LiteLLM
LiteLLM is a self-hosted gateway that accepts requests, routes them to 140+ providers and ~1,900 models, applies spend controls and guardrails, and emits telemetry and Prometheus metrics. Workflow: deploy via Docker/Helm/Terraform, configure provider keys and virtual keys, set budgets/rate limits, and route app traffic through the gateway.
The linked official pages document an open-source self-hosted tier that is free forever and an Enterprise tier that is quoted per-customer; specific Enterprise prices are not listed.Is LiteLLM right for you?
Good for
- Platform teams needing a self-hosted gateway to centralize model access, enforce budgets and guardrails, and control keys and telemetry inside their infrastructure.
- Wide provider and model coverage behind one API and one key, letting teams swap backends without code changes.
- Designed for self-hosting and air-gapped deployment with official images and deployment modules.
Keep in mind
- Enterprise pricing is not published and requires a sales conversation sized to your usage.
- The open-source option requires you to self-host and operate the gateway yourself.
- Teams that want a vendor-hosted API with vendor-managed per-request billing instead of self-hosting; LiteLLM is designed for self-host deployment and Enterprise quotes via sales.
Pricing and plan limits
Open Source is documented as free to self-host forever; Enterprise pricing is sized to annual gateway request capacity and requires talking to sales. The linked official pages do not list fixed Enterprise prices.
More about capabilities and limits
Documented strengths
Wide provider and model coverage behind one API and one key, letting teams swap backends without code changes.
Designed for self-hosting and air-gapped deployment with official images and deployment modules.
Low gateway latency overhead reported in vendor benchmark for the Rust gateway.
Limitations to consider
Enterprise pricing is not published and requires a sales conversation sized to your usage.
The open-source option requires you to self-host and operate the gateway yourself.
Choosing a plan
Deploy the open-source gateway in a test environment, route a subset of requests through it to validate provider routing, budget controls, and telemetry, then discuss Enterprise SSO/SLA needs with sales if required.
Based on the linked product documentation.
Available on
Web.
Official sources
Alternatives to LiteLLM
Choose around the work you need to do.
Read the full LiteLLM alternatives guide
Helicone
Use Helicone when you need a hosted AI gateway that routes requests across model providers while adding request-level observability, caching, analytics, and built-in rate limiting for language model applications.
