ROUTEDESK

LLM gateways, observability and what they really cost, with the source and author of every number

LiteLLM vs Portkey

Two products, four fee layers. The cheaper one depends on whether you buy credits or bring your own keys, and on how many logs you keep.

gateway

LiteLLM

Markup
None
Funding
None
Own keys
Your own keys
Free tier
Open source
Self-host
yes

OFFICIAL OFFICIAL VENDOR-WRITTEN VENDOR-WRITTEN 2026-11-10

gateway

Portkey

Markup
n/a (bring your own keys)
Funding
None
Own keys
Core model
Free tier
Developer: 10k recorded logs a month
Self-host
yes (MIT gateway)

OFFICIAL VENDOR-WRITTEN VENDOR-WRITTEN 2026-11-10

Monthly bill, gateway credits

List-price spendLiteLLMPortkey
$100$0$49
$1,000$0$49
$10,000$0$49

Monthly bill, own keys

List-price spendLiteLLMPortkey
$100$0$49
$1,000$0$49
$10,000$0$49

100,000 logs a month, 3 seats, one request = one log. Use your numbers →