Runtime comparison - verified
Ollama vs vLLM
Ollama and vLLM (vLLM project), compared field by field from their official docs as of October 18, 2026. Their docs differ on 5 feature points, listed below; the table also shows versions, install methods and links.
Key differences
- License: Ollama uses MIT; vLLM uses Apache-2.0.
- Interface: Ollama lists Desktop app and vLLM does not; vLLM lists Python library and Ollama does not.
- Platforms: Ollama lists Windows and vLLM does not.
- Backends: Ollama lists Vulkan and vLLM does not; vLLM lists TPU, NPU and Other and Ollama does not.
- MCP client: Ollama does not state it in its docs; vLLM documents it.
Generated from the fields below that differ. Versions, dates and links are left to the table.
Side by side
Every field we track, with the source linked on each value. Rows marked Differs are where the two runtimes' docs differ.
| Field | Ollama | vLLM |
|---|---|---|
| VendorDiffers | Ollama | vLLM project |
| LicenseDiffers | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Latest releaseDiffers | v0.40.6 | v0.31.0 |
| Release dateDiffers | October 16, 2026 | October 5, 2026 |
| InterfaceDiffers | CLI, Server, Desktop app, Docker | CLI, Server, Python library, Docker |
| PlatformsDiffers | macOS, Windows, Linux | Linux, macOS |
| BackendsDiffers | CPU, CUDA, ROCm, Metal, Vulkan | CUDA, ROCm, CPU, TPU, Metal, NPU, Other |
| Model formats | GGUF, Safetensors | Safetensors, GGUF |
| OpenAI-compatible API | Yeshttp://localhost:11434/v1 | Yeshttp://localhost:8000/v1 (server starts at http://localhost:8000 by default; change with --host and --port) |
| Anthropic-compatible API | Yes | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured outputs | Yes | Yes |
| Vision (image input) | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-GPU | Yes | Yes |
| MCP clientDiffers | Not stated | Yes |
| Install methods listedDiffers | macOS; Windows; Linux; Docker (CPU only) | linux (NVIDIA CUDA); linux (AMD ROCm); Google TPU; docker (CUDA 13.0) |
| Run exampleDiffers | ollama run gemma4 | vllm serve Qwen/Qwen2.5-1.5B-Instruct |
| Audience, per the vendorDiffers | Developers who want to download and run open models from the command line, with a local REST API on port 11434 and built-in launchers for coding agents such as Claude Code and Codex. | A high-throughput, memory-efficient inference and serving engine for LLMs, used to serve models over an OpenAI-compatible HTTP server or run offline batch inference in Python, mainly on Linux GPU and accelerator hardware. |
| HomepageDiffers | ollama.com | docs.vllm.ai |
| Source repositoryDiffers | github.com/ollama/ollama | github.com/vllm-project/vllm |
Install both
Copied verbatim from the page linked under each command.
Ollama
Docker (CPU only)
docker run -d -v ollama:/root/.ollama -p 11434:11434 --name ollama ollama/ollamaSource: docs.ollama.com/docker
vLLM
linux (NVIDIA CUDA)
uv pip install vllm --torch-backend=autolinux (AMD ROCm)
uv pip install vllm --extra-index-url https://wheels.vllm.ai/rocm/docker (CUDA 13.0)
docker pull vllm/vllm-openai:v0.31.0FAQ
What is the difference between Ollama and vLLM?
Going by their official docs: License: Ollama uses MIT; vLLM uses Apache-2.0. Interface: Ollama lists Desktop app and vLLM does not; vLLM lists Python library and Ollama does not. Platforms: Ollama lists Windows and vLLM does not. Backends: Ollama lists Vulkan and vLLM does not; vLLM lists TPU, NPU and Other and Ollama does not. The table lists 1 more.
Do Ollama and vLLM both have an OpenAI-compatible API?
Ollama: yes. http://localhost:11434/v1. vLLM: yes. http://localhost:8000/v1 (server starts at http://localhost:8000 by default; change with --host and --port).
Which platforms do Ollama and vLLM run on?
Ollama: macOS, Windows, Linux. vLLM: Linux, macOS. Both list macOS and Linux.
Are Ollama and vLLM open source?
Ollama is open source (MIT). vLLM is open source (Apache-2.0).
Do Ollama and vLLM support tool calling and MCP?
Tool calling: Ollama yes, vLLM yes. MCP client: Ollama not stated, vLLM yes. "Not stated" means the docs do not say.
What are the latest versions of Ollama and vLLM?
As of October 18, 2026: Ollama v0.40.6 (October 16, 2026) and vLLM v0.31.0 (October 5, 2026).
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