An LLM gateway is a single API endpoint in front of multiple model providers. Your application sends one request in one format; the gateway handles provider keys, routing, retries and usage records.
Why use one
Without a gateway, every provider means another account, another key and another request shape. A gateway reduces that to one base URL and one key. It also gives you a single place to see which model answered a request.
What it does not solve
A gateway does not make a weak model stronger. If a task needs a long context, tool calling or code editing, the selected model still has to support it. Routing chooses among candidates; it does not add capability.
What to check before committing
- Is the model list public, so you can verify what is callable before signing up?
- Are free and paid models clearly separated, with the fallback behavior explained?
- Does a provider failure fail over to the next candidate, or return an error to your app?
- Is the API compatible with OpenAI or Anthropic clients, so you can switch without rewriting?
- Can you see usage per key and per day?
A practical starting point
Start with a free tier and a small task, then measure what happens when the free allowance runs out. If the gateway falls through to paid capacity, set a budget first. A gateway is infrastructure: the useful test is what happens on a bad day, not what the landing page says.
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