Choosing an LLM API gateway

The kinds of options, and when PleumRouter is the wrong choice.

To use OpenAI, Anthropic and Google through one API instead of contracting each separately, you need a gateway. The options fall into four kinds, and what fits usually comes down to billing, settlement and data-handling terms rather than technology. Below are the differences and the cases where you should not pick PleumRouter.

Four kinds of options

Global aggregators — OpenRouter and similar

The widest model coverage and the most mature ecosystem. If USD billing and international cards already work for you and you do not need KRW settlement, this is the straightforward choice.

Self-hosted gateways — LiteLLM, Portkey and similar

You deploy and operate it yourself. Full control over routing, logging and key management, but infrastructure operations and per-provider contracts and billing remain yours. Reasonable if you already have a platform team.

Cloud-vendor gateways — Cloudflare AI Gateway, Vercel AI Gateway and similar

Natural integration if you already run on that cloud. Model billing, however, usually stays on each provider account.

Local routers — PleumRouter and similar

Solves a country's settlement requirements at the gateway layer — for Korea that means KRW billing, domestic card top-ups and business verification. Catalog breadth is narrower than a global aggregator.

When PleumRouter fits

You need to top up with a Korean card and settle in won, without an international card
Korean corporate accounting requirements apply — business verification, expense handling
You already use the OpenAI SDK and want to change only base_url and the key
You need personal data masked before requests leave for the provider

When PleumRouter does not fit

USD billing and a global corporate card already work and you do not need KRW settlement
You need a model that is not in our catalog right now — check the models page for what is supported
You need pricing and payment terms for a market outside Korea (Japan and Brazil are in progress)
You need to deploy and control the gateway yourself — a self-hosted option fits better