Head to head · Coding · updated Oct 26, 2026
LiteLLM vs OpenRouter
LiteLLM scores 85 to OpenRouter's 76 on public evidence for LLM APIs & model routers, and they rank #3 and #4 there. Both are free to start. Numbers below are the same public signals the ranking uses, recomputed nightly — nothing here is sponsored.
LiteLLM
Open-source Python SDK and proxy that calls 100+ LLM providers through the OpenAI format.
+ Self-hosted gateway with spend tracking, virtual keys, and fallbacks across providers.
− Huge dependency surface and frequent releases that occasionally break provider mappings.
OpenRouter
Unified API that routes requests to hundreds of models from every major provider with one key.
+ One OpenAI-compatible endpoint for Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, and open models with automatic fallbacks.
− Adds a routing layer, so latency and rate limits depend on the upstream provider chosen.
Side by side
public evidence| LiteLLM | OpenRouter | |
|---|---|---|
| Evidence score / 100 | 85 | 76 |
| GitHub stars | 62,087 | closed source |
| Hacker News stories, 30d | 17 | 36 |
| Release-feed mentions, 30d | 1 | 6 |
| Last activity | 0 days ago | 0 days ago |
| Pricing | Open source · Free; enterprise proxy paid | Free tier · Pay per token; small fee on credit purchases; some free models |
| Platforms | cli, api, linux | api, web |
| Maker | BerriAI | OpenRouter |
Which one?
Pick LiteLLM if
- you want the stronger public evidence (85 vs 76)
- you want open source — self-host it, read it, fork it
- you need it on cli, linux
- a bigger GitHub community matters (62,087 vs 0 stars)
Best for teams standardising LLM access behind one proxy.
Pick OpenRouter if
- you need it on web
Best for apps that want to switch models without re-integrating.