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Bifrost AI Gateway vs LiteLLM

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
Both have one
Public API
Both have one
Higher Trust score
LiteLLM — 87 vs 82 for Bifrost AI Gateway
Best fit
Bifrost AI Gateway: Platform teams that want one internal endpoint for many model providers · LiteLLM: Platform teams giving many internal developers governed access to several LLM vendors
Platforms
Bifrost AI Gateway: Linux, macOS, Windows · LiteLLM: Linux

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

Bifrost AI GatewayOpen-source Go gateway that fronts many LLM providers with one OpenAI-compatible API, fallbacks, budgets and an MCP gateway.LiteLLMOpen-source gateway and Python SDK that put 100+ LLM providers behind one OpenAI-style API, with keys, budgets and spend tracking.

Side by side

FactBifrost AI GatewayLiteLLM
CategoryAI Gateways & RoutingAI Gateways & Routing
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemium
Public APIYesYes
Trust score82 / 10087 / 100
PlatformsAPI, Linux, macOS, WindowsLinux, API
CompanyH3 Labs Inc (Maxim AI)Berri AI (LiteLLM)
Launched20252023
Last verifiedOct 2, 2026Oct 2, 2026

What our research says

Bifrost AI Gateway

Bifrost is a credible open-source option when you want to centralise provider keys, fallbacks and spend limits without writing your own proxy. The vendor's headline speed comparison with LiteLLM comes from its own benchmark, so test it on your own traffic before treating it as settled.

Pros

  • Drop-in: change the base URL of an existing SDK client
  • Automatic provider fallback, semantic caching and virtual-key budgets in the free edition
  • Includes an MCP gateway for agent tool access
  • Apache-2.0 licensed with active commits

Cons

  • Guardrails, cluster mode, adaptive load balancing and SSO are enterprise-only
  • Enterprise pricing is not published
  • The enterprise trial is by request access rather than self-serve signup

LiteLLM

LiteLLM is the default pick for a platform team that wants one OpenAI-compatible door to many model vendors, with per-team budgets and keys, without paying a hosted router a margin. The SDK is just as useful to a single developer who wants to swap providers with a one-line change. Running the gateway reliably, including its database and scaling, is your job, and the governance features that large companies ask for sit behind the Enterprise licence.

Pros

  • One OpenAI-style interface to 100+ providers, in an SDK and a self-hosted proxy
  • Virtual keys, spend tracking by key, user and team, budgets and rate limits in the free gateway
  • Retry and fallback routing across deployments, plus MCP and agent gateways
  • Self-hosted, so traffic and keys stay in your own environment

Cons

  • You run and scale the proxy yourself, including its database and upgrades
  • SSO, SCIM, audit logs and SLAs require the Enterprise licence, priced only by quote
  • The unified format can lag behind provider-specific features on new models

Which one fits

Choose Bifrost AI Gateway if you need

  • Platform teams that want one internal endpoint for many model providers
  • Companies that need budgets and virtual keys per team or project
  • Self-hosted setups that must run inside a VPC or on-premise

Choose LiteLLM if you need

  • Platform teams giving many internal developers governed access to several LLM vendors
  • Developers who want to switch or fall back between model providers without rewriting code
  • Organisations that must keep prompts and keys inside their own infrastructure

Bifrost AI Gateway vs LiteLLM: the questions people ask

Does Bifrost AI Gateway or LiteLLM have a free tier?

Both: Bifrost AI Gateway has a free tier, and LiteLLM has a free tier.

Which has a public API, Bifrost AI Gateway or LiteLLM?

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 Bifrost AI Gateway alternatives →All LiteLLM alternatives →Browse all AI Gateways & Routing →