The Challenge: Managing Multiple LLM Interfaces
For LLM enthusiasts and developers, working with multiple language models often means juggling different APIs and interfaces. Open AI developed a standardized API, which many individuals have conformed too, making switching between LLMs easier as of late. For example, tools like Ollama provide a unified API for self-hosted LLMs, easily allowing you to swap between self hostable LLMs. When you wish to interact with various non-self hosted LLMs, Open Router can act as a bridge for you, managing respective API keys.
Enter Open Router: The Universal LLM Gateway
Open Router serves as a unified interface for Language Models, effectively acting as a gateway that routes your requests to various LLM providers. This means you can seamlessly switch between models like Anthropic’s Claude, OpenAI’s GPT models, and DeepSeek-AI’s DeepSeek V3 without changing your implementation.
Some key features include:
- Single API interface for multiple LLM providers
- Support for both commercial and free models
- Easy integration with existing tools and workflows
- Transparent pricing model
Getting Started with Open Router
The easiest way to experience Open Router is through a self-hosted web interface like Open Web UI. The interface provides a straightforward model selection through its GUI:
Free Models Available
Free Models Available Open Router offers several free-to-use models.
To find them, simply:
- Enter “free” in the model search
- Select from the available free options
Their Business Model
Open Router makes money by requiring you to pay for the non-free LLM access. They do this by adding a 5% fee, and an additional $0.35, on every transaction you do to top up your account’s funds.
Integration Options
Since Open Router provides an API, you’ll either need to write code to interact with it, or leverage a popular tool that has integrations. If you’re not interacting with Open Router via code you’re writing, a user interface that I’d recommend is called Open Web UI. I have another blog post on that topic you can read here.
Next Steps
In the future, I want to look into the self hostable competitor to Open Router, known as Lite LLM. This should provide a similar interface as Open Router does, but not cost any additional fees to interact with the underlying API. However, this will involve managing one’s open API keys for each backend.
Conclusion
Open Router offers a valuable solution for anyone working with multiple LLMs, whether for development, research, or personal use. While it comes with a a slight overhead in cost, the convenience of a unified interface and the ability to easily switch between models makes it a compelling option for LLM enthusiasts and developers alike.