Pick LiteLLM if
platform teams who already pay model vendors and want keys, budgets, and fallbacks in one proxy.
Read the LiteLLM pageLiteLLM vs OpenRouter
Our take
Pick LiteLLM if platform teams who already pay model vendors and want keys, budgets, and fallbacks in one proxy. Pick OpenRouter if developers who want one router and will read per-model token rows. Skip LiteLLM if people who want a local chat app (Ollama) or traces-first observability (Langfuse). Skip OpenRouter if people who want a single branded chat seat (ChatGPT) or a local desktop runtime (LM Studio).
Best for
LiteLLM One proxy in front of many model APIs
OpenRouter One key across many models
Free plan
LiteLLM $0 · , “free forever” on the page. You still pay upstream model APIs
OpenRouter $0 · 25+ free models; 50 requests/day; 5 workspaces; no card. Free models also 20 rpm
Lowest paid
LiteLLM Not published by the vendor
OpenRouter Not published by the vendor
Coding agent
LiteLLM Playground / Models / Agents / MCP / Guardrails
OpenRouter
Runs where
LiteLLM Local; you host it
OpenRouter
Watch out
LiteLLM $0 is the proxy, not the tokens
OpenRouter Free is 50 requests/day
Last checked
LiteLLM 2026-10-19 · litellm.ai/pricing
OpenRouter 2026-10-21 · openrouter.ai/pricing
Which one, then?
Pick OpenRouter if
developers who want one router and will read per-model token rows.
Read the OpenRouter page