At a glance
| GPTCache | MorrowCache | |
|---|---|---|
| Form | Python library (optional server image) | Local proxy: npx or Docker |
| Languages | Python in-process; others via its server | Any client that can set an OpenAI base URL |
| Hit decision | Embedding search, then an evaluator against similarity_threshold (default 0.8) | Exact hash, then a shortlist an LLM judge must admit |
| Storage | Pluggable: SQLite, MySQL, Postgres and vector stores such as Milvus or FAISS | SQLite via Node's built-in node:sqlite, one process |
| Freshness | Eviction policies you configure; no time-sensitivity check documented | Time-sensitive questions refused; TTL by freshness class |
| Tool calls | Not covered in its docs | Responses with tool_calls are never stored |
| Agent retries | Not a documented feature | Turn cache: same prior turns plus same-intent latest ask |
| Extra cost per check | Local embedding | A judge call (about $0.00002 with the cloud judge) or a local judge |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Release activity | Last tagged release 0.1.44, August 2024 | 2.0.2, November 2026 |
Where GPTCache wins
- It runs in your Python process, so a hit costs a local embedding and a vector lookup, not a network call.
- Storage and embedding backends are pluggable, including vector databases that scale past one machine.
- It has a larger community, about 8,000 GitHub stars, and years of examples.
- With no judge, there is no per-check model cost.
Where MorrowCache wins
- It does not need to live in your code. Point any OpenAI-compatible client at
http://127.0.0.1:8080/v1: Node, Python, Go, curl or a coding agent. - Similarity only proposes candidates. A judge decides whether two prompts ask the same thing, which is aimed at the near-miss problem that Thoughtworks flagged as false positives during cache hits.
- It refuses time-sensitive questions and never replays tool calls.
- It handles agent retries and streams a stored final answer.
Verdict
Pick GPTCache if you are in Python, want everything in-process and are comfortable tuning a similarity threshold. Pick MorrowCache if you want a drop-in proxy for any client, or your traffic includes agents and tool calls where a wrong hit is expensive. For the background, read where semantic caches go wrong.
FAQ
- Is there a GPTCache alternative for Node.js or any language?
- MorrowCache runs as a local HTTP proxy that speaks the OpenAI Chat Completions API, so any language or SDK that lets you set a base URL can use it. GPTCache is a Python library.
- Is GPTCache still maintained?
- Its last tagged release is 0.1.44 from August 2024, and its README says it is no longer adding new API or model adapters. The repository has still received commits since then.