comparison architecture

VoidLLM vs LiteLLM: Honest Comparison

· 3 min read

If you’re evaluating LLM gateways, you’ve probably looked at LiteLLM. It’s the most popular option - 100+ providers, big community, used by Stripe and Netflix. We built VoidLLM with different priorities. Here’s an honest look at both.

What VoidLLM brings to the table

Privacy by architecture. VoidLLM never stores, logs, or persists any prompt or response content. Not as a config option - there’s no content logging code to disable. If GDPR compliance or data sovereignty is a hard requirement, this is the difference between “we turned off logging” and “logging doesn’t exist.” Read more in Zero-Knowledge by Architecture.

Single binary, no runtime. One Go binary (~25MB) with the admin UI embedded. No Python, no pip, no virtualenv, no dependency conflicts. Download, configure, run.

Performance. Under 500 microseconds of proxy overhead at 2000 RPS. Go + Fiber (fasthttp) keeps memory usage low and startup instant.

Built-in UI. A full admin dashboard ships inside the binary - key management, usage tracking, model configuration, playground, team management. Not a separate service to deploy.

MCP Gateway. VoidLLM doubles as an MCP gateway with scoped access control (per-org, per-team) and Code Mode for multi-tool orchestration in a WASM sandbox.

RBAC from the start. Org/team/user/key hierarchy with four roles. Rate limits, token budgets, and model access control at every level. Most-restrictive-wins inheritance.

Load balancing. Multi-deployment models with round-robin, least-latency, weighted, and priority routing. Automatic failover with per-deployment circuit breakers.

Where LiteLLM is ahead

Provider coverage. 100+ providers out of the box - Bedrock, VertexAI, Cohere, and dozens more. VoidLLM supports 6 (OpenAI, Anthropic, Azure, Ollama, vLLM, custom). If you need native integration with a niche provider, LiteLLM has more ground covered.

Community size. Thousands of users, extensive documentation, large contributor base. VoidLLM is new - our docs are solid but our community is just getting started.

Python SDK. If your stack is Python-native and you want a library you can import directly, LiteLLM’s SDK is a natural fit. VoidLLM is a standalone proxy - you point your SDK at it.

Observability integrations. LiteLLM connects to Langfuse, Lunary, MLflow, and others for request-level observability. VoidLLM tracks usage metadata but deliberately avoids content-level logging.

At a glance

VoidLLMLiteLLM
LanguageGoPython
Proxy overhead< 500us P50~8ms P95
Providers6100+
Content loggingNever (by design)Optional (multiple backends)
DeploymentSingle binaryPython runtime + deps
Admin UIEmbedded in binarySeparate service
MCP GatewayBuilt-in + Code ModeRecent addition
RBACOrg/team/user/keyVirtual keys
Load balancing4 strategies + failoverRetry/fallback
Pro$49/moOn request
Enterprise$149/moOn request
LicenseBSL 1.1MIT

How to think about it

If you need 30+ LLM providers and want a Python-native SDK with a large community, LiteLLM covers more ground.

If you care about privacy by design, want minimal operational overhead, need sub-millisecond proxy performance, or want an integrated MCP gateway - VoidLLM was built for that.

💡Switching is easy

Both proxies are OpenAI-compatible. Switching from LiteLLM to VoidLLM (or back) is a base URL change - your application code stays the same.

They solve overlapping problems with different priorities. Pick the one that matches yours.

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