The Open Vercel AI Gateway Alternative

Compare LLM Gateway's open-source, self-hostable platform — with zero token markup, image and video generation, and built-in guardrails — against Vercel AI Gateway's managed, AI SDK-native service.

Fully Open SourceSelf-HostableZero Token MarkupNo Lock-In
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The open Vercel AI Gateway alternative

Compare LLM Gateway and Vercel AI Gateway features side by side

Why choose LLM Gateway?

Fully open source — self-host the entire platform, not just call a managed API
No ecosystem lock-in — not tied to a Vercel team account or deploy target
Image & video generation and guardrails built in
Zero markup on tokens — like Vercel — plus a flat 5% or 0% with your own keys

LLM Gateway

OPEN-SOURCE & PORTABLE

From $0

Self-host free forever

Vercel AI Gateway

MANAGED, AI SDK-NATIVE

Usage-based

Free tier, then credits

Managed cloud

Fully managed, production-ready hosted service

Self-host the platform

Run the entire stack on your own infrastructure

AGPLv3

Open-source license

What ships under an open-source license

Full platform (AGPLv3)

No ecosystem lock-in

Use it without committing to one host or framework

Tied to Vercel account

Automatic provider scoring

Routes on live uptime, throughput, price, and latency

Cost/latency/throughput

Failover & retries

Transparent retry on a healthy provider

Load balancing

Spread traffic across providers for a model

Response caching

Built-in caching for repeated requests

Redis, 10s–1yr TTL
Automatic

Bring your own keys

Use your own provider keys

0% markup
0% (paid tier)

Token markup

Extra charged on top of provider token rates

None
None

Transparent platform fee

Predictable, easy-to-reason-about pricing

5% or 0% (BYOK)
Pay-as-you-go credits

Free to start

Get going without a paid plan

Free self-host
Free tier (limited)

Model coverage

Models and providers available through one API

280+ models, 35+ providers
Hundreds, 45+ providers

Image & video generation

Generative media through the same API

Guardrails

Prompt injection, PII, jailbreak, and secret detection

Paid add-on

AI SDK integration

First-class Vercel AI SDK provider

@llmgateway/ai-sdk-provider
Default provider

API compatibility

Drop-in compatibility with existing clients

OpenAI-compatible
OpenAI + Anthropic

No credit card required • Self-host option available • Enterprise support included

FAQ

LLM Gateway vs Vercel AI Gateway

Common questions about choosing LLM Gateway over Vercel AI Gateway.

Can't find an answer? Contact us

Yes. Both pass provider token rates through with zero markup and offer automatic failover and caching. The difference is portability: LLM Gateway is fully open source (AGPLv3) and self-hostable, and it isn't tied to a Vercel team account or deploy target.