Host-portable LLM gateway, without the platform lock-in.
Vercel AI Gateway is purpose-built for the Vercel platform. NemoRouter is a host-portable LLM gateway you can run from any host, with credit-based billing, built-in guardrails, and every enterprise feature free on every tier. Keep the Vercel AI SDK — just swap the base URL. Every claim below about Vercel AI Gateway cites its public docs and is dated.
What changes on day one
- Pro platform fee
- 0%
- Hosts supported
- Any
- Provider keys to manage
- 0
- Migration time
- < 5 min
Pro ($50/mo or $500/yr) — charged on top, not carved out
Vercel · Cloudflare · AWS · GCP · Render · your infra
We hold every credential — no BYOK
Swap the base URL — keep the Vercel AI SDK
The capability matrix
Both serve OpenAI-compatible APIs and route LLM traffic. The substantive differences are host-portability, pricing philosophy, and provider-key ownership. Every marker is sourced below.
Comparison · sources verified July 2026
| Capability | NemoRouter | Vercel AI Gateway |
|---|---|---|
| Platform feeMarkup added on top of provider cost | 0 % – 4 %0 % – 4 %7 | Plan-dependentPlan-dependent1 |
| Host-portabilityRun the gateway from any host, not tied to one platform | Any hostAny host7 | Vercel platformVercel platform2 |
| Provider key managementWho holds the OpenAI / Anthropic / Google credentials | Fully managed (no BYOK)Fully managed (no BYOK)7 | BYOK across providersBYOK across providers2 |
| OpenAI-compatible APIDrop-in base URL for existing clients | Included | Included |
| Works with the Vercel AI SDKKeep SDK ergonomics, swap the gateway | Via OpenAI providerVia OpenAI provider4 | NativeNative4 |
| Models live todayCounts come from the live router, never hardcoded | 114+114+7 | Per provider catalogPer provider catalog2 |
| Built-in guardrailsPII, prompt injection, content filter in request path | Included7 | Verify in docsVerify in docs3 |
| Role-based team managementOwner / admin / member / viewer | 4 roles, every tier4 roles, every tier7 | Verify in docsVerify in docs3 |
| SSO / SAML | Every tierEvery tier7 | Plan-dependentPlan-dependent3 |
| Audit logs | Every tierEvery tier7 | Plan-dependentPlan-dependent3 |
| Per-team & per-key budgetsHard spend caps enforced in the request path | Hard caps, every tierHard caps, every tier7 | Verify in docsVerify in docs3 |
| Built-in credit billingStripe-backed credit ledger with reserve + settle | Included | Not available5 |
| Observability suiteLogs, latency percentiles, callbacks | Built-in, every tierBuilt-in, every tier7 | Built-in, plan-dependentBuilt-in, plan-dependent5 |
| Prompt managementVersioned templates + A/B variants | Templates + versioningTemplates + versioning7 | Verify in docsVerify in docs3 |
| Contractual uptime SLA | 99.9 %99.9 %7 | Platform SLA on paid plansPlatform SLA on paid plans6 |
Sources & methodology
Competitor rows reflect each vendor's publicly documented plans and docs as last checked in July 2026; each cell links the specific source. Where a competitor's pricing or plan structure is not public, the cell describes the structure rather than quoting a figure — we never invent competitor pricing. Found something out of date? Email sales@nemorouter.ai and we'll correct it.
- Vercel AI Gateway routes LLM traffic with pricing tied to the Vercel platform plan (Hobby / Pro / Enterprise). Specific figures vary by plan and credit allowance and are not quoted here. Vercel AI Gateway · Vercel pricing · verified July 2026
- Vercel AI Gateway is delivered as a feature of the Vercel platform. Its routing endpoint lives at gateway.ai.cloudflare-ish style URLs tied to a Vercel project — host-portability is not the product shape. Vercel AI Gateway (all plans) · Vercel AI Gateway docs · verified July 2026
- Vercel AI Gateway documents observability and provider routing; the depth of governance controls (guardrails, RBAC, audit logs, SSO) is plan-dependent — verify on the Vercel AI Gateway documentation. Vercel AI Gateway · Vercel AI Gateway docs · verified July 2026
- The Vercel AI SDK is an open-source TypeScript toolkit that calls any OpenAI-compatible endpoint. Pointing the SDK's OpenAI provider at NemoRouter's base URL keeps the SDK ergonomics; you swap the gateway. Vercel AI SDK · Vercel AI SDK docs · verified July 2026
- Vercel AI Gateway surfaces request analytics, spend, and usage from logged traffic. It does not ship a customer-facing credit ledger — billing flows through the underlying Vercel platform subscription. Vercel AI Gateway (all plans) · Vercel AI Gateway docs · verified July 2026
- Vercel publishes uptime targets through its platform-wide SLA on paid / enterprise plans. AI Gateway availability inherits the platform SLA rather than carrying a separate contractual percentage on the free tier. Vercel Pro / Enterprise · Vercel site · verified July 2026
- Nemo platform fee is charged on top of provider cost, never deducted from purchased credits. Every product feature ships on every tier — tiers differ only on fee percentage and RPM/TPM guarantee. Host-portable by design: one OpenAI-compatible base URL works from any host. NemoRouter pricing · NemoRouter pricing page · verified July 2026
Host-portable by design
NemoRouter runs anywhere a client can speak HTTPS — Vercel, Cloudflare Workers, AWS Lambda, GCP Cloud Run, Render, Fly, your own VMs. No platform lock-in, no rewrite if you ever move off Vercel. Vercel AI Gateway is delivered as a feature of the Vercel platform.
- One OpenAI-compatible base URL
- Same gateway from any host
- No platform-coupled SDK required
https://api.nemorouter.ai/v1
One OpenAI-compatible endpoint · any host · one key
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about choosing NemoRouter over Vercel AI Gateway.
Is NemoRouter cheaper than Vercel AI Gateway?
It depends on which features you need. Vercel AI Gateway pricing is tied to your Vercel platform plan and varies by plan and credit allowance; NemoRouter charges Flat 4% pay-as-you-go with no minimum fee, or 0% on Pro ($50/mo, $500/yr). Always on top of provider cost, never deducted from credits. We do not quote Vercel's figures; see the sourced footnotes under the comparison table for the public source.
Can I use NemoRouter without deploying to Vercel?
Yes. NemoRouter is host-portable — it exposes an OpenAI-compatible HTTPS endpoint at https://api.nemorouter.ai/v1, so any client that can call OpenAI can call Nemo from Vercel, Cloudflare Workers, AWS Lambda, GCP Cloud Run, Render, Fly, or bare-metal VMs. There is no platform lock-in.
Can I keep using the Vercel AI SDK with NemoRouter?
Yes. Use the SDK's OpenAI provider and point its baseURL at https://api.nemorouter.ai/v1 — the SDK's streaming, tool-call, and structured-output abstractions continue to work. You can also use the standard openai npm client directly. You keep the SDK ergonomics; you swap the gateway.
Does NemoRouter have observability like Vercel AI Gateway?
Yes — and it is genuine common ground. NemoRouter includes real-time request logging, cost tracking per model/team/key, latency percentiles, error-rate monitoring, and callbacks to Langfuse, Datadog, S3, and Slack. The difference is NemoRouter does not tier observability — it is included on every plan.
What does NemoRouter have that Vercel AI Gateway may not on the entry tier?
Host-portability that survives a platform migration, a Stripe-backed credit billing system with atomic reserve-and-settle, per-team and per-key budget caps enforced in the request path, and built-in guardrails (PII / jailbreak / regex) on every tier. NemoRouter also includes SSO/SAML and audit logs on every tier, where Vercel AI Gateway governance depth tracks the platform plan.
Are all NemoRouter features really included on every tier?
Every product feature — guardrails, prompt management, A/B tests, evals, observability, RBAC, SSO/SAML, audit logs, per-team budgets, and priority support — ships on every tier. Tiers differ on exactly two axes: the platform-fee percentage (flat 4 % pay-as-you-go with no minimum fee, or 0 % on Pro) and the RPM/TPM guarantee. Nothing else is gated.
How current is this comparison?
Every Vercel AI Gateway row links the specific public page it is drawn from and a last-verified month (currently July 2026). Where Vercel AI Gateway's pricing or plan structure is not public, the cell describes the structure instead of quoting a figure — we never invent competitor pricing.
Host-portable · 5-minute migration
Why sign five contracts when one key runs them all?
NemoRouter replaces separate provider contracts, invoices, and rate limits — one OpenAI-compatible key for 114+ models, on a single bill. Less procurement, more shipping.
Need help moving over? sales@nemorouter.ai for white-glove migration.99.9% SLA