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OpenRouter 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
Both have one
Public API
Both have one
Best fit
OpenRouter: Developers comparing or switching between many models from one codebase · Portkey: Teams calling several LLM providers who want a single API with fallbacks and caching
Trust score
About even — OpenRouter 87, Portkey 91
Status
Both up at our last check (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

OpenRouterSingle OpenAI-compatible API and credit balance for 500+ models from 80+ providers, with fallbacks and routing rules.PortkeyAI gateway that routes requests to 1,600+ models through one API, with caching, fallbacks, guardrails and observability.

Side by side

FactOpenRouterPortkey
CategoryAI Gateways & RoutingAI Gateways & Routing
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemium
Starts at—$49/mo
Public APIYesYes
Trust score87 / 10091 / 100
PlatformsWeb, APIWeb, API
CompanyOpenRouter, Inc.Palo Alto Networks
Launched20232023
Last verifiedOct 2, 2026Oct 2, 2026

What our research says

OpenRouter

OpenRouter is the practical default for developers who want to try or mix many models without opening an account with every lab, and who value automatic fallback when a provider goes down. High-volume teams already on direct contracts with one or two labs will mostly be paying the platform fee for convenience they do not need.

Pros

  • 500+ models behind one OpenAI-compatible API
  • Automatic fallback across providers and routing by price or latency
  • Data-policy routing to keep prompts away from providers you do not trust
  • Free tier with 25+ free models for experimenting

Cons

  • Platform fee of 5.5 to 8% on top of model prices
  • Free tier is limited to 50 requests per day
  • Adds another party between your app and the model provider

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 OpenRouter if you need

  • Developers comparing or switching between many models from one codebase
  • Apps that need provider fallback for uptime
  • Small teams that want one bill instead of a dozen provider accounts

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

OpenRouter vs Portkey: the questions people ask

Is OpenRouter cheaper than Portkey?

Portkey starts at $49/mo. OpenRouter has a free tier; what its paid plans cost is not confirmed by us yet.

Does OpenRouter or Portkey have a free tier?

Both: OpenRouter has a free tier, and Portkey has a free tier.

Which has a public API, OpenRouter 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

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