Apigee alternatives: the best AI gateway options for 2026

Apigee is a capable API management platform, and Google has added AI gateway features on top of it: model routing, token-based rate limiting, content moderation, and analytics. But Apigee was built to manage REST APIs, and teams shipping LLMs and agents keep running into the same gap. They want something AI-native, with first-class support for many model providers, MCP-based tool governance, and deployment inside their own VPC. That is why teams look for an Apigee alternative.

This guide compares the strongest options and explains where each one fits. We start with TrueFoundry, which we build, and which we think is the best overall choice for production LLM and agent workloads. Everything here is drawn from public documentation as of mid-2026, so verify current details before you commit.

What to look for in an Apigee alternative

AI-native routing. One API in front of many LLM providers, with fallbacks and load balancing designed for models, not just HTTP endpoints.
MCP and agent governance. Tool-level access control for agents, not only request-level API policies.
Deployment control. The ability to run in your own VPC or on-prem so prompts and data never leave your domain.
Observability built for LLMs. Token cost, latency percentiles, and tool-level metrics, not generic API dashboards.
Compliance. SOC 2, HIPAA, and GDPR support with SSO, RBAC, and audit logging.

The best Apigee alternatives

1. TrueFoundry: best overall

TrueFoundry is an AI-native gateway built for exactly the workloads Apigee retrofits for. Instead of adding LLM features to an API manager, the AI Gateway treats models, agents, and MCP tools as first-class citizens, and it runs in your own infrastructure.

Where it pulls ahead of Apigee for AI teams:

1,000+ LLMs through one OpenAI-compatible API. Switch models by changing the model name in the request, same URL and credentials.
Full VPC, on-prem, air-gapped, or hybrid deployment. No request data leaves your domain, which is the reason regulated teams pick it over managed API platforms.
Native MCP gateway. The MCP Gateway gives agents governed, tool-level access with OAuth, pre and post-tool guardrails, and a full audit trail. Apigee governs APIs; TrueFoundry governs agent tool calls.
Deep LLM observability. A built-in metrics dashboard tracks token cost, latency percentiles (TTFT, ITL, P99), and per-tool MCP metrics, and it is OpenTelemetry-compliant.
Performance that stays out of the hot path. Roughly 3 to 4 ms of overhead at 350+ RPS on a single vCPU.
Enterprise compliance. SOC 2, HIPAA, and GDPR support with SSO, RBAC, SCIM, and immutable audit logs.

Pros: AI-native, self-hosted in your VPC, MCP and agent governance, model deployment and gateway in one control plane.
Cons: More platform than a team needs for a simple side project.
Best for: enterprises running LLMs and agents in production that want AI-native routing and governance in their own infrastructure.
Pricing: enterprise pricing based on deployment and scale.

Explore the TrueFoundry AI Gateway or book a demo.

2. LiteLLM

LiteLLM is an open-source proxy and Python SDK that puts one OpenAI-compatible endpoint in front of 100+ providers and 2,500+ models. It is the fastest way to stop writing provider-specific code, and the proxy adds routing, load balancing, spend tracking, and virtual keys. Most of it is MIT-licensed, with SSO and RBAC in a commercial tier.

Best for: developers who want maximum provider coverage and a self-hosted proxy with no per-request fee.
Pricing: open source; commercial tier for enterprise governance.

3. Portkey

Portkey is an AI gateway that leads with observability and guardrails. It routes to a large model catalog, ships 50+ guardrails, and includes an MCP gateway. The open-source gateway is Apache 2.0; hosted plans start at $49 per month and meter recorded logs.

Best for: teams that want observability and guardrails as a product rather than a build-it-yourself project.
Pricing: free open source, $49/mo hosted, custom enterprise.

4. Kong AI Gateway

Kong added open-source AI plugins to its Nginx-based API gateway, so LLM calls become just another Kong service and inherit its 1,000+ plugins for auth, rate limiting, and traffic control. This is a natural fit if Kong is already your API layer, less so if you are starting fresh for AI.

Best for: platform teams already standardized on Kong Gateway.
Pricing: AI plugins are open source; Kong platform tiers for enterprise.

5. Cloudflare AI Gateway

Cloudflare AI Gateway sits at the edge and focuses on caching, rate limiting, and analytics in front of model providers. It is easy to adopt if you already run on Cloudflare and want a lightweight layer, though it is lighter on agent and MCP governance than a full platform.

Best for: teams on Cloudflare wanting a simple caching and analytics layer.
Pricing: usage-based, with a free tier.

Apigee vs the alternatives: comparison

Capability	TrueFoundry	Apigee	LiteLLM	Portkey	Kong
AI-native design	Yes	API manager + AI features	Yes	Yes	AI plugins on API gateway
LLM coverage	1,000+ via unified API	Multiple via routing	100+ providers	1,600+	Multiple via AI Proxy
MCP / agent governance	Native, tool-level	Limited	Limited	MCP gateway	Not a native focus
VPC / on-prem	Yes, no data egress	Managed (Google Cloud)	Self-host	Hosted or self-host	Self-host
LLM observability	Built-in, per-tool	API-style analytics	Via integrations	Observability-first	Via Kong plugins
Compliance	SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR	Enterprise (GCP)	Commercial tier	Enterprise tier	Kong enterprise