{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "foundry-local", "name": "Foundry Local", "vendor": "Microsoft", "vendorUrl": "https://www.foundrylocal.ai", "kind": "sdk", "category": "local-ai", "summary": "Microsoft's on-device model runtime, built on ONNX Runtime. Applications embed it through SDKs for C#, JavaScript, Python and Rust, and it can start an optional OpenAI-compatible server on localhost. A preview CLI is also available.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/foundry-local", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/foundry-local.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/foundry-local.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/foundry-local.json", "repo": "https://github.com/microsoft/Foundry-Local", "license": "MIT for the SDKs and the v2 native runtime. The CLI is closed source under Microsoft Software Licence Terms. Execution providers carry NVIDIA, Intel and Qualcomm licences, and each model carries its own", "transports": [ "http" ], "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "foundry-local-sdk" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "foundry-local-sdk" }, { "registry": "nuget", "name": "Microsoft.AI.Foundry.Local" }, { "registry": "cargo", "name": "foundry-local-sdk" } ], "auth": "none", "authNotes": "No authentication. The SDK runs in the application's own process, and the optional local server takes no key or token. It binds to 127.0.0.1 on a dynamic port unless the owner configures `web.urls` or starts the CLI daemon with `--port`. No account or Azure subscription is needed.", "pricing": "free", "pricingNotes": "Free, with no account, card or Azure subscription. The SDK is MIT and the CLI is a free download under Microsoft's licence terms. Microsoft states there are no per-token costs. Foundry Local on Azure Local is a separate product for servers and is not covered here (checked 2026-10-08).", "priceSummary": "Free · OSS", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs, the README or the SDK source (checked 2026-10-08).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 2600, "npmWeekly": 105372, "pypiWeekly": 47344, "asOf": "2026-10-08" }, "docsUrl": "https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/foundry-local/", "capabilities": [ "inference.local", "inference.open-weights", "embed.text", "speech.stt" ], "tags": [ "local", "open-source", "free", "no-card", "account-free", "no-auth", "openai-compatible", "csharp", "typescript", "python", "rust", "npu", "telemetry-on-by-default" ], "lastRelease": "2026-09-29", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 60.5, "grade": "C", "agentReady": false, "rank": 509, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 950, "categoryRank": 4, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 61, "maintenance": 88, "payments": 60, "reliability": 68, "schema": 53, "security": 39, "transparency": 72 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-08" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "The SDK and its native runtime are MIT, at 2.1.0 on four registries, and pick a CPU, GPU or NPU model variant automatically. The optional local server has no credential, its current routes aren't in the published REST reference, and telemetry is on by default with an opt-out.", "bestFor": "An application that ships a model to end users' Windows, macOS or Linux devices and wants NPU and GPU variants chosen automatically, especially on Windows.", "strengths": [ "SDK 2.1.0 published on npm, PyPI, NuGet and crates.io on 29 September 2026, with the SDK and the v2 native runtime under MIT in a public repository", "A model alias selects the best variant for the machine's CPU, GPU or NPU, with CUDA, WebGPU, OpenVINO, QNN and Vitis AI execution providers", "The v2 server answers `/v1/chat/completions`, `/v1/responses`, `/v1/embeddings`, `/v1/audio/transcriptions` and `/v1/models` in OpenAI's shapes", "Six releases in the 90 days to 8 October 2026, and the v2.0.1 notes carry a breaking-changes section", "No account, key, card or Azure subscription is needed, and prompts and outputs are processed on the device per the docs" ], "weaknesses": [ "The local server takes no credential, and its routes include model load and unload and `POST /shutdown`", "The REST reference on Microsoft Learn lists `/openai/*` and `/foundry/list` routes that the v2 runtime source doesn't register, and doesn't cover `/v1/responses`", "Telemetry is on by default through Microsoft's 1DS SDK. The opt-out covers non-essential telemetry only, and the Learn FAQ doesn't mention it", "The CLI is a closed-source public preview, and its REST reference warns of breaking changes without notice", "76 open issues on 8 October 2026, among them a Linux ARM64 segmentation fault (#1182) and several unanswered GPU and NPU detection reports" ], "agentNotes": [ "Read the server URL from `manager.urls[0]` or `foundry server status`. The port is dynamic unless the owner sets `web.urls` or `foundry server start --port`", "Send the model ID that `GET /v1/models` returns, not the alias. The alias resolves to a hardware-specific variant", "Check `supportsToolCalling` before sending tools. Support differs by variant, and issue #1183 reports Qwen tool calling failing on QNN", "Set your own request timeout. Inference has no built-in one, and cancellation takes effect only after the current generation step", "Ask the owner to set `ORT_TELEMETRY_DISABLED=1` or `disableNonessentialTelemetry` before the manager is created if telemetry must be off" ], "metrics": { "kind": "local", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "C", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 60.5 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 61, "maintenance": 88, "payments": 60, "reliability": 68, "schema": 53, "security": 39, "transparency": 63 }, "provenanceScore": 80 }, "connect": { "install": "pip install foundry-local-sdk # or: npm install foundry-local-sdk\n# CLI (preview): winget install Microsoft.FoundryLocal # macOS: brew tap microsoft/foundrylocal \u0026\u0026 brew install foundrylocal", "http": "foundry server start --port 39839 --idle-timeout 0\ncurl http://localhost:39839/v1/chat/completions \\\n -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" \\\n -d '{\"model\": \"\u003cMODEL_ID\u003e\", \"messages\": [{\"role\": \"user\", \"content\": \"What is the golden ratio?\"}]}'" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/inference.local", "tool": "https://letme.dev/foundry-local" }, "sameCompany": [ "azure-foundry-fine-tuning", "azure-ai-content-safety", "azure-speech-to-text", "azure-text-to-speech", "microsoft-agent-framework", "microsoft-execution-containers", "microsoft-entra-agent-id", "azure-key-vault", "azure-document-intelligence", "azure-devops-mcp", "microsoft-learn-mcp", "playwright-mcp", "azure-mcp", "azure-maps", "azure-translator", "microsoft-graph-calendar", "azure-blob-storage", "onedrive-sharepoint", "microsoft-teams", "dynamics-365-sales", "power-automate", "microsoft-advertising-api", "microsoft-excel-graph", "outlook-mail-graph" ], "area": "models", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Microsoft Corporation", "domain": "microsoft.com", "domainRegistered": "1991-05-02", "endpointOnVendorDomain": null, "terms": "", "privacy": "", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://github.com/microsoft/Foundry-Local/releases", "securityTxt": "expired", "checked": "2026-10-08", "notes": [ "The repository is under GitHub's microsoft organisation, the licence file reads Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation, and foundrylocal.ai names Microsoft Corporation as publisher.", "The terms link is the repository's LICENSE file, which holds the MIT licence for the SDK and the Microsoft Software Licence Terms for the CLI. Microsoft publishes no other agreement for Foundry Local that we found.", "The privacy link is the product's own privacy file in the repository, which the README links. It and the CLI licence both refer on to the Microsoft Privacy Statement, a company-wide notice, which answered 403 to our request.", "www.microsoft.com/.well-known/security.txt loads and points to the MSRC researcher portal, but its Expires field is 2026-09-23T16:00:00.000Z, which had passed on 8 October 2026. learn.microsoft.com and foundrylocal.ai return 404.", "No status page is listed because the software runs on the owner's machine. The model catalogue is a cloud service with no status page that we found.", "RDAP gives microsoft.com a registration date of 1991-05-02 and foundrylocal.ai one of 2025-10-07." ], "score": 80 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/foundry-local.json", "live": { "slug": "foundry-local", "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "microsoft/Foundry-Local", "version": "v2.1.0", "released": "2026-09-30", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T16:53:51.331297092Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "foundry-local-sdk", "version": "2.1.0", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T16:53:50.336862217Z" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "foundry-local-sdk", "version": "2.1.0", "released": "2026-09-29", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T16:53:51.144100857Z" } ], "githubStars": 2578, "npmWeekly": 50808, "pypiWeekly": 46570, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://microsoft.com/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "expired", "expires": "2026-09-23T16:00:00.000Z", "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T15:40:16.790821018Z" }, "updatedAt": "2026-10-09T16:53:51.331297092Z" } }, "answer": "Foundry Local scores 60.5 (C) on agent readiness against vLLM's 57.7 (C), and leads in 2 of 7 scored categories. vLLM leads on schema \u0026 documentation and security \u0026 auth.", "b": { "slug": "vllm", "name": "vLLM", "vendor": "vLLM project (PyTorch Foundation)", "vendorUrl": "https://vllm.ai", "kind": "http-api", "category": "local-ai", "summary": "vLLM is an open-source inference and serving engine for open-weight language models. `vllm serve` runs an HTTP server with OpenAI-compatible, Anthropic Messages, embedding, reranking and transcription routes on the owner's own GPUs or CPUs.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/vllm", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/vllm.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/vllm.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/vllm.json", "repo": "https://github.com/vllm-project/vllm", "license": "Apache-2.0", "transports": [ "http" ], "packages": [ { "registry": "pypi", "name": "vllm" }, { "registry": "oci", "name": "vllm/vllm-openai" } ], "auth": "none", "authNotes": "No credential by default. `--api-key` (one or several keys) or `VLLM_API_KEY` turns on a Bearer check for paths under `/v1`, `/v2`, `/inference` and `/cohere` only, so `/invocations`, `/pooling`, `/classify`, `/score`, `/rerank` and control routes such as `/pause` stay open. Keys have no scopes and change with a restart. The key is read from the `Authorization` header, never the query string. gRPC has no authentication (https://github.com/vllm-project/vllm/blob/main/docs/usage/security.md).", "pricing": "free", "pricingNotes": "Free under Apache-2.0, with no account, key or card. Nothing is sold by the project. You pay for your own hardware and electricity.", "priceSummary": "Free · OSS", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs or the source (checked 2026-10-09).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 93444, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-09" }, "docsUrl": "https://docs.vllm.ai/en/stable/", "capabilities": [ "inference.local", "inference.open-weights", "embed.text", "rerank", "speech.stt", "inference.decision", "agent.mcp-client" ], "tags": [ "open-source", "local", "self-hosted", "free", "no-card", "openai-compatible", "docker", "pre-1.0", "telemetry-default-on" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-02", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 57.7, "grade": "C", "agentReady": false, "rank": 600, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 950, "categoryRank": 8, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 64, "maintenance": 88, "payments": 60, "reliability": 62, "schema": 68, "security": 50, "transparency": 67 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-09" }, "negative": -6, "negativeNotes": [ "2026-06-02. GHSA-94f4-hr76-p5j6 (CVE-2026-48746, 9.1), a crafted Host header bypassed the API key check on the OpenAI routes, fixed in 0.22.0. With GHSA-4r2x-xpjr-7cvv (CVE-2026-22778, 9.8) of 2 February 2026, code execution through video decoding fixed in 0.14.1, these are the two critical advisories of the last 12 months. Both were fixed and published with CVEs, so they decay, -3. https://github.com/vllm-project/vllm/security/advisories/GHSA-94f4-hr76-p5j6; https://github.com/vllm-project/vllm/security/advisories/GHSA-4r2x-xpjr-7cvv", "2026-10-06. GHSA-h3rc-6mm3-gc2m (8.1), a request field could select the processor code a server started with `--trust-remote-code` imports, fixed in 0.31.0, one of 50 advisories published since 11 July 2026 (10 high, 36 medium, 4 low), most of them requests that crash or exhaust the engine. All name a fixed version, and eleven were published on 9 October 2026 months after their fixes, -3. https://github.com/vllm-project/vllm/security/advisories/GHSA-h3rc-6mm3-gc2m; https://github.com/vllm-project/vllm/security/advisories" ], "verdict": "Apache-2.0 software with a release about every two weeks, each with notes that list breaking changes and security fixes. The optional API key covers only some path prefixes, so `/invocations` and control routes such as `/pause` answer without it, and at least 81 security advisories were published in the 12 months to 9 October 2026.", "bestFor": "An owner with a GPU server who wants many concurrent requests against one open-weight model behind OpenAI or Anthropic compatible routes.", "strengths": [ "OpenAI chat, completions, responses and embeddings, Anthropic `/v1/messages`, Cohere embed and rerank, transcription and `/v1/systemone` from one server", "Apache-2.0, with a written three-stage deprecation policy and release notes that carry a breaking changes section", "Eight stable releases between 12 July and 2 October 2026, and v0.31.0 lists 717 commits from 307 contributors", "A 650-line security guide names every route the API key does and does not protect, and the limits of multi-tenant use", "Usage statistics are documented field by field, with `VLLM_NO_USAGE_STATS`, `DO_NOT_TRACK` or a file as opt-outs" ], "weaknesses": [ "`--api-key` guards only the `/v1`, `/v2`, `/inference` and `/cohere` prefixes. `/invocations`, `/pooling`, `/classify`, `/score`, `/rerank`, `/pause` and `/update_weights` answer without it", "No key by default, the server binds every interface when `--host` is unset, and CORS allows any origin", "At least 81 GitHub security advisories in 12 months, two critical, most of them remote crashes or resource exhaustion", "Pre-1.0 (0.31.0), with breaking changes in each fortnightly release and compatibility kept for a limited number of minor versions", "Usage statistics are sent to stats.vllm.ai by default, and no privacy policy or retention period for them was found" ], "agentNotes": [ "Put a reverse proxy that allowlists routes in front of the server. `--api-key` leaves `/invocations` and the control routes open", "Pass `--host 127.0.0.1` for single-machine use. With no `--host` the server listens on every interface", "Set `VLLM_NO_USAGE_STATS=1` or `DO_NOT_TRACK=1` before starting if nothing should be sent to stats.vllm.ai", "Start with `--enable-auto-tool-choice` and the `--tool-call-parser` for the model before sending tools. Tool calling is off without them", "Send `max_tokens` on every request, and read the breaking changes section of the release notes before upgrading a minor version" ], "metrics": { "kind": "local", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "C", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 57.7 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 64, "maintenance": 88, "payments": 60, "reliability": 62, "schema": 68, "security": 50, "transparency": 80 }, "provenanceScore": 53 }, "connect": { "install": "uv pip install vllm --torch-backend=auto\nvllm serve Qwen/Qwen2.5-1.5B-Instruct # listens on port 8000", "http": "curl http://localhost:8000/v1/chat/completions \\\n -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" \\\n -d '{\n \"model\": \"Qwen/Qwen2.5-1.5B-Instruct\",\n \"messages\": [\n {\"role\": \"system\", \"content\": \"You are a helpful assistant.\"},\n {\"role\": \"user\", \"content\": \"Who won the world series in 2020?\"}\n ]\n }'", "claudeCode": "ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=http://localhost:8000 \\\nANTHROPIC_API_KEY=dummy \\\nANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN=dummy \\\nANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_OPUS_MODEL=my-model \\\nANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_SONNET_MODEL=my-model \\\nANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_HAIKU_MODEL=my-model \\\nclaude" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/inference.local", "tool": "https://letme.dev/vllm" }, "area": "models", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "The Linux Foundation (vLLM is a PyTorch Foundation project)", "domain": "vllm.ai", "domainRegistered": "", "endpointOnVendorDomain": null, "terms": "", "privacy": "", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://github.com/vllm-project/vllm/releases", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-09", "notes": [ "vllm.ai links no terms and no privacy policy, and its footer reads © 2026 vLLM. The project publishes none for the software or for stats.vllm.ai, so the Apache-2.0 licence stands in for terms.", "pytorch.org/projects/vllm/ lists vLLM among PyTorch Foundation projects and says UC Berkeley contributed it to the Linux Foundation in July 2024. The Linux Foundation's policies are linked from that page and are not specific to vLLM.", "vllm.ai/.well-known/security.txt and docs.vllm.ai/.well-known/security.txt return 404. SECURITY.md asks for private reports through GitHub.", "There's no shared hosted endpoint. The server runs on the owner's hardware. The software posts usage statistics to stats.vllm.ai unless turned off." ], "score": 53 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/vllm.json", "live": { "slug": "vllm", "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "vllm-project/vllm", "version": "v0.31.0", "released": "2026-10-05", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T17:27:30.444059802Z" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "vllm", "version": "0.31.0", "released": "2026-10-05", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T17:27:30.259454009Z" } ], "githubStars": 93457, "pypiWeekly": 444466, "updatedAt": "2026-10-09T17:27:30.444059802Z" } }, "facts": [ { "a": "SDK + MCP", "b": "HTTP API", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Microsoft", "b": "vLLM project (PyTorch Foundation)", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "no (local only)", "b": "no (local only)", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP", "b": "HTTP", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "None", "b": "None", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Free", "b": "Free", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "MIT for the SDKs and the v2 native runtime. The CLI is closed source under Microsoft Software Licence Terms. Execution providers carry NVIDIA, Intel and Qualcomm licences, and each model carries its own", "b": "Apache-2.0", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-09-29", "b": "2026-10-02", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "no document linked", "b": "no document linked", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "no document linked", "b": "no document linked", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "", "b": "", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "", "b": "", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "", "b": "", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "", "b": "", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "", "b": "", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "2.6k stars, 105k npm/wk, 47k PyPI/wk", "b": "93k stars", "name": "Popularity" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "Foundry Local scores 60.5 (C) on agent readiness against vLLM's 57.7 (C), and leads in 2 of 7 scored categories. vLLM leads on schema \u0026 documentation and security \u0026 auth.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Foundry Local or vLLM?" }, { "answer": "No hosted endpoint is listed for Foundry Local. No hosted endpoint is listed for vLLM.", "question": "Can an agent call Foundry Local and vLLM without installing anything?" }, { "answer": "Yes. Foundry Local is open source (MIT for the SDKs and the v2 native runtime. The CLI is closed source under Microsoft Software Licence Terms. Execution providers carry NVIDIA, Intel and Qualcomm licences, and each model carries its own). vLLM is open source (Apache-2.0).", "question": "Are Foundry Local and vLLM open source?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 68 against 62", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 72 against 67" ], "also": [ "No incidents deducted, where vLLM loses 6 points for them" ], "goodFor": "An application that ships a model to end users' Windows, macOS or Linux devices and wants NPU and GPU variants chosen automatically, especially on Windows.", "slug": "foundry-local", "watchFor": "The local server takes no credential, and its routes include model load and unload and `POST /shutdown`" }, { "aheadOn": [ "Schema \u0026 documentation, 68 against 53", "Security \u0026 auth, 50 against 39" ], "also": null, "goodFor": "An owner with a GPU server who wants many concurrent requests against one open-weight model behind OpenAI or Anthropic compatible routes.", "slug": "vllm", "watchFor": "`--api-key` guards only the `/v1`, `/v2`, `/inference` and `/cohere` prefixes. `/invocations`, `/pooling`, `/classify`, `/score`, `/rerank`, `/pause` and `/update_weights` answer without it" } ], "job": { "capability": "inference.local", "name": "Local inference" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anythingllm-vs-foundry-local.json", "title": "AnythingLLM vs Foundry Local", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anythingllm-vs-foundry-local" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anythingllm-vs-vllm.json", "title": "AnythingLLM vs vLLM", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anythingllm-vs-vllm" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-model-runner-vs-foundry-local.json", "title": "Docker Model Runner vs Foundry Local", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-model-runner-vs-foundry-local" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-model-runner-vs-vllm.json", "title": "Docker Model Runner vs vLLM", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-model-runner-vs-vllm" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-ghost-core.json", "title": "Foundry Local vs Core", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-ghost-core" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-gpt4all.json", "title": "Foundry Local vs GPT4All", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-gpt4all" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-jan.json", "title": "Foundry Local vs Jan", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-jan" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-khoj.json", "title": "Foundry Local vs Khoj", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-khoj" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-koboldcpp.json", "title": "Foundry Local vs KoboldCpp", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-koboldcpp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-lemonade.json", "title": "Foundry Local vs Lemonade", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-lemonade" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-llama-cpp.json", "title": "Foundry Local vs llama.cpp", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-llama-cpp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-lm-studio.json", "title": "Foundry Local vs LM Studio", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-lm-studio" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-localai.json", "title": "Foundry Local vs LocalAI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-localai" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-mlx-lm.json", "title": "Foundry Local vs MLX LM", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-mlx-lm" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-ollama.json", "title": "Foundry Local vs Ollama", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-ollama" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-open-webui.json", "title": "Foundry Local vs Open WebUI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-open-webui" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-screenpipe.json", "title": "Foundry Local vs screenpipe", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-screenpipe" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-text-generation-webui.json", "title": "Foundry Local vs TextGen", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-text-generation-webui" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-vllm.json", "title": "Core vs vLLM", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-vllm" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-vllm.json", "title": "GPT4All vs vLLM", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-vllm" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/jan-vs-vllm.json", "title": "Jan vs vLLM", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/jan-vs-vllm" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/khoj-vs-vllm.json", "title": "Khoj vs vLLM", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/khoj-vs-vllm" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/koboldcpp-vs-vllm.json", "title": "KoboldCpp vs vLLM", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/koboldcpp-vs-vllm" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lemonade-vs-vllm.json", "title": "Lemonade vs vLLM", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lemonade-vs-vllm" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/llama-cpp-vs-vllm.json", "title": "llama.cpp vs vLLM", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/llama-cpp-vs-vllm" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lm-studio-vs-vllm.json", "title": "LM Studio vs vLLM", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lm-studio-vs-vllm" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/localai-vs-vllm.json", "title": "LocalAI vs vLLM", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/localai-vs-vllm" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mlx-lm-vs-vllm.json", "title": "MLX LM vs vLLM", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mlx-lm-vs-vllm" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ollama-vs-vllm.json", "title": "Ollama vs vLLM", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ollama-vs-vllm" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/open-webui-vs-vllm.json", "title": "Open WebUI vs vLLM", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/open-webui-vs-vllm" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/screenpipe-vs-vllm.json", "title": "screenpipe vs vLLM", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/screenpipe-vs-vllm" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/text-generation-webui-vs-vllm.json", "title": "TextGen vs vLLM", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/text-generation-webui-vs-vllm" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-underdog.json", "title": "Foundry Local vs Underdog", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-underdog" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/underdog-vs-vllm.json", "title": "Underdog vs vLLM", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/underdog-vs-vllm" } ], "scores": [ { "by": 6, "edge": "foundry-local", "foundry-local": 68, "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "vllm": 62, "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 15, "edge": "vllm", "foundry-local": 53, "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "vllm": 68, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 3, "edge": "vllm", "foundry-local": 61, "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "vllm": 64, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 11, "edge": "vllm", "foundry-local": 39, "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "vllm": 50, "weight": 14 }, { "by": 0, "edge": "", "foundry-local": 60, "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "vllm": 60, "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 0, "edge": "", "foundry-local": 88, "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "vllm": 88, "weight": 7 }, { "by": 5, "edge": "foundry-local", "foundry-local": 72, "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "vllm": 67, "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "Foundry Local scores 60.5 (C) on agent readiness against vLLM's 57.7 (C), and leads in 2 of 7 scored categories. vLLM leads on schema \u0026 documentation and security \u0026 auth. Both do local inference.", "verdicts": { "foundry-local": "The SDK and its native runtime are MIT, at 2.1.0 on four registries, and pick a CPU, GPU or NPU model variant automatically. The optional local server has no credential, its current routes aren't in the published REST reference, and telemetry is on by default with an opt-out.", "vllm": "Apache-2.0 software with a release about every two weeks, each with notes that list breaking changes and security fixes. The optional API key covers only some path prefixes, so `/invocations` and control routes such as `/pause` answer without it, and at least 81 security advisories were published in the 12 months to 9 October 2026." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-vllm", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-vllm.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-vllm.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-vllm.min.md" }, "markdown": "Foundry Local scores 60.5 (C) on agent readiness against vLLM's 57.7 (C), and leads in 2 of 7 scored categories. vLLM leads on schema \u0026 documentation and security \u0026 auth. Both do local inference.\n\n- Foundry Local: grade C, 60.5/100, rank #509 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/foundry-local.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/foundry-local.json\n- vLLM: grade C, 57.7/100, rank #600 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/vllm.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/vllm.json\n- Best local AI models and assistants: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/local-ai/index.md\n- All 184 local ai comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/local-ai/index.md\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### Foundry Local (C)\n\nGood for: An application that ships a model to end users' Windows, macOS or Linux devices and wants NPU and GPU variants chosen automatically, especially on Windows.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 68 against 62\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 72 against 67\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- No incidents deducted, where vLLM loses 6 points for them\n\nWatch for: The local server takes no credential, and its routes include model load and unload and `POST /shutdown`\n\n### vLLM (C)\n\nGood for: An owner with a GPU server who wants many concurrent requests against one open-weight model behind OpenAI or Anthropic compatible routes.\n\nAhead on:\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 68 against 53\n- Security \u0026 auth, 50 against 39\n\nWatch for: `--api-key` guards only the `/v1`, `/v2`, `/inference` and `/cohere` prefixes. `/invocations`, `/pooling`, `/classify`, `/score`, `/rerank`, `/pause` and `/update_weights` answer without it\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Foundry Local | vLLM | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 68 | 62 | Foundry Local +6 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 53 | 68 | vLLM +15 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 61 | 64 | vLLM +3 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 39 | 50 | vLLM +11 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 60 | even |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 88 | 88 | even |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 72 | 67 | Foundry Local +5 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -6 | |\n| **Total** | | **60.5 · C** | **57.7 · C** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Foundry Local | vLLM |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | SDK + MCP | HTTP API |\n| Vendor | Microsoft | vLLM project (PyTorch Foundation) |\n| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |\n| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |\n| Auth | None | None |\n| Pricing | Free | Free |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | MIT for the SDKs and the v2 native runtime. The CLI is closed source under Microsoft Software Licence Terms. Execution providers carry NVIDIA, Intel and Qualcomm licences, and each model carries its own | Apache-2.0 |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | no | no |\n| Last release | 2026-09-29 | 2026-10-02 |\n| Terms last updated | no document linked | no document linked |\n| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | no document linked |\n| Customer content may train models | | |\n| Terms restrict automated access | | |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | | |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | | |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | | |\n| Popularity | 2.6k stars, 105k npm/wk, 47k PyPI/wk | 93k stars |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**Foundry Local.** The SDK and its native runtime are MIT, at 2.1.0 on four registries, and pick a CPU, GPU or NPU model variant automatically. The optional local server has no credential, its current routes aren't in the published REST reference, and telemetry is on by default with an opt-out.\n\n**vLLM.** Apache-2.0 software with a release about every two weeks, each with notes that list breaking changes and security fixes. The optional API key covers only some path prefixes, so `/invocations` and control routes such as `/pause` answer without it, and at least 81 security advisories were published in the 12 months to 9 October 2026.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### Foundry Local\n\n1. Read the server URL from `manager.urls[0]` or `foundry server status`. The port is dynamic unless the owner sets `web.urls` or `foundry server start --port`\n2. Send the model ID that `GET /v1/models` returns, not the alias. The alias resolves to a hardware-specific variant\n3. Check `supportsToolCalling` before sending tools. Support differs by variant, and issue #1183 reports Qwen tool calling failing on QNN\n4. Set your own request timeout. Inference has no built-in one, and cancellation takes effect only after the current generation step\n5. Ask the owner to set `ORT_TELEMETRY_DISABLED=1` or `disableNonessentialTelemetry` before the manager is created if telemetry must be off\n\n### vLLM\n\n1. Put a reverse proxy that allowlists routes in front of the server. `--api-key` leaves `/invocations` and the control routes open\n2. Pass `--host 127.0.0.1` for single-machine use. With no `--host` the server listens on every interface\n3. Set `VLLM_NO_USAGE_STATS=1` or `DO_NOT_TRACK=1` before starting if nothing should be sent to stats.vllm.ai\n4. Start with `--enable-auto-tool-choice` and the `--tool-call-parser` for the model before sending tools. Tool calling is off without them\n5. Send `max_tokens` on every request, and read the breaking changes section of the release notes before upgrading a minor version\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Foundry Local or vLLM?\n\nFoundry Local scores 60.5 (C) on agent readiness against vLLM's 57.7 (C), and leads in 2 of 7 scored categories. vLLM leads on schema \u0026 documentation and security \u0026 auth.\n\n### Can an agent call Foundry Local and vLLM without installing anything?\n\nNo hosted endpoint is listed for Foundry Local. No hosted endpoint is listed for vLLM.\n\n### Are Foundry Local and vLLM open source?\n\nYes. Foundry Local is open source (MIT for the SDKs and the v2 native runtime. The CLI is closed source under Microsoft Software Licence Terms. Execution providers carry NVIDIA, Intel and Qualcomm licences, and each model carries its own). vLLM is open source (Apache-2.0).\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-vllm.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-vllm.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"foundry-local\", \"b\": \"vllm\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare foundry-local vllm`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/foundry-local.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/vllm.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Foundry Local or vLLM\n\n- [AnythingLLM vs Foundry Local](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anythingllm-vs-foundry-local.md)\n- [AnythingLLM vs vLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anythingllm-vs-vllm.md)\n- [Docker Model Runner vs Foundry Local](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-model-runner-vs-foundry-local.md)\n- [Docker Model Runner vs vLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-model-runner-vs-vllm.md)\n- [Foundry Local vs Core](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-ghost-core.md)\n- [Foundry Local vs GPT4All](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-gpt4all.md)\n- [Foundry Local vs Jan](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-jan.md)\n- [Foundry Local vs Khoj](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-khoj.md)\n- [Foundry Local vs KoboldCpp](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-koboldcpp.md)\n- [Foundry Local vs Lemonade](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-lemonade.md)\n- [Foundry Local vs llama.cpp](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-llama-cpp.md)\n- [Foundry Local vs LM Studio](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-lm-studio.md)\n- [Foundry Local vs LocalAI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-localai.md)\n- [Foundry Local vs MLX LM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-mlx-lm.md)\n- [Foundry Local vs Ollama](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-ollama.md)\n- [Foundry Local vs Open WebUI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-open-webui.md)\n- [Foundry Local vs screenpipe](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-screenpipe.md)\n- [Foundry Local vs TextGen](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-text-generation-webui.md)\n- [Core vs vLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-vllm.md)\n- [GPT4All vs vLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-vllm.md)\n- [Jan vs vLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/jan-vs-vllm.md)\n- [Khoj vs vLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/khoj-vs-vllm.md)\n- [KoboldCpp vs vLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/koboldcpp-vs-vllm.md)\n- [Lemonade vs vLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lemonade-vs-vllm.md)\n- [llama.cpp vs vLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/llama-cpp-vs-vllm.md)\n- [LM Studio vs vLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lm-studio-vs-vllm.md)\n- [LocalAI vs vLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/localai-vs-vllm.md)\n- [MLX LM vs vLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mlx-lm-vs-vllm.md)\n- [Ollama vs vLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ollama-vs-vllm.md)\n- [Open WebUI vs vLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/open-webui-vs-vllm.md)\n- [screenpipe vs vLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/screenpipe-vs-vllm.md)\n- [TextGen vs vLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/text-generation-webui-vs-vllm.md)\n- [Foundry Local vs Underdog](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-underdog.md)\n- [Underdog vs vLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/underdog-vs-vllm.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-10-10", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.4", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "Foundry Local vs vLLM", "url": "" } ], "description": "Foundry Local scores 60.5 (C) to vLLM's 57.7 (C) for local inference. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "Foundry Local C 60.5", "vLLM C 57.7", "scores" ], "h1": "Foundry Local vs vLLM", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-foundry-local-vs-vllm.png", "path": "/compare/foundry-local-vs-vllm", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "Foundry Local vs vLLM for AI agents in 2026: scores and prices", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-09", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-vllm" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2650, "slim": 580 }, "version": 1 }