2026 comparison

RouterPlus vs LiteLLM

LiteLLM is an open-source gateway you deploy and run yourself, in front of provider accounts you bring. RouterPlus is hosted: one key for every catalog model at each provider's price, with reserved capacity and sourced providers when you scale.

LiteLLM

// self-hosted proxy
const client = new OpenAI({
  baseURL: "http://localhost:4000",
  apiKey: process.env.LITELLM_API_KEY,
});

RouterPlus

// hosted, one key
const client = new OpenAI({
  baseURL: "https://api.routerplus.com/v1",
  apiKey: process.env.ROUTERPLUS_API_KEY,
});

I need inference Book a call Open in console

0¹servers, databases or upgrades to run
0%²inference fee on bring-your-own-key, at any volume
1 wk–12 mo³terms for capacity reserved across providers

Feature by feature

Feature	LiteLLM	RouterPlus
Hosting	NoYou deploy it (Docker, Helm or Terraform) and connect Postgres⁴	YesHosted. Nothing to deploy or upgrade¹
Inference	NoCalls each provider with an account you set up⁵	YesOne key sells inference on every catalog model⁶
Routes on	PartlyLoad balancing, retries and fallbacks you configure⁴	YesYour evals + your production traffic
Capacity	NoLimited to your provider accounts⁵	YesDedicated endpoints under contract, 1 week to 12 months⁷
Token pricing	NoEach provider's own rate, per account⁵	YesNegotiated, shopped across providers
Provider sourcing	NoYou find and contract each provider	YesWe find, load-test and contract providers for you
Contractual SLA	PartlyEnterprise plan: support response targets⁸	YesYes, written into your contract

LiteLLM facts from its own pricing and docs, checked November 5, 2026.

Where RouterPlus pulls ahead

01
Nothing to operate
No proxy to deploy, database to run or upgrade to schedule. Sign up, get a key and call any catalog model.¹
Access is immediate, no waitlist
02
Capacity that's yours
LiteLLM routes to the provider accounts you hold, at their limits. RouterPlus reserves throughput across providers on one contract.⁷
Terms from 1 week to 12 months
03
Providers, sourced for you
We find providers, load-test them on your traffic, negotiate the price and keep a backup lined up.
Teams tried 3–4 providers before us and kept our first match

Pricing

As published, checked November 5, 2026.

LiteLLM

Free software, you run it

Open-source gateway; you pay for the servers and Postgres it runs on⁴
Tokens billed by each provider account you connect⁵
Enterprise adds SSO, audit logs and support SLAs at custom pricing⁸

RouterPlus

Pay per token, no markup

Prepaid credits at each provider's listed price, no per-token markup⁶
0% when you bring your own OpenAI, Anthropic, Azure or Bedrock account²
Reserved capacity quoted per contract⁷

Switch in one line

-  baseURL: "http://localhost:4000",
-  apiKey: process.env.LITELLM_API_KEY,
+  baseURL: "https://api.routerplus.com/v1",
+  apiKey: process.env.ROUTERPLUS_API_KEY,

Keeping LiteLLM? RouterPlus speaks the OpenAI format, so you can add it to your LiteLLM config as one more provider.

Questions teams ask

Is RouterPlus better than LiteLLM?

RouterPlus is the better fit when you want inference without running a gateway: one hosted key, each provider's price, reserved capacity and providers sourced for you. LiteLLM is software you deploy and operate yourself, in front of your own provider accounts.⁶⁴

What is the difference between RouterPlus and LiteLLM?

LiteLLM is an open-source gateway you self-host, and it calls providers with your own accounts. RouterPlus is a hosted gateway that also sells the inference: one key, every catalog model, billed at each provider's listed price.⁵⁶

Which is cheaper, RouterPlus or LiteLLM?

LiteLLM has no license fee for its open-source gateway, but you pay for its servers, database and upkeep, plus each provider's tokens. RouterPlus charges each provider's listed price with no per-token markup, 0% on your own keys, and there is nothing to host.⁴⁶²

Can RouterPlus replace LiteLLM?

RouterPlus replaces the self-hosted proxy for model access, billing, spend caps and failover. If you rely on LiteLLM for MCP tools, A2A agents or in-house guardrails, keep LiteLLM and add RouterPlus behind it as an OpenAI-compatible provider.⁴⁹

Does RouterPlus store my prompts?

Billing and analytics keep metadata only. Requests to shared endpoints go to an encrypted request log for up to 30 days, for debugging. Dedicated endpoints and organizations that opt out are never logged.¹⁰

How do I switch from LiteLLM to RouterPlus?

Point your client at https://api.routerplus.com/v1, use a RouterPlus key and map model names to RouterPlus catalog IDs. The OpenAI and Anthropic SDKs work unchanged.⁹

Sources

Checked November 5, 2026. Prices and plans change; each provider's page is the source of truth.

More comparisons

Get a free AI spend review

Send us your workload and current spend. We come back with providers and a price.

I need inference Book a call