Overview
BaseRT and PgDog are two open-source tools that serve entirely different purposes. BaseRT is a high-performance LLM runtime optimized for Apple Silicon, designed to run local models with minimal setup. PgDog is a PostgreSQL proxy that combines connection pooling, load balancing, and sharding into a single executable, enabling massive database scalability without application changes.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | BaseRT | PgDog |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Function | Fastest LLM runtime on Apple Silicon | PostgreSQL connection pooler, load balancer, sharding proxy |
| Target Platform | Apple Silicon (M-series) | Any platform with PostgreSQL |
| Installation | Single curl command | Helm, Docker, binary |
| Performance | Up to 33% faster decode, 6.4x prefill vs llama.cpp | 50K+ transactions/s per thread, 2M+ queries/s |
| Supported Models/Databases | Qwen3, Llama, Gemma, Mistral, Phi-3, Nomic BERT | Any PostgreSQL database |
| Coding Agent Integration | Built-in (pi plugin) | Not applicable |
| Connection Pooling | Not applicable | Real transaction mode, 100K+ clients |
| Load Balancing | Not applicable | Read/write split, health checks, failover |
| Sharding | Not applicable | Cross-shard transactions, replicated tables, integer PKs |
| Community | Discord | Open source, GitHub, Discord |
Pricing
Both BaseRT and PgDog are free and open source. BaseRT has no pricing information, while PgDog's development is backed by a $5.5M seed round, ensuring ongoing improvements.
Pros and Cons
BaseRT
Pros:
- Fastest LLM runtime on Apple Silicon
- Simple one-command installation
- Built-in coding agent support
- Supports popular open-source models
Cons:
- Limited to Apple Silicon hardware
- No database features
- Smaller ecosystem
PgDog
Pros:
- Three tools in one (pooling, balancing, sharding)
- No app changes required
- High performance and ACID compliance
- Active development with funding
Cons:
- Only works with PostgreSQL
- Requires configuration
- Overkill for small setups
Verdict
BaseRT is the go-to choice for developers needing the fastest local LLM inference on Apple Silicon, especially for coding agents. PgDog is essential for scaling PostgreSQL databases with connection pooling, load balancing, and sharding. Choose BaseRT for on-device AI, PgDog for database scalability.