Cloudflare AI Gateway vs Vercel AI Gateway
Agent-native side-by-side. Scores are curated estimates on a 0–10 scale. Lock-in: higher = worse. Prefer JTBD picks via /api/decide when choosing for a job.
| Dimension | Cloudflare AI Gateway | Vercel AI Gateway |
|---|---|---|
| Overall | 8.4 | 8.2 |
| Capability fit | 8.0 | 8.2 |
| Price / performance | 9.4 | 9.0 |
| Latency / reliability | 9.0 | 8.6 |
| Developer & agent DX | 8.2 | 9.2 |
| Privacy / data retention | 8.8 | 7.8 |
| Lock-in risk (higher = worse) | 4.0 | 5.8 |
| Maturity / track record | 8.4 | 8.0 |
| Pricing | As of 2026-09-14 (developers.cloudflare.com/ai-gateway/reference/pricing, updated 2026-05-19): Core gateway (analytics, caching, rate limiting, DLP profiles) free on all Cloudflare plans. Persistent logs: Workers Free 10… | As of 2026-09-14 (vercel.com/docs/ai-gateway/pricing): Zero platform fee / zero markup on provider list prices (incl. BYOK on paid). Free tier ~$5/mo credits on free-tier-eligible models with lower per-model rate limits;… |
| Tagline | Free edge gateway peer to Portkey/OpenRouter. Depot llm-ai-gateway pick stays Portkey for virtual… | Best when the app already ships on Vercel/AI SDK. Portkey remains production-gateway default; OpenRouter for… |
Cloudflare AI Gateway
Free edge gateway peer to Portkey/OpenRouter. Depot llm-ai-gateway pick stays Portkey for virtual keys/fallbacks/budgets; use CF AI Gateway when already on Workers and want $0 analytics+cache. Strengths: Free core multi-provider gateway on any CF account; Edge caching/rate limits + DLP/guardrails hooks; BYOK avoids the
Strengths
- Free core multi-provider gateway on any CF account
- Edge caching/rate limits + DLP/guardrails hooks
- BYOK avoids the 5% Unified Billing tax
Weaknesses
- Deeper virtual-key/budget/guardrail UX still trails Portkey
- Log retention tied to Workers plan limits
- Unified Billing 5% surcharge if you buy credits through CF
Vercel AI Gateway
Best when the app already ships on Vercel/AI SDK. Portkey remains production-gateway default; OpenRouter for catalog breadth; CF AI Gateway for edge $0. Strengths: Zero-markup multi-provider gateway with AI SDK DX; Simple free credit on-ramp for prototypes; Model fallbacks/routing in one Vercel bill.
Strengths
- Zero-markup multi-provider gateway with AI SDK DX
- Simple free credit on-ramp for prototypes
- Model fallbacks/routing in one Vercel bill
Weaknesses
- Tied to Vercel account gravity
- Free tier model subset + rate limits
- Fewer enterprise virtual-key controls than Portkey
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