Compare
RouterPlex versus the field.Same format. Honest jobs.
These pages do not treat every logo as the same product. OpenRouter and Requesty are prepaid wallets. Fireworks, Together, and Groq run inference hardware. LiteLLM, Portkey, and Helicone usually sit in front of keys you already own. RouterPlex is a hosted prepaid wallet for 40 curated models — vendor list price, $0 top-up fee, balance stops at zero.
8
Comparisons
3
Categories
18 Aug
Sourced
Category 01
Prepaid multi-model wallets
Hosted access to many vendors behind one balance. Closest product category to RouterPlex.
Category 02
Inference platforms
They run the GPUs (or LPUs). Pick them for the models they host, not as a Claude and GPT wallet.
Fireworks runs the GPUs. RouterPlex is a prepaid multi-vendor wallet — not a faster Fireworks.
Read comparisonTogether is an AI cloud. RouterPlex is a prepaid wallet for official vendors — not a Together clone.
Read comparisonGroq wins on LPU latency. RouterPlex wins on official multi-vendor prepaid access. Not the same race.
Read comparisonCategory 03
BYOK proxies and control planes
You keep the vendor accounts. They sit in front for routing, policy, or observability.
LiteLLM is a proxy you run. RouterPlex is hosted access you do not operate.
Read comparisonPortkey is a governance control plane on your keys. RouterPlex is a prepaid token wallet.
Read comparisonHelicone is how you see production LLM traffic. RouterPlex is how you buy the tokens.
Read comparisonHow to choose
Start with the job, not the feature grid.
Want one prepaid key for official Claude, GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, or Qwen, with a hard budget and no funding fee? That is RouterPlex. Want the largest hosted catalog? OpenRouter or Requesty. Want the GPUs or LPUs themselves? Fireworks, Together, or Groq. Want to keep vendor keys? LiteLLM, Portkey, or Helicone.
We do not claim to be cheaper than Fireworks or Together on the open models they host, or faster than Groq. Figures on each page are dated to official vendor pricing pages. Verify before you move production traffic. Wider shortlists live on best LLM gateways and OpenRouter alternatives.
Questions
Fair questions. Straight answers.
01What is the difference between an LLM gateway and an inference platform?+
A gateway is a control point or wallet across model providers. An inference platform runs the GPUs or LPUs. Fireworks AI, Together AI, and Groq are inference platforms. RouterPlex, OpenRouter, and Requesty are hosted wallets. LiteLLM, Portkey, and Helicone usually sit in front of keys you already own.
02Is RouterPlex cheaper than Fireworks or Together?+
Not as a blanket claim. They price the models they host; some open-model rates there will be lower than a vendor list price. RouterPlex bills official vendor list prices with $0 markup and $0 top-up. Compare the specific model.
03Is RouterPlex faster than Groq?+
No. Groq's product is LPU inference speed. RouterPlex does not claim lower latency.
04Which product is the closest RouterPlex competitor?+
OpenRouter and then Requesty. Both are hosted multi-model wallets. OpenRouter charges 5.5% by card to fund credits. Requesty PAYG adds 5% on provider cost. RouterPlex charges $0 to fund the balance.
05When should I pick LiteLLM, Portkey, or Helicone instead?+
Pick LiteLLM to self-host a BYOK proxy. Pick Portkey for organization policy and a log-priced control plane. Pick Helicone when traces and cost visibility are the product. RouterPlex is the wrong buy if you must keep the vendor keys.
Start routing
One prepaid key. Forty models.
Vendor list prices, $0 top-up fee, balance never goes negative. Top up from $5.