The goal of this study is to investigate different hardening routes for 316L stainless steel by laser surface alloying. We have investigated the formation of iron-chromium carbides by SiC or carbon incorporation, the alloying with submicronic particles of TIC and the precipitation of titanium carbide from mixtures of Ti and SiC. For each hardening route we present the microstructures and the hardness of the processed surface alloys and the conditions leading to the best compromise between highest hardness, best homogeneity and lowest occurrence of cracks. From these results it can be reasoned that hardening by iron-chromium carbides is the best hardening route and that this surface alloy might be a good candidate for tribological applications.