The Open Vercel AI Gateway Alternative

Compare PassingRight's open-source, self-hostable platform — with zero token markup, image and video generation, and built-in guardrails — against Vercel AI Gateway's managed, AI SDK-native service.

Fully Open SourceSelf-HostableZero Token MarkupNo Lock-In
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The open Vercel AI Gateway alternative

Compare PassingRight and Vercel AI Gateway features side by side

Why choose PassingRight?

Fully open source — self-host the entire platform, not just call a managed API
No ecosystem lock-in — not tied to a Vercel team account
Image & video generation and guardrails built in
Zero markup on tokens — like Vercel — plus a flat 5% or 0% with your own keys

PassingRight

OPEN-SOURCE & PORTABLE

From $0

Self-host free forever

Vercel AI Gateway

MANAGED, AI SDK-NATIVE

Usage-based

Free credit, then prepaid credits

Managed cloud

Fully managed, production-ready hosted service

Self-host the platform

Run the entire stack on your own infrastructure

AGPLv3

Open-source license

What ships under an open-source license

Full platform (AGPLv3)

No ecosystem lock-in

Use it without committing to one host or framework

Requires a Vercel team account

Automatic provider scoring

Routes on live uptime, throughput, price, and latency

Cost/latency/throughput

Failover & retries

Transparent retry on a healthy provider

Load balancing

Spread traffic across providers for a model

Response caching

Built-in caching for repeated requests

Redis, 10s–1yr TTL
Provider prompt caching

Bring your own keys

Use your own provider keys

0% markup
0% (paid tier)

Token markup

Extra charged on top of provider token rates

None
None

Transparent platform fee

Predictable, easy-to-reason-about pricing

5% or 0% (BYOK)
0% on tokens; metered add-ons

Free to start

Get going without a paid plan

Free self-host
Monthly free credit, subset of models

Model coverage

Models and providers available through one API

200+ models, 40+ providers
300+ models

Image & video generation

Generative media through the same API

Guardrails

Prompt injection, PII, jailbreak, and secret detection

Allowlists & ZDR only (metered)

AI SDK integration

First-class Vercel AI SDK provider

@llmgateway/ai-sdk-provider
Default provider

API compatibility

Drop-in compatibility with existing clients

OpenAI-compatible
OpenAI, Anthropic, OpenResponses

OpenTelemetry trace export

Forward traces into an existing observability stack

Trace Drains ($0.05 per 1k)

No credit card required • Self-host option available • Enterprise support included

FAQ

PassingRight vs Vercel AI Gateway

Common questions about choosing PassingRight over Vercel AI Gateway.

Can't find an answer? Contact us

Yes. Both pass provider token rates through with zero markup and offer automatic failover and caching. The difference is portability: PassingRight is fully open source (AGPLv3) and self-hostable, and it isn't tied to a Vercel team account or deploy target.