Skip to content
effecthub

APIMaster vs Portkey

Two fact sheets from our own research, side by side — pricing, platforms, API access and status re-checked by us rather than quoted from the vendors.

The short answer

Free plan
Only Portkey (APIMaster has paid plans only)
Public API
Both have one
Higher Trust score
Portkey — 91 vs 69 for APIMaster
Best fit
APIMaster: indie developers and small teams optimizing LLM API costs · Portkey: Teams calling several LLM providers who want a single API with fallbacks and caching
Status
Both up at our last check — APIMaster Sep 1, 2026, Portkey Oct 2, 2026

From our own records as of each tool's last check. Anything we have not confirmed is left out rather than guessed. How we verify

APIMasterPay-as-you-go gateway that resells GPT, Claude, and DeepSeek access through one OpenAI-compatible API.PortkeyAI gateway that routes requests to 1,600+ models through one API, with caching, fallbacks, guardrails and observability.

Side by side

FactAPIMasterPortkey
CategoryAI Gateways & RoutingAI Gateways & Routing
Pricing modelPaidFreemium
Starts at—$49/mo
Public APIYesYes
Trust score69 / 10091 / 100
PlatformsAPIWeb, API
CompanyAPIMaster.AIPalo Alto Networks
Launched20262023
Last verifiedSep 1, 2026Oct 2, 2026

What our research says

APIMaster

APIMaster sits in front of GPT, Claude, and DeepSeek and claims to route each call to the cheapest verified provider, which can meaningfully cut API spend for teams already paying full price. Ownership is anonymous, the domain is only months old, and payment runs through crypto or Epay rather than a card, so it carries more counterparty risk than a first-party API key.

Pros

  • Single endpoint covers multiple model providers with OpenAI-compatible calls
  • Automatic failover between providers if one channel goes down
  • Claims substantial discounts against official per-token pricing across GPT, Claude, and DeepSeek

Cons

  • No company name, founders, or address are disclosed anywhere on the site
  • Payment is crypto (USDT) or Epay only, not a standard card
  • Domain registration is only months old with privacy-protected ownership, so there is no track record to check

Portkey

Portkey is a mature way to put one gateway in front of many model providers, with failover, caching and logging included. It suits teams running LLM apps in production that want cost and reliability controls without writing them. The acquisition by a security vendor is likely to steer the roadmap toward enterprise governance, so small teams should watch pricing and packaging.

Pros

  • Open-source MIT-licensed gateway that can be self-hosted
  • Routing, fallbacks, load balancing and semantic caching in one place
  • Free developer tier and a $49 production tier with published overage pricing
  • Observability, guardrails and prompt management on the same platform

Cons

  • The free tier is limited to 10,000 logs and is not meant for production
  • Brand and packaging are shifting under Palo Alto Networks' Prisma AIRS
  • Advanced governance, SSO and VPC hosting need the Enterprise plan

Which one fits

Choose APIMaster if you need

  • indie developers and small teams optimizing LLM API costs
  • projects already built against the OpenAI SDK format
  • users comfortable prepaying a balance instead of per-call card billing

Choose Portkey if you need

  • Teams calling several LLM providers who want a single API with fallbacks and caching
  • Platform teams that need guardrails, logs and access control around model usage

APIMaster vs Portkey: the questions people ask

Is APIMaster cheaper than Portkey?

Portkey starts at $49/mo. An entry price for APIMaster is not confirmed by us yet, so check its pricing page before you compare.

Does APIMaster or Portkey have a free tier?

Portkey has a free tier; APIMaster has paid plans only.

Which has a public API, APIMaster or Portkey?

Both ship a public API, so either can be built on; the fact table above shows the platforms each one runs on.

More comparisons

All APIMaster alternatives →Browse all AI Gateways & Routing →