.2 · 9 Oct 2026 | v0.32.0 · 17 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Easy ✓ | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Rust | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

vLLM scores 91/100 against 44/100 for shai, so it is the safer default.

vLLM ships more often: 14 stable releases in the past year, against 6 for shai.

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

vLLM is growing faster right now (+3 231 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [shai](https://selfhost.directory/project/shai) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/shai.md)
- [vLLM](https://selfhost.directory/project/vllm) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/vllm.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/shai-vs-vllm