Build vs Buy an LLM Gateway

A gateway looks simple until you need caching, failover, budgets, logging and security patches. The real cost is the engineering time to run it.

Quick answer

Build if the gateway is core to your product. Self-host if you need full control and have platform engineers. Buy if you want the outcome without the upkeep.

What a production gateway needs

A unified API across providers.
Routing, load balancing and failover.
Caching and batching.
Budgets, rate limits and alerts.
Logging, cost tracking and access control.
Security patches and dependency updates.

The options

Build: maximum control, slowest, and you own every incident.
Self-host open source such as LiteLLM: fast to start, but you run, patch and scale it. The March 2026 LiteLLM PyPI incident is a reminder that dependencies are part of the job.
Managed gateway: fastest, with someone else running it. apicuts adds the optimization work and a savings guarantee.

Count the hidden cost

Engineering time to build, then a share of an engineer to run it, is usually far more than any gateway fee. Compare with the gateway ROI calculator.

Frequently asked questions

Should I build my own LLM gateway?

Only if the gateway itself is a competitive advantage. Otherwise self-host or buy, and spend engineering time on your product.

What does it cost to run LiteLLM?

The software is free under the MIT license; the cost is the infrastructure and engineering time to run, patch and scale it.

Want us to find your 20%?

Book a free 15-minute API cost teardown. Bring last month's provider usage and we'll show you your biggest waste and the first fix we'd ship.

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