Migrate from OpenRouter

Switch to LLM Gateway for built-in analytics, self-hosting options, and free bring-your-own-keys at any volume. Two-line code change.

LLM Gateway works just like OpenRouter—same OpenAI-compatible API, same provider/model naming—with built-in analytics and the option to self-host. Migration takes two lines of code.

Stripe announced its acquisition of OpenRouter on August 19, 2026. OpenRouter says nothing changes for customers, so there is no fire to put out. This guide is for teams that want an open-source gateway they can run themselves, or that want to stop paying 5% on bring-your-own-key traffic above $25,000 a month.

Let your AI agent do the migration

Copy this prompt into Claude Code, Cursor, or any coding agent — it reads our docs and handles the migration from OpenRouter for you.

Quick Migration

Change your base URL and API key:

- const baseURL = "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1";
- const apiKey = process.env.OPENROUTER_API_KEY;
+ const baseURL = "https://api.llmgateway.io/v1";
+ const apiKey = process.env.LLM_GATEWAY_API_KEY;

Migration Steps

Get Your LLM Gateway API Key

Update Environment Variables

# Remove OpenRouter credentials
# OPENROUTER_API_KEY=sk-or-...

# Add LLM Gateway credentials
LLM_GATEWAY_API_KEY=llmgtwy_your_key_here

Update Your Code

Using fetch/axios

The OpenRouter-only HTTP-Referer and X-Title headers can go; nothing on LLM Gateway reads them.

// Before (OpenRouter)
const response = await fetch("https://openrouter.ai/api/v1/chat/completions", {
	method: "POST",
	headers: {
		Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.OPENROUTER_API_KEY}`,
		"HTTP-Referer": "https://example.com",
		"X-Title": "My App",
		"Content-Type": "application/json",
	},
	body: JSON.stringify({
		model: "openai/gpt-6-astra",
		messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Hello!" }],
	}),
});

// After (LLM Gateway)
const response = await fetch("https://api.llmgateway.io/v1/chat/completions", {
	method: "POST",
	headers: {
		Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.LLM_GATEWAY_API_KEY}`,
		"Content-Type": "application/json",
	},
	body: JSON.stringify({
		model: "openai/gpt-6-astra",
		messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Hello!" }],
	}),
});

Using OpenAI SDK

import OpenAI from "openai";

// Before (OpenRouter)
const client = new OpenAI({
	baseURL: "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1",
	apiKey: process.env.OPENROUTER_API_KEY,
});

// After (LLM Gateway)
const client = new OpenAI({
	baseURL: "https://api.llmgateway.io/v1",
	apiKey: process.env.LLM_GATEWAY_API_KEY,
});

// Usage remains the same
const completion = await client.chat.completions.create({
	model: "anthropic/claude-sonnet-5",
	messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Hello!" }],
});

Using Vercel AI SDK

Both OpenRouter and LLM Gateway have native AI SDK providers, making migration straightforward:

import { generateText } from "ai";

// Before (OpenRouter AI SDK Provider)
import { createOpenRouter } from "@openrouter/ai-sdk-provider";

const openrouter = createOpenRouter({
	apiKey: process.env.OPENROUTER_API_KEY,
});

const { text } = await generateText({
	model: openrouter("openai/gpt-6-astra"),
	prompt: "Hello!",
});

// After (LLM Gateway AI SDK Provider)
import { createLLMGateway } from "@llmgateway/ai-sdk-provider";

const llmgateway = createLLMGateway({
	apiKey: process.env.LLM_GATEWAY_API_KEY,
});

const { text } = await generateText({
	model: llmgateway("openai/gpt-6-astra"),
	prompt: "Hello!",
});

Model Name Mapping

Most OpenRouter IDs work unchanged. A bare ID (no prefix) turns on smart routing across every provider that serves the model; a provider/model ID pins one provider. Anthropic versions use dashes instead of OpenRouter's dots.

OpenRouter Model	LLM Gateway Model
openai/gpt-6-astra	gpt-6-astra or openai/gpt-6-astra
anthropic/claude-sonnet-5	claude-sonnet-5 or anthropic/claude-sonnet-5
anthropic/claude-opus-4.8	claude-opus-4-8 or anthropic/claude-opus-4-8
google/gemini-3.1-pro-preview	gemini-3.1-pro-preview or google-ai-studio/gemini-3.1-pro-preview

Check the models page for the full list of available models.

Provider Routing

OpenRouter selects the upstream through a provider object in the request body. LLM Gateway puts that choice in the model ID and a header:

OpenRouter	LLM Gateway
No `provider` object	Bare model ID — routes on live uptime, throughput, price, and latency
`provider.order: ["Anthropic"]`	`anthropic/claude-sonnet-5` — pinned; falls back to the best alternative only if its uptime drops below 90%
`provider.order` with several entries	A dynamic route whose `providers` list is the same ordered fallback preference
`provider.allow_fallbacks: false`	Add the `x-no-fallback: true` header to fail instead of retrying elsewhere
Your own provider keys (BYOK)	Add keys under Settings > Provider Keys — 0% gateway fee at any monthly volume

See the routing and dynamic routes documentation for the details.

Streaming Support

LLM Gateway supports streaming responses identically to OpenRouter:

const stream = await client.chat.completions.create({
	model: "anthropic/claude-sonnet-5",
	messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Write a story" }],
	stream: true,
});

for await (const chunk of stream) {
	process.stdout.write(chunk.choices[0]?.delta?.content || "");
}

Full Comparison

Want to see a detailed breakdown of all features? Check out our LLM Gateway vs OpenRouter comparison page.

Migrate from OpenRouter

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