Deeplearning4j vs tinygrad
Deeplearning4j
deeplearning4j.konduit.aitinygrad
tinygrad.orgSide by side
| Figure | Deeplearning4j | tinygrad |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Deep Learning Software | 8.7 (#4) | 7.5 (#23) |
| License | The Deeplearning4j project is licensed under Apache License 2.0. | The GitHub repository identifies the project license as MIT. |
| Purpose | Eclipse Deeplearning4j is an open-source, distributed deep learning framework for the JVM. | tinygrad is an end-to-end deep learning stack with a tensor library, compiler, JIT, and tools for training. |
Plans
In their own words
Deeplearning4j
Deeplearning4j is an open-source framework for building, training, and deploying neural networks on the JVM, using Java or Scala. It can compute on CPUs through OpenBLAS and oneDNN, or use CUDA for GPU acceleration. For distributed training, it supports Apache Spark across CPU or GPU clusters. The framework can import models from Keras, TensorFlow, and ONNX, while Python4J provides Python interoperability from Java through CPython embedding. Its wider ecosystem includes ND4J, SameDiff, DataVec, Keras Import, Python4J, OmniHub, and Arbiter. Documented deployment targets include JVM microservices, mobile devices, IoT, and Spark environments. The libraries are licensed under Apache License 2.0 and governed by the Eclipse Foundation. The quickstart recommends Maven for Java projects, with Ivy and Gradle also workable. Documentation covers version 1.0.0-M2.1. The free plan is listed at free. Support options include GitHub issues, community forums, Stack Overflow, and professional support from Konduit.
tinygrad
tinygrad is a deep learning framework for neural network training, bringing together a tensor library, compiler, JIT, and training tools. It supports forward and backward automatic differentiation, and tensor operations run lazily when a tensor is realized. Neural network classes, optimizers, and state loading and saving are included. TinyJit captures and replays kernels in a decorated function, and tensors can be distributed across multiple GPUs. Listed accelerators include OpenCL, CPU, Metal, CUDA, AMD, NV, Qualcomm, and WebGPU. The project describes use in openpilot to run a driving model on a Snapdragon 845 GPU. It supports Python and local training, with multiple deployment targets and safetensors or PyTorch weights through model-specific loaders. Installation instructions cover pip, though the project recommends installing from source. tinygrad is free under the MIT license. Its API is described as stable for a while, though the project is not yet version 1.0.