vLLM Pricing

open sourceopen source · Apache 2.0last verified August 26, 2026official site ↗

Plan	Price	Notes
Open Sourceofficial source ↗	$0checked 2026-08-26	100% free and open-source software under Apache 2.0 license, self-hosted on user infrastructure

structured from cited official pricing sources: “vLLM is a 100% free and open-source LLM inference and serving engine released under the Apache 2.0 license ($0). There are no software licenses or subscription fees; operational costs depend solely on the user's underlying GPU compute and infrastructure.”

Self-hosting cost

vLLM is open source under the Apache 2.0 license. Self-hosting does not add a software license fee, but you still pay for infrastructure, operations, and any external model or API usage.

Free & cheaper Model Providers

same category, free plan or open-source license

ClaudeFree tier with core Claude access. Paid subscription plans include Claude Pro at $20/month ($17/month billed annually), Claude Max 5x at $100/month for 5x Pro usage limits, Claude Max 20x at $200/month for heavy agentic coding and power workflows, and Claude Team at $30/user/month ($25/user/month billed annually, 5-seat minimum). Enterprise tier provides custom scalable pricing, SAML SSO, and SCIM provisioning.CerebrasCerebras delivers high-throughput inference powered by its Wafer-Scale Engine (CS-3). It offers a free tier with $5 trial credits, a Developer pay-as-you-go tier with 10x rate limits and per-token pricing starting at $0.10/1M tokens, and custom Enterprise agreements with dedicated wafer hardware and guaranteed SLAs.ChatGPTChatGPT plans (vendor_documented, as-of 2026-09-14): Free; Go (~$8/mo US); Plus $20/mo; Pro from $100/mo (5×) and $200/mo (20×—new $200 sign-ups paused as of 2026-09-10); Business Standard $25/user/mo or $20/user/mo annual (Premium seats $125/$100 annual); Enterprise custom. Product URL: chatgpt.com. Former “Team” plan is now Business. Confirm geo-localized Go/Plus/Pro card amounts on https://chatgpt.com/pricing/.GroqGroq offers ultra-fast LPU inference for open-source AI models. It features a free prototyping tier with zero credit card required, pay-as-you-go developer pricing from $0.05/1M tokens with 50% prompt caching and batch discounts, and dedicated Enterprise LPU capacity.

vLLM overview →alternatives →review: 91/100 →

FAQ

How much does vLLM cost?

vLLM is a 100% free and open-source LLM inference and serving engine released under the Apache 2.0 license ($0). There are no software licenses or subscription fees; operational costs depend solely on the user's underlying GPU compute and infrastructure.

Does vLLM have a free plan?

Yes — vLLM is open source and free to use.

Can you self-host vLLM for free?

vLLM is open source under the Apache 2.0 license. Self-hosting does not add a software license fee, but you still pay for infrastructure, operations, and any external model or API usage.

What are free or cheaper vLLM alternatives?

Claude, Cerebras, ChatGPT are in the same category with a free plan or open-source license.

pricing is editorial catalog data (last verified August 26, 2026) — vendors change plans; confirm on the official site before you buy. Reuse this data under CC-BY 4.0 via /data.