aicoolies logo
KTransformers parent kvcache-ai logo
KTransformers parent kvcache-ai logo

KTransformers

Heterogeneous CPU-GPU inference and SFT for large MoE models

open sourceupdated Aug 14, 2026

Open-source framework for running and fine-tuning large Mixture-of-Experts models with heterogeneous CPU-GPU execution, optimized kernels, limited VRAM and SGLang or LLaMA-Factory integrations.

KTransformers is an open-source framework for efficient inference and supervised fine-tuning of large language models through heterogeneous CPU-GPU computing. Its current project presents two first-class paths: kt-kernel inference and SFT through a LLaMA-Factory integration. The inference path uses CPU-optimized AMX, AVX512 or AVX2 kernels, quantization and heterogeneous expert placement so hot experts can remain on GPU while colder experts use CPU memory; it also documents a Python API and SGLang integration for serving. The SFT path targets very large Mixture-of-Experts models with CPU-GPU hybrid training, quantization and LoRA-style workflows on constrained accelerator memory. Model support, kernel availability and performance depend strongly on the processor instruction set, GPU, quantization, model architecture and release. Speedup and memory claims in the repository are maintainer benchmarks for named setups and should not be generalized without local testing. KTransformers is best for experienced teams optimizing large MoE inference or fine-tuning on mixed hardware; users seeking a turnkey managed endpoint or broad plug-and-play local runtime may prefer a higher-level platform.

Pricing

Free and open source under Apache-2.0. Users pay for their own CPU, GPU, memory, storage and operations; no hosted KTransformers subscription or public software price table was verified on 2026-08-13.

Platforms

Python-based CPU-GPU heterogeneous framework with kt-kernel inference, AMX/AVX acceleration, quantized MoE execution, SGLang serving integration and LLaMA-Factory SFT workflows. Current verified release: v0.6.4.

Categories

Tags

Use Cases

SGLang logo

SGLang

Fast serving framework for LLMs and vision models

SGLang is an open-source serving framework for large language and vision-language models, designed for low latency and high throughput. It features RadixAttention for automatic KV cache reuse, compressed finite state machines for fast structured output generation, continuous batching, and tensor parallelism. With over 25,000 GitHub stars, it supports models like LLaMA, Mistral, Qwen, and Gemma on NVIDIA and AMD GPUs.

Open Source
vLLM logo

vLLM

High-throughput LLM serving engine

vLLM is an Apache-2.0 LLM inference and serving engine focused on high-throughput self-hosted model APIs. It combines PagedAttention, continuous batching, prefix caching, quantization options, OpenAI-compatible serving, structured outputs, metrics, Docker/Kubernetes deployment guidance and integrations with agent and LLM frameworks.

Open Source
LMDeploy logo

LMDeploy

Open-source toolkit for quantizing, deploying, and serving LLMs and vision-language models

LMDeploy is an Apache-2.0 toolkit for self-hosting LLM and vision-language model inference with TurboMind and PyTorch engines. It combines continuous batching, blocked KV cache, tensor parallelism, AWQ and KV-cache quantization with OpenAI-compatible APIs, multi-GPU distribution, offline pipelines, and production metrics.

Open Source
Ollama logo

Ollama

Run LLMs locally with one command

Tool for running large language models locally on your machine with a simple CLI interface. Download and run Llama 3, Mistral, Gemma, Phi, Code Llama, and dozens of other open-source models with a single command. Features model management, GPU acceleration (NVIDIA/AMD/Apple Silicon), OpenAI-compatible API server, Modelfile for customization, and multi-model switching. Ideal for offline AI development, privacy-sensitive use cases, and local testing. 120K+ GitHub stars.

Open Source
NVIDIA logo

TensorRT-LLM

NVIDIA's LLM inference optimization and acceleration library

TensorRT-LLM is NVIDIA's open-source library for optimizing LLM inference on NVIDIA GPUs. It provides kernel fusion, quantization (FP8, INT4, INT8), KV cache optimization, and in-flight batching to maximize throughput. Supports multi-GPU and multi-node setups with tensor and pipeline parallelism, and integrates with Triton Inference Server for production deployment of models like LLaMA, GPT, Mistral, and Qwen.

Open Source

Related Tools

computed discovery: shared active categories · kept separate from editor-verified Alternatives

vLLM Production Stack parent vLLM logo

vLLM Production Stack

Official Kubernetes and Helm reference stack built on the vLLM inference engine

Official vLLM reference implementation for scaling the existing inference engine on Kubernetes with Helm, request routing, KV-cache offload, autoscaling and Prometheus/Grafana observability.

Open Source
Dynamo logo

NVIDIA Dynamo

Distributed inference orchestration above vLLM, SGLang and TensorRT-LLM

Open-source, datacenter-scale orchestration layer that coordinates vLLM, SGLang and TensorRT-LLM across nodes with disaggregated serving, KV-aware routing, multi-tier cache management and automatic scaling.

Open Source
GPUStack logo

GPUStack

Open-source GPU control plane for scalable AI model serving

Open-source GPU cluster manager that configures vLLM, SGLang, TensorRT-LLM or custom engines, serves models through compatible APIs, and provisions SSH-accessible GPU instances across on-premises, Kubernetes and cloud environments.

Open Source
Mooncake logo

Mooncake

Disaggregated KV cache storage and transfer for LLM serving

Open-source infrastructure for disaggregated LLM serving that pools KV caches across prefill and decode workers, with high-performance transfer, distributed storage and integrations for vLLM and SGLang.

Open Source
LMCache logo

LMCache

Reusable KV cache infrastructure for scalable LLM inference

Open-source KV cache management layer that persists, offloads and reuses model key-value caches across requests and serving engines to reduce repeated prefill work and improve inference throughput.

Open Source
AIBrix logo

AIBrix

Cloud-native control plane for scalable GenAI inference

Open-source Kubernetes-native building blocks for deploying, routing and scaling GenAI inference, including an LLM gateway, autoscaling, LoRA management and KV-cache offloading.

Open Source

FAQ

What is KTransformers?

Open-source framework for running and fine-tuning large Mixture-of-Experts models with heterogeneous CPU-GPU execution, optimized kernels, limited VRAM and SGLang or LLaMA-Factory integrations.

Is KTransformers free?

Yes — KTransformers is open source and free to use. Free and open source under Apache-2.0. Users pay for their own CPU, GPU, memory, storage and operations; no hosted KTransformers subscription or public software price table was verified on 2026-08-13.

Is KTransformers open source?

Yes — KTransformers is open source.

What are the best KTransformers alternatives?

The top editor-verified KTransformers alternatives are SGLang, vLLM, LMDeploy, and more.