# OpenRouter vs TensorZero

| Attribute | OpenRouter | TensorZero |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 66.6 (34% (low)) | 56.2 (48% (low)) |
| adoption.dependent_repos | - | 0 |
| adoption.github_stars | - | 11,707 |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"OpenRouter aggregates 500+ language models from 80+ providers through a single, OpenAI-compatible API interface. It offers automatic fallback routing, cost control, usage analytics, and data policy management for teams deploying AI applications at scale. It is indexed under Llm Gateways.","source":"https://openrouter.ai","question":"What is OpenRouter?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"OpenRouter offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Paid plans are also available: Free, Pay-as-you-go and Enterprise. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://openrouter.ai/pricing","question":"Is OpenRouter free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"OpenRouter supports the web and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://openrouter.ai","question":"What platforms does OpenRouter support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for OpenRouter, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://openrouter.ai","question":"Can OpenRouter be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 10 integrations for OpenRouter, including Vercel AI SDK, Claude Code, Cursor, OpenAI SDK, Anthropic, Google, Meta and Mistral, plus 2 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://openrouter.ai","question":"What does OpenRouter integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed GDPR for OpenRouter. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as OpenRouter not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://openrouter.ai/privacy","question":"What security certifications does OpenRouter have?","confidence":0.7}]` | `[{"answer":"A unified operations platform for LLM applications that provides infrastructure for routing API calls, tracking performance metrics, running experiments, and optimizing model and prompt configurations. Built as self-hosted open-source software designed for production-scale deployments. It is indexed under Llm Gateways.","source":"https://www.tensorzero.com","question":"What is TensorZero?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"TensorZero is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the Apache-2.0 licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://www.tensorzero.com","question":"Is TensorZero free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to TensorZero. That is the extent of what we could verify from public sources, so it may well offer desktop or mobile clients we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.tensorzero.com","question":"What platforms does TensorZero support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. TensorZero can be deployed self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://www.tensorzero.com","question":"Can TensorZero be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 3 integrations for TensorZero, including OpenAI, Ollama and Slack. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.tensorzero.com","question":"What does TensorZero integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. TensorZero is published under the Apache-2.0 licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/tensorzero/tensorzero","question":"Is TensorZero open source?","confidence":0.95}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true}` | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | OpenRouter provides a unified, OpenAI-compatible API that consolidates access to over 500 language models from 80+ providers. It features automatic failover for reliability, cost-optimized routing, transparent provider pricing with modest platform fees, and support for multiple deployment and authentication methods. | A self-hosted platform that combines deployment, monitoring, evaluation, and optimization for language model applications. It enables teams to manage multiple model providers through a single interface, measure performance across different configurations, and automatically improve routing strategies and prompts. |
| features.capabilities | `{"caching":"exact","open_source":true,"pricing_model":"usage-based-saas","rate_limiting":true,"deployment_model":"managed-SaaS","routing_strategy":"cost-based","streaming_support":true,"architecture_model":"managed_cloud_saas","automatic_failover":true,"budget_spend_controls":true,"openai_compatible_api":true,"virtual_key_management":true,"request_cost_observability":true,"bring_your_own_keys_byok_routing":true,"custom_rate_limiting_by_user_or_tenant_id":true,"streaming_token_support_server_sent_events":true,"universal_api_key_for_100_plus_llm_providers":true,"zero_data_retention_and_prompt_logging_opt_out":true,"auto_fallback_routing_on_rate_limit_or_downtime":true,"organization_wide_cost_tracking_and_chargebacks":true,"semantic_caching_for_repeat_queries_and_cost_savings":false}` | `{"open_source":true,"pricing_model":"open-source-self-host","deployment_model":"self-hosted","automatic_failover":true,"openai_compatible_api":true,"virtual_key_management":true,"request_cost_observability":true}` |
| integrations.count | 80 | 4 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Vercel AI SDK"},{"name":"Claude Code"},{"name":"Cursor"},{"name":"OpenAI SDK"},{"name":"OpenAI"},{"name":"Anthropic"},{"name":"Google"},{"name":"Meta"},{"name":"Mistral"},{"name":"Model Context Protocol (MCP)"},{"name":"Terraform"}]` | `[{"name":"OpenAI"},{"name":"Ollama"},{"name":"Slack"},{"name":"Teams","category":"chat"}]` |
| language.primary | - | Rust |
| license.spdx | - | Apache-2.0 |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | - |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` | `{"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"hybrid","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Free","summary":"Free, 50 requests/day","features":["Chat and API access","25+ free models","4 free providers","50 requests/day rate limit","Community support"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":0,"currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"models":"25+","providers":"4","requests_per_day":"50"}},{"free":false,"name":"Standard","summary":"5.5% platform fee on provider pricing","features":["Pay-as-you-go usage billing","500+ models","80+ providers","Email support","Budgets and spend controls","Activity logs and export","Auto-routing and vendor selection"],"components":[{"kind":"percentage","rate":5.5}],"contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Business","summary":"Custom pricing with volume discounts","features":["Fee discounts available","500+ models","80+ providers","Custom rate limits","Invoicing options"],"contactSales":true},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","summary":"Custom enterprise pricing and support","features":["Custom pricing","500+ models","80+ providers","Dedicated support team","Contractual SLAs","SSO/SAML","Custom rate limits"],"contactSales":true}],"summary":"Free tier with 50 requests/day, or pay-as-you-go at 5.5% markup","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://openrouter.ai/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-10-02T10:53:56.899Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","sourceUrl":"https://www.tensorzero.com","retrievedAt":"2026-09-14T09:27:44.874Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | freemium | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | low | free |
| pricing.transparent | yes | - |
| release.cadence_days | - | 6 |
| release.history | - | `[{"url":"https://github.com/tensorzero/tensorzero/releases/tag/2026.6.0","date":"2026-06-04T15:15:42Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.6.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/tensorzero/tensorzero/releases/tag/2026.5.2","date":"2026-05-20T13:48:00Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.5.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/tensorzero/tensorzero/releases/tag/2026.5.1","date":"2026-05-15T19:09:30Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.5.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/tensorzero/tensorzero/releases/tag/2026.5.0","date":"2026-05-08T20:45:55Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.5.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/tensorzero/tensorzero/releases/tag/2026.4.1","date":"2026-04-24T17:46:47Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.4.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/tensorzero/tensorzero/releases/tag/2026.4.0","date":"2026-04-02T17:00:15Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.4.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/tensorzero/tensorzero/releases/tag/2026.3.4","date":"2026-03-26T14:27:42Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.3.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/tensorzero/tensorzero/releases/tag/2026.3.3","date":"2026-03-18T16:23:28Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.3.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/tensorzero/tensorzero/releases/tag/2026.3.2","date":"2026-03-13T16:09:19Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.3.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/tensorzero/tensorzero/releases/tag/2026.3.1","date":"2026-03-05T22:13:25Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.3.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/tensorzero/tensorzero/releases/tag/2026.3.0","date":"2026-03-04T20:40:09Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/tensorzero/tensorzero/releases/tag/2026.2.2","date":"2026-02-26T18:47:41Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.2.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/tensorzero/tensorzero/releases/tag/2026.2.1","date":"2026-02-16T21:54:07Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.2.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/tensorzero/tensorzero/releases/tag/2026.2.0","date":"2026-02-05T19:42:51Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/tensorzero/tensorzero/releases/tag/2026.1.8","date":"2026-01-30T22:37:46Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.1.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/tensorzero/tensorzero/releases/tag/2026.1.7","date":"2026-01-30T19:29:46Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.1.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/tensorzero/tensorzero/releases/tag/2026.1.6","date":"2026-01-30T17:42:01Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.1.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/tensorzero/tensorzero/releases/tag/2026.1.5","date":"2026-01-24T17:25:58Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.1.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/tensorzero/tensorzero/releases/tag/2026.1.2","date":"2026-01-15T19:33:47Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.1.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/tensorzero/tensorzero/releases/tag/2026.1.1","date":"2026-01-14T18:46:55Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.1.1"}]` |
| security.gdpr | yes | - |
| security.trust_center | https://openrouter.ai/privacy | - |
| security.vulnerabilities | - | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=tensorzero&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Llm Gateways)

| Capability | OpenRouter | TensorZero |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Capabilities** |  |  |
| Openai compatible API | ✓ | ✓ |
| Automatic failover | ✓ | ✓ |
| Routing strategy | Cost based | - |
| Caching | Exact | - |
| Virtual key management | ✓ | ✓ |
| Budget spend controls | ✓ | - |
| Rate limiting | ✓ | - |
| Guardrails moderation | - | - |
| Request cost observability | ✓ | ✓ |
| Streaming support | ✓ | - |
| Deployment model | Managed SaaS | Self hosted |
| Open source | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pricing model | Usage based saas | Open source self host |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T19:14:21.322Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*