If you're building with AI, you've probably hit this wall: you need GPT for general tasks, Claude for coding, Gemini for long documents, and DeepSeek for cheap inference. That's four API keys, four billing accounts, and four different SDKs.
AI API gateways solve this by giving you a single endpoint that routes to hundreds of models. OpenRouter is the most well-known, but it's not the only option — and depending on your needs, it might not be the best one either.
I tested 7 AI API gateways over the past month. Here's what I found.
What to Look For in an AI API Gateway
Before diving in, here's what actually matters:
- Model count — How many models can you access?
- Pricing — What's the markup over official API prices?
- Latency — Does the gateway add noticeable delay?
- API compatibility — Does it work as a drop-in replacement for OpenAI's API?
- Reliability — Uptime, error rates, fallback handling
- Extra features — Caching, logging, rate limiting, self-hosting support
The 7 Best OpenRouter Alternatives
1. OpenRouter (The Benchmark)
Website: openrouter.ai
OpenRouter is the default choice for most developers. It aggregates models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, and dozens of other providers into a single OpenAI-compatible API.
Pros:
- Largest model selection (300+ models)
- Well-documented API
- Active community and Discord
- Free tier available for some models
- OAuth support for user-facing apps
Cons:
- Pricing markup can be significant (10-30% over official prices on popular models)
- Rate limiting on free tier is aggressive
- No self-hosting option
- Occasional routing delays during peak hours
Best for: Developers who want maximum model variety and don't mind paying a premium for convenience.
Pricing: Pay-per-token with variable markup per model. No monthly subscription required.
2. Crazyrouter
Website: crazyrouter.com
Crazyrouter is a newer entrant that's been gaining traction, especially among cost-conscious developers. It offers 300+ models through a unified OpenAI-compatible API, but at significantly lower prices than most competitors.
Pros:
- 300+ models (comparable to OpenRouter)
- Prices are roughly 55% of official API rates — consistently cheaper than OpenRouter
- Full OpenAI SDK compatibility (drop-in replacement)
- Low latency with regional routing (nodes in Asia, US, Europe)
- Works well with self-hosted tools like OpenClaw, LobeChat, and NextChat
- Direct access from regions where official APIs are restricted
Cons:
- Smaller community compared to OpenRouter
- Dashboard is functional but not as polished
- Newer platform, less track record
Best for: Developers who want OpenRouter-level model access at roughly half the cost. Particularly strong for teams in Asia-Pacific.
Pricing: Pay-per-token, ~55% of official rates. No minimum spend.
3. Portkey
Website: portkey.ai
Portkey positions itself as a "production stack for AI" rather than just a gateway. It's focused on enterprise use cases: observability, guardrails, governance, and prompt management.
Pros:
- Enterprise-grade observability and logging
- Built-in guardrails and content filtering
- Automatic fallback between providers
- LLM caching to reduce costs
- SOC 2 compliant
Cons:
- More complex setup than simple gateways
- Free tier is limited (10K requests/month)
- Overkill for simple projects
- Higher learning curve
Best for: Enterprise teams running AI in production who need observability, compliance, and governance.
Pricing: Free tier (10K requests), Pro from $49/month, Enterprise custom pricing.
4. LiteLLM (Open Source)
Website: github.com/BerriAI/litellm
LiteLLM is the go-to open-source solution. It's a Python proxy that unifies 100+ LLM providers behind a single OpenAI-compatible API. You self-host it.
Pros:
- Completely free and open source
- 100+ model providers supported
- OpenAI-compatible API
- Built-in cost tracking and budgeting
- Active development and community
- Full control over your data
Cons:
- Requires self-hosting (you manage the infrastructure)
- Setup is more involved than hosted services
- No built-in model routing intelligence
- Performance depends on your infrastructure
Best for: Developers who want full control, don't want to pay gateway fees, and are comfortable with self-hosting.
Pricing: Free (self-hosted). Cloud version available with additional features.
5. Helicone
Website: helicone.ai
Helicone started as an observability platform for LLMs and has evolved into a gateway with strong analytics capabilities.
Pros:
- Excellent request logging and analytics dashboard
- One-line integration (just change the base URL)
- Built-in caching (reduces costs and latency)
- Rate limiting and user management
- Open source core
Cons:
- Not a full model aggregator — you still need your own API keys for each provider
- Gateway functionality is secondary to observability
- Doesn't solve the multi-key management problem
Best for: Teams that already have API keys from providers but want observability, caching, and analytics.
Pricing: Free tier (100K requests/month), Pro from $20/month.
6. Martian
Website: withmartian.com
Martian focuses on intelligent model routing — automatically selecting the cheapest or fastest model that can handle your specific request.
Pros:
- Smart routing based on query complexity
- Can significantly reduce costs by using cheaper models when possible
- Simple API integration
Cons:
- Limited model selection compared to OpenRouter/Crazyrouter
- Routing decisions aren't always transparent
- Newer platform, smaller user base
- Documentation could be more comprehensive
Best for: Developers who want to optimize cost/performance automatically without manually choosing models.
Pricing: Pay-per-token with additional routing fee.
7. Unify AI
Website: unify.ai
Unify takes a benchmark-driven approach: it tests models on specific tasks and routes your requests to the optimal model based on quality, speed, and cost.
Pros:
- Benchmark-based model selection
- Quality/speed/cost optimization per request
- Clean API design
- Good documentation
Cons:
- Smaller model catalog
- Benchmark data may not reflect your specific use case
- Less community support
- Limited provider coverage outside major models
Best for: Developers who want data-driven model selection and are willing to trade provider variety for optimization.
Pricing: Free tier available, pay-per-token for production use.
Comparison Table
| Feature | OpenRouter | Crazyrouter | Portkey | LiteLLM | Helicone | Martian | Unify AI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Models | 300+ | 300+ | 200+ | 100+ | BYOK | 50+ | 80+ |
| Pricing vs Official | 1.1-1.3x | ~0.55x | Varies | Free | BYOK | ~1.1x | ~1.0x |
| OpenAI Compatible | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Self-Host Option | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Smart Routing | Basic | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Observability | Basic | Basic | ✅✅ | Basic | ✅✅ | Basic | ✅ |
| Free Tier | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Best For | Variety | Cost | Enterprise | Control | Analytics | Optimization | Benchmarks |
(BYOK = Bring Your Own Key — you provide API keys from each provider)
Which One Should You Choose?
"I want the most models at the lowest cost"
→ Crazyrouter. Similar model count to OpenRouter, but roughly half the price.
"I need enterprise-grade observability and compliance"
→ Portkey. Built for production AI workloads with SOC 2 compliance.
"I want full control and don't want to pay gateway fees"
→ LiteLLM. Open source, self-hosted, completely free.
"I want to automatically optimize cost vs. quality"
→ Martian or Unify AI. Both offer intelligent routing, with different approaches.
"I already have API keys and just want analytics"
→ Helicone. Best-in-class observability without switching providers.
"I want the safest, most established option"
→ OpenRouter. Largest community, most documentation, widest adoption.
Quick Setup: Using Any Gateway with the OpenAI SDK
All of these gateways are OpenAI-compatible, so switching is trivial:
from openai import OpenAI
# Just change these two lines to switch gateways
client = OpenAI(
api_key="your-gateway-key",
base_url="https://your-gateway.com/v1" # OpenRouter, Crazyrouter, etc.
)
response = client.chat.completions.create(
model="claude-sonnet-4-20250514",
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Hello!"}]
)
That's it. Your existing code works with any of them. If you want to understand how different models handle structured responses, see Structured Output & JSON Mode Guide.
How to Migrate from OpenRouter (2-Minute Guide)
Switching from OpenRouter to any alternative is a two-line code change:
from openai import OpenAI
# Before (OpenRouter)
client = OpenAI(
api_key="sk-or-xxx",
base_url="https://openrouter.ai/api/v1"
)
# After (e.g., Crazyrouter)
client = OpenAI(
api_key="sk-cr-xxx",
base_url="https://crazyrouter.com/v1"
)
# Everything else stays exactly the same
response = client.chat.completions.create(
model="claude-sonnet-4-20250514",
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Hello!"}]
)
No SDK changes, no code refactoring. Just swap the base URL and API key.
For a deeper dive on reducing your AI API bills, check out this complete guide to AI API cost optimization.
Further Reading
If you're evaluating AI API gateways, these guides might help:
- AI API Latency Optimization: 10 Proven Strategies — Make your AI apps faster
- AI API Load Balancing & Fallback Strategies — Build resilient AI applications
- Context Window & Token Limits Explained — Understand every model's limits
- Structured Output & JSON Mode Guide — Get reliable AI responses
- GPT-5 Mini Complete Guide — OpenAI's most cost-effective model
FAQ
Q: Is OpenRouter free to use?
A: OpenRouter offers a free tier with limited rate limits and access to some free models. For production use, you pay per token with a 10-30% markup over official API prices.
Q: What is the cheapest OpenRouter alternative?
A: Crazyrouter currently offers the lowest pricing at roughly 55% of official API rates. LiteLLM is free if you self-host, but you pay for your own infrastructure.
Q: Can I use multiple AI API gateways at the same time?
A: Yes. Since all major gateways use the OpenAI-compatible API format, you can set up fallback routing between them. For example, use Crazyrouter as primary and OpenRouter as fallback.
Q: Do AI API gateways add latency?
A: Most gateways add 10-50ms of overhead. For latency-sensitive applications, check out AI API latency optimization strategies.
Q: Which OpenRouter alternative is best for enterprise use?
A: Portkey is the strongest enterprise option with SOC 2 compliance, guardrails, and governance features. For teams that need self-hosting, LiteLLM is the go-to choice.
What gateway are you using? Hit the comments and let me know what's working for you.
Top comments (0)