# LLM Gateway

According to OpenAITools.app telemetry verified on 2026-11-11, LLM Gateway (llmgateway.io) is an AI platform indexed under AI API generating 168.43K monthly visits with a month-over-month traffic delta of -28.46K (-14.5%). Its primary geographic market is South Korea (18.1% traffic share), and it operates on a Freemium, Contact for Pricing pricing model. Top competing alternatives by monthly volume include OpenRouter (19.94M visits/mo), LiteLLM (576.97K visits/mo), Portkey (195.65K visits/mo).

One OpenAI-compatible API to route, monitor and control 250+ LLM models

## Key Telemetry & Specifications

| Metric | Value |
| :--- | :--- |
| Tool Name | LLM Gateway |
| Handle | llm-gateway |
| Status | active |
| Origin | open_source |
| Maintenance | active |
| Official Domain | llmgateway.io |
| Website URL | https://llmgateway.io |
| Categories | AI API, AI Developer Tools, Large Language Models (LLMs), AI Models, Open Source AI Models |
| Pricing Model | Freemium, Contact for Pricing |
| Monthly Visits | 168,426 |
| MoM Traffic Change | -28,456 |
| MoM Growth Rate | -14.5% |
| Primary Market | South Korea |
| Market Share | 18.1% |
| Direct Visits | 98,622 |
| Organic Search Visits | — |
| Social Visits | — |
| Referral Visits | 15,904 |
| Email Visits | 494 |
| Review Score | 4.6 |
| Saved Count | 0 |
| Supported Platforms | Website |
| Billing Platforms |  |
| Attributes | Pricing: Freemium; Pricing: Contact for Pricing; Features: Website |
| Tags | LLM Gateway, API Management, AI Infrastructure, Open Source, Unified API, Multi-provider LLM, Usage Analytics, Performance Monitoring, API Key Management, Self-hosted, Cloud Deployment, Model Orchestration, AI Proxy, LLM Routing |

## Overview

The core problem LLM Gateway solves is provider sprawl: separate API keys, separate dashboards, and code that breaks whenever you switch models. With the gateway in place, a single request can be routed to 250+ models across 40+ providers, and switching a model is often a one-string change. It ships with an AI SDK provider plus compatibility with any OpenAI SDK, cURL or language client, and supports chat completions, responses and image generation endpoints.

Beyond routing, the gateway is a control plane. Teams get unified key management, spend caps per API key or member, automatic failover that retries on another provider within the same request when a provider errors or rate-limits, and guardrails such as prompt-injection detection and PII redaction so sensitive data can be caught before a provider sees it. A dashboard covers requests, tokens, cost per 1K tokens, latency, error rates, cache hit rates and per-model/per-provider breakdowns, with audit logs and SSO on Enterprise.

Deployment is flexible: it can be run by the vendor as managed cloud with an SLA, or self-hosted via Docker or Kubernetes on your own infrastructure, which is what makes it attractive to privacy-sensitive teams. The core gateway is open source under AGPLv3, with source-available enterprise features. The company reports SOC 2 Type II compliance, and pricing starts with a bring-your-own-keys free tier, a small markup on credit top-ups for pay-as-you-go usage, and a custom Enterprise plan.

## Pricing & Plans

LLM Gateway is freemium. Routing and analytics on your own provider keys are free forever with no credit card, pay-as-you-go credits are billed at provider list prices with a small top-up markup, the open-source core can be self-hosted at no cost, and Enterprise adds SSO, audit logs, guardrails, a 99.9% SLA and provider policy controls under a custom quote.

## Key Features & Capabilities

- **Unified OpenAI-compatible API:** Keep your existing OpenAI SDK code and change only the base URL to reach 250+ models from 40+ providers through one integration.
- **Automatic failover and routing:** If a provider errors, times out or rate-limits, the gateway can retry up to twice on another provider within the same request, so your app still gets a response.
- **Cost, latency and spend analytics:** Track requests, tokens, total spend and average cost per 1K tokens, plus per-model and per-provider breakdowns, cache hit rates and error monitoring.
- **Guardrails and key security:** Detect prompt injection, jailbreak attempts, PII, card numbers and secrets, then block, redact or warn; manage all provider keys in one scoped dashboard.
- **Self-hosted or managed deployment:** Run the AGPLv3 open-source gateway on your own Docker or Kubernetes infrastructure, or let the vendor host it as managed cloud with an SLA.

## Primary Use Cases

- **Ship multi-provider AI features (Application developer):** Avoid vendor lock-in by calling one endpoint and swapping models or providers as quality, price and availability change.
- **Control and attribute LLM spend (Platform or finance team):** Set spend caps per key and member, break costs down by project, model and provider, and catch expensive outliers before the invoice arrives.
- **Add guardrails and audit trails (Security-conscious engineering org):** Redact PII and secrets before requests reach a provider, and keep audit logs of key, role and policy changes for compliance.
- **Keep inference traffic in your own network (Self-hosting team):** Deploy the open-source gateway on your own infrastructure so prompts and responses stay under your control.

## Strengths

- One API key and one integration replace a pile of provider SDKs and dashboards
- Open-source core under AGPLv3 with a genuine self-hosting path, not just a hosted SaaS
- Depth of observability: cost, tokens, latency, errors, cache hits and per-project breakdowns
- Built-in failover and spend caps live in the gateway rather than in application code

## Limitations

- The most valuable governance features — guardrails, SSO, audit logs and provider policy routing — are Enterprise-only
- Pay-as-you-go credits carry a small markup over provider list prices, so high-volume users may prefer their own keys
- A gateway adds an extra hop and a component to operate, which is overkill for teams using a single model

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Do I have to change my application code?
Usually not. The gateway exposes an OpenAI-compatible API, so most teams keep their existing OpenAI SDK code and just change the base URL and API key.

### Which providers and models are supported?
The gateway routes to 250+ models across 40+ providers, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI, DeepSeek and others, and you can browse the full model catalog on the site.

### Can I self-host it?
Yes. The core gateway is open source under AGPLv3 and runs on your own Docker or Kubernetes infrastructure with a Helm chart; enterprise features require a license key.

### Is there a free plan?
Yes. Routing and analytics on your own provider keys are free and require no credit card, and pay-as-you-go credits are available when you would rather not manage provider keys yourself.

### What is LLM Gateway's monthly traffic and growth trend?
LLM Gateway currently receives 168.43K monthly visits, with a month-over-month traffic change of -28.46K (-14.5% growth rate). Its primary source market is South Korea (18.1% share), including 98.62K direct visits/mo and — organic search visits/mo.

### Is LLM Gateway free? What is its pricing model?
LLM Gateway operates on a Freemium, Contact for Pricing pricing model. LLM Gateway is freemium. Routing and analytics on your own provider keys are free forever with no credit card, pay-as-you-go credits are billed at provider list prices with a small top-up markup, the open-source core can be self-hosted at no cost, and Enterprise adds SSO, audit logs, guardrails, a 99.9% SLA and provider policy controls under a custom quote. Supported billing and checkout platforms include: not listed.

### What are the best LLM Gateway alternatives in 2026?
Based on OpenAITools.app category traffic and feature fit, the top five alternatives to LLM Gateway are: 1. OpenRouter (19.94M visits/mo); 2. LiteLLM (576.97K visits/mo); 3. Portkey (195.65K visits/mo); 4. OrcaRouter (975.3K visits/mo); 5. ZenMux (444.39K visits/mo).

### Which platforms and core AI capabilities does LLM Gateway support?
LLM Gateway is classified under AI API, AI Developer Tools, Large Language Models (LLMs), AI Models, supports the following platforms: Website, and its core capability tags include: LLM Gateway, API Management, AI Infrastructure, Open Source, Unified API, Multi-provider LLM.

## Alternatives

| Tool Name | Monthly Visits | Pricing Model | Compare |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| [OpenRouter](https://openaitools.app/tool/openrouter-ai) | 19,941,437 | Paid | [Compare](https://openaitools.app/compare/llm-gateway-vs-openrouter-ai) |
| [LiteLLM](https://openaitools.app/tool/litellm) | 576,967 | Freemium, Contact for Pricing | [Compare](https://openaitools.app/compare/litellm-vs-llm-gateway) |
| [Portkey](https://openaitools.app/tool/portkey-ai) | 195,650 | Freemium, Paid, Contact for Pricing | [Compare](https://openaitools.app/compare/llm-gateway-vs-portkey-ai) |
| [OrcaRouter](https://openaitools.app/tool/orcarouter) | 975,300 | Freemium | [Compare](https://openaitools.app/compare/llm-gateway-vs-orcarouter) |
| [ZenMux](https://openaitools.app/tool/zenmux) | 444,394 | Freemium, Paid | [Compare](https://openaitools.app/compare/llm-gateway-vs-zenmux) |
| [Helicone](https://openaitools.app/tool/helicone-ai) | 57,187 | Freemium, Free Trial, Paid, Contact for Pricing, Free | [Compare](https://openaitools.app/compare/helicone-ai-vs-llm-gateway) |
| [Manifest](https://openaitools.app/tool/manifest) | 54,135 | Free | [Compare](https://openaitools.app/compare/llm-gateway-vs-manifest) |
| [APIPark](https://openaitools.app/tool/apipark) | 30,742 | Freemium, Contact for Pricing | [Compare](https://openaitools.app/compare/apipark-vs-llm-gateway) |
| [Respan](https://openaitools.app/tool/respan) | 91,503 | Freemium | [Compare](https://openaitools.app/compare/llm-gateway-vs-respan) |
| [Eden AI](https://openaitools.app/tool/eden-ai) | 173,828 | Paid, Contact for Pricing | [Compare](https://openaitools.app/compare/eden-ai-vs-llm-gateway) |
| [AiHubMix](https://openaitools.app/tool/aihubmix) | 238,455 | Contact for Pricing | [Compare](https://openaitools.app/compare/aihubmix-vs-llm-gateway) |

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Source: https://openaitools.app/tool/llm-gateway