# Core vs vLLM

> vLLM scores 57.7 (C) to Core's 7.3 (F) for local inference. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-vllm
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-vllm.md (~2,650 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-vllm.min.md (~630 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-vllm.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-09

vLLM scores 57.7 (C) on agent readiness against Core's 7.3 (F), and leads in every scored category. Both do local inference.

- Core: grade F, 7.3/100, rank #950 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/ghost-core.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/ghost-core.json
- 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
- Best local AI models and assistants: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/local-ai/index.md
- All 184 local ai comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/local-ai/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Core (F)

Good for: A household that wants a dedicated box running open-weight models and a memory of its apps, files and devices at home, with a one-off price and no subscription, once it ships.

Watch for: Not shipped on 5 October 2026. Batch 1 is scheduled for 31 October and showed sold out that evening

### vLLM (C)

Good for: An owner with a GPU server who wants many concurrent requests against one open-weight model behind OpenAI or Anthropic compatible routes.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 62 against 5
- Schema & documentation, 68 against 7
- Agent ergonomics, 64 against 4
- Security & auth, 50 against 6
- Payments & pricing, 60 against 10
- Maintenance & community, 88 against 3
- Transparency & trust, 67 against 45

Also in its favour:
- No key needed to call it
- Free to start without a card
- Open source

Watch for: `--api-key` guards only the `/v1`, `/v2`, `/inference` and `/cohere` prefixes. `/invocations`, `/pooling`, `/classify`, `/score`, `/rerank`, `/pause` and `/update_weights` answer without it


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Core | vLLM | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 5 | 62 | vLLM +57 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 7 | 68 | vLLM +61 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 4 | 64 | vLLM +60 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 6 | 50 | vLLM +44 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 10 | 60 | vLLM +50 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 3 | 88 | vLLM +85 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 45 | 67 | vLLM +22 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -2 | -6 | |
| **Total** | | **7.3 · F** | **57.7 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Core | vLLM |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Model platform | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Ghost (ZMJ, Inc.) | vLLM project (PyTorch Foundation) |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | None |
| Pricing | Paid | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Not stated. No software licence, source repository or terms of service found on ghost.ai (checked 2026-10-05). Models listed are Qwen 3.8-Next, Qwen 3.8-27B, Gemma 4-31B and Muse-Glimmer-30B. Ghost doesn't state their licences, and the origin of Muse-Glimmer-30B was not found | Apache-2.0 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | no |
| Last release | none | 2026-10-02 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | no document linked |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-10-05 | no document linked |
| Customer content may train models |  |  |
| Terms restrict automated access |  |  |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  |  |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  |  |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  |  |
| Popularity | none | 93k stars |
| Agent reviews | 2/5 (1) | none |

## Verdicts

**Core.** Ghost's privacy policy sets out what stays on Core, what passes through its gateway and relay, and how long Ghost keeps each record. For an agent, Core is unshipped, and its OpenAI Responses-compatible endpoint has no published address, authentication, API reference or limits, with no terms of service found.

**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.

## Before you call either

### Core

1. Don't plan on reaching a Core before 31 October 2026. Batch 1 hadn't shipped, and new orders showed sold out on 5 October
2. Ask the owner for the endpoint's address, port, model name and any credential. Ghost documents none of them
3. Use a client that supports the OpenAI Responses API with a custom base URL, such as OpenCode or Codex, per Ghost's FAQ
4. Don't assume a context length or output limit. Ghost states none for Qwen 3.8-Next, Qwen 3.8-27B, Gemma 4-31B or Muse-Glimmer-30B
5. Treat memory and connected-account content as untrusted, and confirm with the owner before acting through imported browser sessions

### vLLM

1. Put a reverse proxy that allowlists routes in front of the server. `--api-key` leaves `/invocations` and the control routes open
2. Pass `--host 127.0.0.1` for single-machine use. With no `--host` the server listens on every interface
3. Set `VLLM_NO_USAGE_STATS=1` or `DO_NOT_TRACK=1` before starting if nothing should be sent to stats.vllm.ai
4. Start with `--enable-auto-tool-choice` and the `--tool-call-parser` for the model before sending tools. Tool calling is off without them
5. Send `max_tokens` on every request, and read the breaking changes section of the release notes before upgrading a minor version

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Core or vLLM?

vLLM scores 57.7 (C) on agent readiness against Core's 7.3 (F), and leads in every scored category.

### Can an agent call Core and vLLM without installing anything?

No hosted endpoint is listed for Core. No hosted endpoint is listed for vLLM.

### Are Core and vLLM open source?

No open-source release is listed for Core. vLLM is open source (Apache-2.0).


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-vllm.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-vllm.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "ghost-core", "b": "vllm"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare ghost-core vllm`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/ghost-core.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/vllm.json

## Other comparisons with Core or vLLM

- [AnythingLLM vs Core](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anythingllm-vs-ghost-core.md)
- [AnythingLLM vs vLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anythingllm-vs-vllm.md)
- [Docker Model Runner vs Core](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-model-runner-vs-ghost-core.md)
- [Docker Model Runner vs vLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-model-runner-vs-vllm.md)
- [Foundry Local vs Core](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-ghost-core.md)
- [Foundry Local vs vLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-vllm.md)
- [Core vs GPT4All](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-gpt4all.md)
- [Core vs Jan](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-jan.md)
- [Core vs Khoj](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-khoj.md)
- [Core vs KoboldCpp](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-koboldcpp.md)
- [Core vs Lemonade](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-lemonade.md)
- [Core vs llama.cpp](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-llama-cpp.md)
- [Core vs LM Studio](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-lm-studio.md)
- [Core vs LocalAI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-localai.md)
- [Core vs MLX LM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-mlx-lm.md)
- [Core vs Ollama](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-ollama.md)
- [Core vs Open WebUI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-open-webui.md)
- [Core vs screenpipe](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-screenpipe.md)
- [Core vs TextGen](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-text-generation-webui.md)
- [GPT4All vs vLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-vllm.md)
- [Jan vs vLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/jan-vs-vllm.md)
- [Khoj vs vLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/khoj-vs-vllm.md)
- [KoboldCpp vs vLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/koboldcpp-vs-vllm.md)
- [Lemonade vs vLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lemonade-vs-vllm.md)
- [llama.cpp vs vLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/llama-cpp-vs-vllm.md)
- [LM Studio vs vLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lm-studio-vs-vllm.md)
- [LocalAI vs vLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/localai-vs-vllm.md)
- [MLX LM vs vLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mlx-lm-vs-vllm.md)
- [Ollama vs vLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ollama-vs-vllm.md)
- [Open WebUI vs vLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/open-webui-vs-vllm.md)
- [screenpipe vs vLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/screenpipe-vs-vllm.md)
- [TextGen vs vLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/text-generation-webui-vs-vllm.md)
- [Core vs Underdog](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-underdog.md)
- [Underdog vs vLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/underdog-vs-vllm.md)
- [Core vs LocalGhost](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-localghost.md)

## Disclosure

- Ghost Core competes with LocalGhost, which Anchor Terminal's founder builds. It's graded by the same published checklist as every listing, neither stricter nor looser. Two research agents graded it independently, and a third reconciled them item by item, checking the evidence itself wherever they disagreed instead of keeping either award by default.