Best LLM router: comparison

Posted by GrandMoo1@reddit | LocalLLaMA | View on Reddit | 17 comments

I was recently tasked to look into LLM routers as the company I'm working for wants to start working more with AI orchestration and LLM routing. With the growing AI infrastructure solutions, I started looking more in depth into these platforms.

The task is definitely not easy and I was looking into different services with the main key capabilities that impact ease of use, cost and performance. However, I created this cheat sheet where I was trying to compare a range of different features that make the platforms effective when it comes to managing and deploying large language models.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Xx7vE2rV1UoknzDnYcwxm1Hsof3ZPDtjt4z_E2AQGN4/edit?gid=0#gid=0

My main considerations:

LLM routing. It ensures the requests are directed efficiently and the most suitable model for the request is picked.
Unified API for multiple models. Reduces the complexity of working with different providers and also simplifies the integration.
Multimodal AI support. A crucial aspect when it comes to enabling text, audio and image processing.
AI deployment. How easy or difficult it is when it comes to integrating AI models into operational environments. Even better if the platform has real time deployment capability.
LLM optimization. Optimizing models and model selection. Also, optimizing the execution of the models as well as the cost.
Ease of integration. It's great if you need minimal changes to the code or can determine how quickly a solution fits into an existing workflow. Moreover, customization play another key factor in the case of how easily and flexible are the AI applications.
Scalability and efficiency. How well can you scale without losing efficiency with the current models and being able to balance the cost.
LLM observability. Rather obvious one but extremely important to monitor LLMs for their behavior, reliability and performance.
Security. Security remains a top priority, making data privacy and security features critical.

All the current tools in this table are for sure different and have different features as well as capabilities but I wanted to gather everything in one place and make them somewhat comparable, as you can summarize certain aspects of said features.

It has really made it easier for me and while it's not perfect and some things are difficult to compare due to different criteria, I hope it will be useful to at least some of you, as this is the best I've got.

Currently, I've reviewed these LLM routers: Portkey, TrueFoundry, Martian, Pruna AI and Unify, but I will constantly be adding new ones.

Any kind of suggestions or feedback from you are welcome!

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giannicasa@reddit

I’ve been diving into LLM routers myself—trying to find the right balance between flexibility, observability, and ease of integration across models like GPT‑4, Claude, Mistral, etc.

Here’s a quick rundown of some of the tools I’ve been testing (based on your same criteria):

TrueFoundry LLM Gateway

Robust enterprise-ready gateway with excellent latency (\~3–5ms overhead), supports unified API, cost optimization, and real-time monitoring with ClickHouse.
truefoundry.com/gateway

OpenRouter

Hosted multi-model router, very easy to get started. Offers fallback routing, usage tracking, rate limiting, and caching out of the box.
openrouter.ai

Kosmoy GenAI Gateway

Lightweight interface for managing routing across LLMs. Includes audit logs, policy enforcement, cost tracking, and model-level guardrails—good mix of control and usability.
kosmoy.com/kosmoy-llm-gateway

Martian

Focused on fast deployment and integration with dev workflows. Offers native support for some in-house model hosting and caching logic.
martian.run

Each of these has strengths. I found TrueFoundry solid for deep infra-level control, OpenRouter perfect for quick prototyping, Kosmoy somewhere in between with governance features, and Martian useful if you're hosting your own models.

Still testing, but if anyone has thoughts on Pruna, Unify, or others, I’m happy to swap notes. This ecosystem’s evolving super fast.

Bananas8ThePyjamas@reddit

I mostly use ModelPilot. I use it for 1. Router LLMs automatically because I don\'t need gpt-5 all the time. 2. Analytics such as avg latency and total cost between providers.

They've said their routing algorithm is still training but it works pretty well for me. Here's the website: https://modelpilot.co

CASBooster@reddit

putting this to

Acceptable-Ad4719@reddit

Hey I recently built an LLM router and we’re currently in closed beta. If you drop me your email, I’d love to send you access — we’re giving 10% bonus credits to early testers. Would be great to have you try it out!

I'm switching to another account u/ventali08.

_tretzi@reddit

Depends on your needs. There are basically two approaches: provider routing selects the cheapest/fastest provider for the same model (e.g. OpenAI or Microsoft Azure), model routing switches models best suited for your request (e.g. GPT-4o or Mistral).

- There is [**OpenRouter**](https://openrouter.ai) : Ideal for provider routing, wide selection of providers & models.

- [**WithMartian**](https://withmartian.com) : Specialized in model routing, includes transparent decision logic ([Model Mapping](https://blog.withmartian.com/post/model-mapping-for-ai-alignment)).

- [**Requesty**](https://www.requesty.ai) : Combines both, including guardrails.

- [**Cortecs**](https://cortecs.ai) : Provider routing for EU/GDPR, focused on open-weight models.

- [**RouteLLM**](https://github.com/lm-sys/RouteLLM): Open-source framework, in most cases you need to train your own routing model.

Immediate_Outcome_97@reddit

Hi u/GrandMoo1 , I noticed one of the key factor is LLM optimization. I'm teh co-founder of LangDB (https://langdb.ai) and one of the key features we offer is exactly automatic model selection based on different criteria, including cost. You can give it a try if you like! Feedback is welcome!

GrandMoo1@reddit (OP)

Neat, any other prominent features to keep in mind apart from LLM optimization?

HermanRoshi@reddit

What about litellm?

Another person also mentioned it, any features to keep in mind?

Everlier@reddit

Not in the same category as above, but if you need something to script/prototype LLM workflows, there's also Harbor Boost, it's more of an optimising proxy, but can be scripted to act as a gateway as well

Thanks! Any particular features to keep in mind?

Mainly scripting (with lots of examples) and first-class streaming support making it good for chat workflows

Thanks, will check it out

SomeOddCodeGuy@reddit

lol my little open source Wilmer app would get a yes on "LLM Routing" and "Unified API for multiple models" but a no on everything else =D

Have you considered using multiple tools for the job? The whole reason I built Wilmer because I needed LLM routing but the other routers weren't a quality that I wanted in terms of routing. But then once you're past that point, most routers should let you route to API endpoints, workflows or something else that you can then start plugging other things into.

Building the router portion itself is not that hard. If you're getting stuck trying to find a router that leads into other stuff, maybe just build the router and then look for other tools that meet the rest of those requirements.

sampdoria_supporter@reddit

I don't have any experience with the examples you've outlined here but I like LiteLLM

Any features to keep in mind or ones you use the most? Maybe I will include it in the table