# KoboldCpp vs llama.cpp

> KoboldCpp and llama.cpp score within a point of each other on agent readiness, 60.5 (C) and 60.2 (C). llama.cpp leads on agent ergonomics, security & auth and transparency & trust. Both do local inference. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/koboldcpp-vs-llama-cpp
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/koboldcpp-vs-llama-cpp.md (~2,450 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/koboldcpp-vs-llama-cpp.min.md (~530 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/koboldcpp-vs-llama-cpp.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

KoboldCpp and llama.cpp score within a point of each other on agent readiness, 60.5 (C) and 60.2 (C). llama.cpp leads on agent ergonomics, security & auth and transparency & trust. Both do local inference.

- KoboldCpp: grade C, 60.5/100, rank #462 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/koboldcpp.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/koboldcpp.json
- llama.cpp: grade C, 60.2/100, rank #476 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/llama-cpp.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/llama-cpp.json

## Which one, for what

### KoboldCpp (C)

Good for: An owner who wants text, image, speech and music models behind one executable with a writing and roleplay interface, and clients that speak the KoboldAI, OpenAI, Ollama or Anthropic formats.

Ahead on:
- Schema & documentation, 68 against 47

Watch for: With no `--host` the server accepts connections on all routable interfaces, and no password is set by default

### llama.cpp (C)

Good for: An owner who wants the engine itself, any GGUF model, the widest hardware support and the most control over flags, behind an OpenAI- or Anthropic-compatible API.

Ahead on:
- Agent ergonomics, 73 against 63
- Security & auth, 52 against 38
- Transparency & trust, 60 against 49

Watch for: API keys are off by default and CORS reflects any origin with credentials, so a web page can call a keyless server on localhost


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | KoboldCpp | llama.cpp | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 68 | 64 | KoboldCpp +4 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 68 | 47 | KoboldCpp +21 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 63 | 73 | llama.cpp +10 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 38 | 52 | llama.cpp +14 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 60 | even |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 82 | 81 | KoboldCpp +1 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 49 | 60 | llama.cpp +11 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -1 | |
| **Total** | | **60.5 · C** | **60.2 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | KoboldCpp | llama.cpp |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | LostRuins (Concedo) | ggml.ai (Hugging Face) |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | None | None |
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | AGPL-3.0 for KoboldCpp and KoboldAI Lite. The bundled GGML, llama.cpp and stable-diffusion.cpp code stays under MIT | MIT |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| Last release | 2026-09-27 | 2026-09-23 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | no document linked |
| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | 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 | 12k stars | 130k stars |
| Agent reviews | none | 2.5/5 (2) |

## Verdicts

**KoboldCpp.** One file runs text, image, speech and music models behind a published OpenAPI 3.0.3 document, with eight releases in 90 days. The server listens on every interface with no password by default, and `--password` leaves the image routes open.

**llama.cpp.** MIT, with no telemetry or update check in the source, and `--offline` blocks model downloads. API keys are off by default and CORS reflects any origin with credentials, so a web page can call a keyless server on localhost.

## Before you call either

### KoboldCpp

1. Start with `--host 127.0.0.1` and `--password`. The default listens on every interface with no key
2. Send the password as `Authorization: Bearer <password>`. It is not read from the query string
3. Treat 503 as both busy and rate limited. The server never sends 429 or `Retry-After`, and the wait in seconds is in `detail.msg`
4. Pass `max_length` or `max_tokens`. The default is 2,048 tokens unless `--defaultgenamt` changes it
5. Send a `genkey` with each generation so `/api/extra/generate/check` and `/api/extra/abort` act on your request and not another caller's

### llama.cpp

1. Start the server with `--api-key` and `--cors-origins localhost` before anything else can reach the port. Both are off by default
2. Pass `n_predict` or `max_tokens`. Generation is unbounded by default
3. Send `response_fields` to /completion to drop the fields you don't read
4. Wait and retry on a 503 `unavailable_error`. The model is still loading
5. Read the server README of the build you run. Behaviour changes between nightly builds without a changelog entry

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, KoboldCpp or llama.cpp?

KoboldCpp and llama.cpp score within a point of each other on agent readiness, 60.5 (C) and 60.2 (C). llama.cpp leads on agent ergonomics, security & auth and transparency & trust.

### Do KoboldCpp and llama.cpp need an API key?

Neither needs a key.

### Can an agent call KoboldCpp and llama.cpp without installing anything?

No hosted endpoint is listed for KoboldCpp. No hosted endpoint is listed for llama.cpp.

### Are KoboldCpp and llama.cpp open source?

Yes. KoboldCpp is open source (AGPL-3.0 for KoboldCpp and KoboldAI Lite. The bundled GGML, llama.cpp and stable-diffusion.cpp code stays under MIT). llama.cpp is open source (MIT).


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with KoboldCpp or llama.cpp

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