Pyyan / Compare / Vercel AI Gateway vs OpenRouter vs Portkey
Vercel AI Gateway vs OpenRouter vs Portkey
3 of 5Routers & Gateways · verified 13 Aug 2026
| Specification | Vercel AI Gateway | OpenRouter | Portkey |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summary | Native option if you already ship on Vercel. | Biggest catalogue, simplest start. | Routing plus guardrails and compliance. |
| Added latency | Low | 40–55ms | 8–20ms |
| Hosting | Managed | Managed | Both |
| Caching | — | — | Semantic |
| Category | Routers & Gateways | Routers & Gateways | Routers & Gateways |
| Official | Vercel ↗ | OpenRouter ↗ | Portkey ↗ |
Highlighted rows are where these differ.
Vercel AI Gateway
- Workflow Kit for long-running agents
- Retry from the last successful step
Best for Vercel apps.
OpenRouter
- Consolidated billing across every provider
- 40–55ms overhead — 5× the alternatives
Best for prototyping.
Portkey
- Best caching implementation
- Prompt management and audit trail
Best for regulated teams.