OpenRouter alternatives (2026): one API key, many models, compared
thecontinuitylayer.com/tools/routersIf the 5.5% top-up fee is the only thing bothering you, Vercel AI Gateway and Kilo Gateway pass through provider prices with no markup. If you want to own the router, LiteLLM is free to self-host; if you need logging and guardrails in front of your own keys, Cloudflare AI Gateway is free and Portkey is the paid step up.
These OpenRouter alternatives give you one API key for many AI models, and they differ on fees, model lists and what they keep. OpenRouter itself is listed first as the baseline to compare against. Some entries are hosted services; others are open-source gateways you run yourself.
8 entries · Last reviewed 31 October 2026 · US dollars · No affiliate links
Compared at a glance
Prices and fees are the ones each vendor published on the day in the table; check the vendor before buying. Fees read from each vendor's own page on 2 November 2026; 8 of 8 carried a figure that day. Where a vendor showed none, the cell says “not published”.
| Tool | Best for | Fees | Verdict | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenRouterRouter | One key for most models | 5.5% fee on credit purchases (5% by crypto); no markup stated | The baseline: the widest model list and the simplest bill, at a 5.5% fee on every top-up. | openrouter.ai ↗ |
| RequestyRouter | OpenRouter-style with spend controls | 5% markup on provider rates | A near drop-in for OpenRouter with routing and spend controls, at a similar cut. | requesty.ai ↗ |
| Kilo GatewayRouter | Provider prices, coding agents | No markup on model prices; Kilo Pass from $19/month | Provider list prices with no markup, best if you already use Kilo Code. | kilo.ai ↗ |
| Eden AIRouter | LLMs plus OCR, speech, translation | 5.5% platform fee on credit purchases; no markup | The pick when you need more than text models behind one API; otherwise a plainer router is cheaper. | edenai.co ↗ |
| LiteLLMGateway | Run your own router, no fee | Free to self-host; enterprise priced by quote | The standard self-hosted gateway: no per-request fee, but you run and maintain the server. | litellm.ai ↗ |
| PortkeyGateway | Logging, guardrails, prompts | Free to 10,000 logs/month; $49/month for 100,000 | The gateway to pick for production logging and guardrails; hobby use outgrows the free tier fast. | portkey.ai ↗ |
| Vercel AI GatewayGateway | Vercel apps, provider prices | No markup or platform fee on tokens | No markup and a free tier on some models, strongest if your app already lives on Vercel. | vercel.com ↗ |
| Cloudflare AI GatewayGateway | Caching and logs over your own keys | Core features free; 5% fee on Unified Billing credits; no markup | Free caching, logs and spend limits in front of keys you already hold; not a model catalog. | developers.cloudflare.com ↗ |
Every routers entry
Router · OpenRouter
OpenRouter
- Fees
- 5.5% fee on credit purchases; model prices passed through at provider rates
- Routes to
- 600+ models from 80+ providers behind one OpenAI-compatible API (vendor figures)
Anyone who wants one key and one bill for most popular and open models
Router · Requesty
Requesty
- Fees
- 5% added to model cost on pay-as-you-go
- Routes to
- 600+ models from many providers through one OpenAI-compatible endpoint (vendor figure)
Builders who want an OpenRouter-style router with routing and spend controls
Router · Kilo Code
Kilo Gateway
- Fees
- No markup on model prices; 5% processing fee on card credit purchases; optional Kilo Pass at $19, $49 or $199/month
- Routes to
- 500+ models from 60+ providers on one pay-as-you-go bill (vendor figure)
Developers, especially Kilo Code users, who want provider prices with no markup
Router · Eden AI
Eden AI
- Fees
- 5.5% platform fee on credit purchases; model prices passed through with no markup
- Routes to
- About 1,000 models from 80+ providers, including OCR, translation and audio as well as LLMs (vendor figure)
Builders who need LLMs plus other AI services (OCR, speech, translation) behind one API
Gateway · BerriAI
LiteLLM
- Fees
- Free and open source (MIT) to self-host; you pay providers directly; enterprise annual license is custom-priced
- Routes to
- 100+ LLM providers through one OpenAI-compatible proxy (pricing page; homepage says 140+)
Developers and teams who want to run their own router with no per-request fee
Gateway · Portkey
Portkey
- Fees
- Open-source gateway free to self-host; hosted plan free for 10,000 logs/month; Production $49/month for 100,000 logs
- Routes to
- Routes to 1,600+ models (GitHub repo figure) across many providers
Teams that want a gateway with logging, guardrails and prompt management
Gateway · Vercel
Vercel AI Gateway
- Fees
- No markup or platform fee on tokens, including bring your own key; $5/month free credit on eligible models
- Routes to
- Hundreds of models from 20+ providers through one endpoint
Web developers, especially on Vercel, who want provider prices with no markup
Gateway · Cloudflare
Cloudflare AI Gateway
- Fees
- Core features free on all plans; 5% fee on credits bought through Unified Billing; no token markup
- Routes to
- Proxies 20+ AI providers and Workers AI with caching, rate limits and logs
Developers who already use their own provider keys and want caching, logs and spend limits for free
Questions people ask
- Is OpenRouter cheaper than going to each provider directly?
- No. OpenRouter passes model prices through at provider rates and adds a 5.5% fee when you buy credits, so each token costs slightly more than buying it direct. What you save is accounts and keys: one bill and one API for hundreds of models. The no-markup gateways in this table remove that fee.
- What is the difference between a router and a gateway?
- A hosted router such as OpenRouter sells you the tokens: you pay it, and it pays the providers. A gateway such as LiteLLM, Portkey or Cloudflare AI Gateway sits in front of keys you already hold, adding routing, logging and limits. Several entries here do both.
- Which OpenRouter alternative has no markup?
- Vercel AI Gateway charges no markup or platform fee on tokens, Kilo Gateway lists models at provider rates, and the self-hosted gateways LiteLLM and Portkey add no fee because you pay the providers yourself. Cloudflare AI Gateway has no token markup but takes 5% on credits bought through its Unified Billing.
How we pick: a tool is listed because people use it to run open models, never because it pays. No link on this page pays us today; if that changes it will be marked here. How links work on this site. New to open models? Start with Run your own AI.