# OpenRouter vs Vercel AI Gateway

**Leader by Vioscale score:** OpenRouter

| Attribute | OpenRouter | Vercel AI Gateway |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 79.8 (36% (low)) | 42.1 (41% (low)) |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true}` | `{"cloud":true}` |
| description.long | 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. | A unified API gateway that routes requests across multiple AI providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, SpaceXAI, Gemini, and others), providing automatic failover, intelligent routing based on cost and latency, and consolidated billing with zero platform fees. |
| 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,"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":false,"pricing_model":"usage-based-saas","deployment_model":"managed-SaaS","routing_strategy":"custom","streaming_support":true,"automatic_failover":true,"budget_spend_controls":true,"openai_compatible_api":true,"virtual_key_management":true,"request_cost_observability":true}` |
| integrations.count | 80 | 7 |
| 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":"Anthropic"},{"name":"SpaceXAI"},{"name":"Google Gemini"},{"name":"Cohere"},{"name":"AssistLoop"},{"name":"Vercel AI SDK"}]` |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"hybrid","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Free","summary":"Free tier, 50 requests/day, no card required","features":["25+ free models","4 free providers","Chat and API access","Community support"],"description":"Evaluation tier with limited access to test the platform","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"models":"25+ free models","providers":"4 free providers","rate_limit":"50 requests/day"}},{"free":false,"name":"Pay-as-you-go","summary":"5.5% platform fee on model usage, fee discounts available","features":["500+ models from 80+ providers","Automatic fallback routing","Activity logs and export","Auto-routing and preferred vendor selection","Budgets and spend controls","Prompt caching","Management API key","Email support","No minimum spend"],"components":[{"of":"usage","kind":"percentage","rate":5.5}],"description":"Usage-based pricing scaled by model and tokens consumed","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"models":"500+ models","providers":"80+ providers"}},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","summary":"$25k/month list price inference with no fees, then 5% on overage","features":["500+ models, 80+ providers","Custom data policies and model/provider routing policies","Managed policy enforcement","SSO/SAML authentication","Contractual SLAs","Support SLA with shared Slack channel","High global rate limits","Optional dedicated limits","Invoicing options","Volume commitment pricing"],"commitment":"annual","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":25000,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},{"of":"usage","kind":"percentage","rate":5}],"description":"Volume-based commitment with dedicated support and custom policies","contactSales":true,"includedLimits":{"free_inference_value":"$25,000 list price/month"}}],"summary":"Free tier available. Pay-as-you-go at 5.5% platform fee. Enterprise from $25k/month.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://openrouter.ai/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-08-21T13:44:21.104Z","billingPeriods":["month","year"]}` | `{"type":"usage","summary":"Usage-based pricing with no platform markup; invoicing available with no payment processing fees","currency":"USD","sourceUrl":"https://vercel.com/docs/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-08-21T11:08:31.437Z","billingPeriods":["month"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | - |
| pricing.model | freemium | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | low | unknown |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| security.gdpr | yes | - |
| security.hipaa | - | yes |

## Capabilities (Llm Gateways)

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

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T16:30:50.583Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*