BiWu.AiOpenRouter Alternatives: LLM Gateways and How They Charge
OpenRouter gives you many models behind one API and charges 5.5% when you buy credits. If you want an OpenRouter alternative, the options fall into four groups: other managed gateways, self-hosted proxies, cloud platforms with many models, and single inference providers.
The main cost difference is how each one makes money: a fee on credits, a markup on tokens, a subscription for logs and features, or nothing extra when you self-host.
Prices checked Oct 10, 2026
Alternatives listed
12
OpenRouter fee
5.5%
On credit purchases
Self-hosted option
LiteLLM
Free, open source
OpenRouter alternatives compared
Pricing models as stated on each official site. Links are in the sources below.
| Service | Type | How it charges |
|---|---|---|
| OpenRouter | Managed multi-provider router | No token markup; 5.5% fee on credits (8% Business), 5% crypto |
| Vercel AI Gateway | Managed multi-provider gateway | No markup or platform fee on tokens; prepaid credits at provider list price, card fees passed on |
| Cloudflare AI Gateway | Gateway in front of provider APIs | Core features free; unified billing adds 5% on credits, inference passed through without markup |
| LiteLLM | Open-source, self-hosted proxy | Free and MIT-licensed; enterprise tier on request |
| Requesty | Managed multi-provider gateway | 5% on top of model cost; free tier of 200 requests a day on free models |
| Portkey | Gateway and control panel (open-source gateway available) | Free developer tier; Production $49/month with 100k logs |
| Eden AI | Managed multi-provider gateway | No markup on provider prices; 5.5% platform fee when buying credits |
| Helicone | Observability platform with a gateway | Free Hobby tier; Pro $79/month, Team $799/month plus usage |
| Amazon Bedrock | Cloud platform with many model providers | Per-token prices per model and region; batch 50% cheaper for some models |
| Microsoft Foundry | Cloud platform with many model providers | Platform free; each model and feature billed at its own rate |
| Google Cloud (Vertex AI, now the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform) | Cloud platform with Gemini and partner models | Per-token prices per model; only successful requests are charged |
| Together AI | Single inference provider (mainly open models) | Per-token prices set by Together for each model |
| Groq | Single inference provider (fast inference) | Per-token prices per model; free and developer plans |
How to choose
- Lowest overhead on paid models: gateways that pass through provider list prices without a token markup, or calling official APIs directly.
- Full control and no third-party fee: self-host an open-source proxy such as LiteLLM and use your own provider keys.
- Enterprise contracts and data residency: the large cloud platforms (Bedrock, Foundry, Google Cloud) bill through your existing cloud account.
- Open models at low prices: single inference providers such as Together AI or Groq, which you can also reach through most gateways.
FAQ
What is the best OpenRouter alternative?
It depends on what you need: Vercel AI Gateway and Cloudflare AI Gateway pass through provider prices, LiteLLM is free if you self-host, and cloud platforms such as Amazon Bedrock suit companies already on that cloud.
Is there a free OpenRouter alternative?
LiteLLM is open source and free to self-host. Cloudflare AI Gateway's core features are free, and several gateways have free tiers with limits.
Do OpenRouter alternatives charge a markup?
Some do and some don't. Requesty adds 5% to model cost; Vercel AI Gateway says it has no markup or platform fee on tokens; Eden AI and OpenRouter charge a fee when you buy credits instead.
Sources
- OpenRouter pricing (checked Oct 10, 2026)
- Vercel AI Gateway pricing (checked Oct 10, 2026)
- Cloudflare AI Gateway pricing (checked Oct 10, 2026)
- LiteLLM pricing (checked Oct 10, 2026)
- Requesty pricing (checked Oct 10, 2026)
- Portkey pricing (checked Oct 10, 2026)
- Eden AI pricing (checked Oct 10, 2026)
- Helicone pricing (checked Oct 10, 2026)
- Amazon Bedrock pricing (checked Oct 10, 2026)
- Microsoft Foundry pricing (checked Oct 10, 2026)
- Google Cloud (Vertex AI, now the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform) pricing (checked Oct 10, 2026)
- Together AI pricing (checked Oct 10, 2026)
- Groq pricing (checked Oct 10, 2026)
Related pricing
BiWu.Ai is not affiliated with any of these services and does not sell API access. Pricing models can change; check each official pricing page before you choose.