Best LLM Gateway Software in 2026
Updated
In short: Bifrost is ranked #1 of 33 as of 7 October 2026, ahead of Routerly and YoloRouter. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Routerly. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Requesty at $5/mo.
An LLM gateway sits between applications and language-model providers, so routing and administration are useful points to compare. Check provider count and self-hosted deployment, then weigh fallback routing, budget controls, usage analytics, and virtual API keys against your development needs. Bifrost, Routerly, and YoloRouter are among the options shown. Free-plan availability and paid-from pricing add cost context. Consider which combination of provider access, usage visibility, and controls fits the way you plan to connect models in your workflow.
33 LLM gateway software ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
15 of the 25 here have a free tier you can use, 0 have open-source code on record, and 0 have full bars: free, open, on most of your devices and documented.
| # | App | Signal | Free tier | Open code | Devices | From | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BifrostWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Three bars | — | 4 of 6 | Free | 6.6 | |
| 2 | RouterlyWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Three bars | — | 4 of 6 | Free | 6.6 | |
| 3 | YoloRouterWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Three bars | — | 4 of 6 | Free | 6.6 | |
| 4 | Kong GatewayWeb · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 2 of 6 | Free | 6.5 | |
| 5 | HeliconeWeb · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | $79/mo | 6.4 | |
| 6 | LangSmithWeb · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | $39/mo | 6.4 | |
| 7 | LiteLLMWeb · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | Free | 6.4 | |
| 8 | ManifestWeb · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | $19/mo | 6.4 | |
| 9 | OpenRouterWeb · API | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | Free | 6.4 | |
| 10 | RequestyWeb · API | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | $5/mo | 6.4 | |
| 11 | TrueFoundry AI GatewayWeb · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | $25/mo | 6.4 | |
| 12 | Tyk AI Studio ProxyWeb · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | Free | 6.4 | |
| 13 | VercelWeb · API | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | $20/mo | 6.4 | |
| 14 | Apache APISIXLinux · Self-hosted · API | One bar | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.4 |
| 15 | Prisma AIRS AI GatewayWeb · Self-hosted · API | One bar | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.4 |
| 16 | TensorZeroWeb · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 2 of 6 | Free | 5.4 | |
| 17 | Inference GatewayWindows · Mac · Linux | One bar | — | — | 3 of 6 | — | 5.3 |
| 18 | Martian GatewayWeb · API | One bar | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.3 |
| 19 | OpenZiti LLM GatewayWindows · Mac · Linux | One bar | — | — | 3 of 6 | — | 5.3 |
| 20 | Cloudflare AI GatewayWeb | No signal | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 21 | CortecsWeb | No signal | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 22 | LLM GatewayWeb · Linux · Self-hosted · API | One bar | — | 2 of 6 | Free | 5.2 | |
| 23 | PolyrouterWeb | No signal | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 24 | UniterRouterWeb | No signal | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 25 | vLLM Semantic RouterMac · Linux | No signal | — | — | 2 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
Compare all 25 in a table
| # | App | Score | Free plan | From | Free plan | Paid from | Provider count | Fallback routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bifrost | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | Yes |
| 2 | Routerly | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | Yes |
| 3 | YoloRouter | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | Yes |
| 4 | Kong Gateway | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | No | — | — | Yes |
| 5 | Helicone | 6.4 | Free plan | $79/mo | Yes | 79 /mo | — | — |
| 6 | LangSmith | 6.4 | Free plan | $39/mo | Yes | — | — | — |
| 7 | LiteLLM | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | Yes |
| 8 | Manifest | 6.4 | Free plan | $19/mo | Yes | 19 /mo | — | Yes |
| 9 | OpenRouter | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | 80 | Yes |
| 10 | Requesty | 6.4 | Free plan | $5/mo | Yes | — | 20 | Yes |
| 11 | TrueFoundry AI Gateway | 6.4 | Free plan | $25/mo | Yes | — | — | Yes |
| 12 | Tyk AI Studio Proxy | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | Yes |
| 13 | Vercel | 6.4 | Free plan | $20/mo | Yes | — | — | — |
| 14 | Apache APISIX | 5.4 | No | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| 15 | Prisma AIRS AI Gateway | 5.4 | No | — | — | — | — | — |
| 16 | TensorZero | 5.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | Yes |
| 17 | Inference Gateway | 5.3 | No | — | Yes | — | — | No |
| 18 | Martian Gateway | 5.3 | No | — | — | — | — | — |
| 19 | OpenZiti LLM Gateway | 5.3 | No | — | — | — | — | Yes |
| 20 | Cloudflare AI Gateway | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | — | — | Yes |
| 21 | Cortecs | 5.2 | No | — | — | — | 10 | Yes |
| 22 | LLM Gateway | 5.2 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | Yes |
| 23 | Polyrouter | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | — | — | Yes |
| 24 | UniterRouter | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | 50 /mo | — | Yes |
| 25 | vLLM Semantic Router | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | — | — | No |
Is your app on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored, and a sponsored row is labelled as paid.
Questions about this list
Which LLM gateway software is ranked first on Freedom251?
Bifrost is ranked #1 of 33 with a score of 6.6. Routerly is second and YoloRouter third.
How many of these have a free plan?
15 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, Requesty has the lowest first paid tier we found: $5/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked free-and-open first: a usable free tier and open-source code, then the platforms it runs on and its documentation.