What it is
Portkey's AI Gateway is an open-source router that gives applications one API for 1,600+ language, vision, audio and image models, according to its README. It handles retries, timeouts, fallbacks, load balancing and conditional routing, and can run guardrail checks on requests and responses. Palo Alto Networks completed its acquisition of Portkey on 29 May 2026, and Portkey's pricing page now says the product is the Prisma AIRS AI Gateway.
It is written in TypeScript and runs on Node, Bun, Cloudflare Workers or Docker. The open-source repository is MIT-licensed. The hosted version adds logging, prompt management and dashboards: a free Developer plan records 10,000 logs a month, and Production costs $49 a month for 100,000 logs.
The README says a Gateway 2.0 release will merge Portkey's enterprise gateway into the open-source project; a pre-release branch exists but has had no commits since March 2026.
Our review
Portkey's open-source gateway is technically appealing and has not moved since the acquisition. In our reading of the repository, the last release, v1.15.2, came out on 12 January 2026, and npm still serves that version. The default branch last changed on 25 May 2026, four days before Palo Alto Networks closed the deal, and the Gateway 2.0 branch that is meant to fold the enterprise gateway into open source last changed on 14 March. The repository has about 13,300 stars and 307 open issues.
The design is the reason people chose it. One JSON config describes fallbacks, retries, conditional routing and output guardrails, and `npx @portkey-ai/gateway` starts it locally. The README's figures of under 1 ms added latency and a 122 KB footprint are the vendor's own, but the small TypeScript core does fit Cloudflare Workers, where a Python proxy cannot run. Semantic caching, usage analytics and the 40-plus pre-built guardrails belong to the hosted and enterprise versions, not the open-source one.
Security deserves a line. A medium-severity server-side request forgery advisory in the custom-host feature was published in December 2025, which is a reminder that a gateway forwarding requests to caller-supplied hosts should never face the public internet unauthenticated.
The hosted product is now sold under Palo Alto branding: the pricing page banner calls Portkey the Prisma AIRS AI Gateway, and the Production upgrade button leads to Prisma AIRS pages. Production is $49 a month for 100,000 logs plus $9 per extra 100,000, with SSO, SOC 2 Type 2, GDPR and HIPAA listed only on Enterprise. Against LiteLLM, the open-source comparison is no longer about features; it is about whose release calendar you are relying on, and Portkey's has been empty since January.
Where it earns its place
A developer running an app on Cloudflare Workers
Put OpenAI and Anthropic behind one endpoint with automatic fallback
Deploy the gateway to Workers and describe the fallback in a config. It costs nothing beyond Workers usage; with no release since January, very new models may need passthrough rather than a native provider.
A five-engineer startup with a production LLM feature
Get request logs and cost dashboards without running an observability stack
Hosted Production at $49 a month covers 100,000 logged requests with 30-day log retention; at one million requests a month the bill is about $130, $49 plus nine extra blocks at $9.
A security team at an enterprise already on Prisma AIRS
Govern which models and agents staff can reach, centrally
Enterprise or Prisma AIRS terms are custom-priced; Enterprise lists SSO, SOC 2 Type 2, GDPR, HIPAA with custom BAAs, and VPC deployment.
Before you commit
- Setup
- `npx @portkey-ai/gateway` runs it locally; the deployment guide covers Docker, Bun, Node and Cloudflare Workers.
- Integrations
- OpenAI-style API in front of 1,600+ models, per the README; configs for routing and guardrail hooks; the hosted product adds an MCP gateway, prompt management and analytics.
- Data and privacy
- Self-hosted, requests pass only through your instance. Hosted logs are kept 3 days on Developer, 30 days on Production and for custom periods on Enterprise; SOC 2 Type 2, GDPR and HIPAA are listed for Enterprise. One medium-severity SSRF advisory (December 2025).
- Cost at scale
- Open source is free. Hosted Production is $49 a month for 100,000 logs plus $9 per additional 100,000, so a million requests is about $130 a month; the comparison table caps Production at 3 million, beyond which Enterprise pricing is custom.
- Limits
- No release since 12 January 2026 and no commit since 25 May; 307 open issues; semantic caching and analytics are not in the open-source build.
What's good
- MIT licence with no enterprise folder
- Small TypeScript core that runs on Cloudflare Workers
- One config for fallbacks, retries and conditional routing
- Hosted logs from $49 a month
What's not
- No release since January 2026; 2.0 branch idle since March
- Roadmap now set by Palo Alto Networks
- Caching, analytics and most guardrails are hosted-only
- SSO and compliance certifications only on Enterprise
Best for
Teams on edge runtimes, or enterprises already buying Palo Alto security, who want a light routing layer.
Alternatives
Portkey AI Gateway: common questions
- Is Portkey AI Gateway worth it?
- A neat, MIT-licensed router that has stood still since Palo Alto Networks bought it; fine to run today, hard to build a roadmap on. We rate it 3.7 out of 5.
- How much does Portkey AI Gateway cost?
- Free and open source under MIT. Hosted plans: Developer free (10,000 recorded logs a month, 3-day log retention); Production $49/month (100,000 logs, then $9 per 100,000); Enterprise custom.
- What are the downsides of Portkey AI Gateway?
- No release since January 2026; 2.0 branch idle since March; roadmap now set by Palo Alto Networks; caching, analytics and most guardrails are hosted-only; sSO and compliance certifications only on Enterprise.
- Who is Portkey AI Gateway best for?
- Teams on edge runtimes, or enterprises already buying Palo Alto security, who want a light routing layer.
- How much does Portkey AI Gateway cost for a team or in production?
- Open source is free. Hosted Production is $49 a month for 100,000 logs plus $9 per additional 100,000, so a million requests is about $130 a month; the comparison table caps Production at 3 million, beyond which Enterprise pricing is custom.
- Is Portkey AI Gateway safe for company data?
- Self-hosted, requests pass only through your instance. Hosted logs are kept 3 days on Developer, 30 days on Production and for custom periods on Enterprise; SOC 2 Type 2, GDPR and HIPAA are listed for Enterprise. One medium-severity SSRF advisory (December 2025).
- What are the best Portkey AI Gateway alternatives?
- The closest alternatives we have reviewed are LiteLLM and vLLM Semantic Router.
Answers checked Oct 23, 2026.