AutoRouter and Vercel AI Gateway
Vercel AI Gateway is a hosted gateway for AI models that sits inside Vercel's platform. AutoRouter is a Mac app that works inside Codex and Claude Code.
| AutoRouter A Mac app for Codex and Claude Code. $0/mo on your plans Download | Vercel AI Gateway A hosted gateway inside Vercel. 0%markup | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 on your plans, Pro $20 a month | Free tier on a subset of models |
| Fee on tokens | Provider’s price plus 10% | None, provider list price |
| Runs on | Your Mac, in Codex and Claude Code | Vercel’s platform |
| Setup | Install, then immediately available in your current harness | Two environment variables |
| Model choice | Picked for each turn, by your rules | Priced model list, budgets per team |
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Sources checked October 30, 2026: Vercel, AI Gateway pricing and Vercel, Claude Code setup and AutoRouter, Pricing. See every comparison.
Questions
The detail behind each fact, and how to choose.
Who is Vercel AI Gateway for, and who is AutoRouter for?
AI Gateway suits teams that already build on Vercel and want spend tracking, budgets and data retention controls next to their apps. AutoRouter suits people who work in Codex or Claude Code on a Mac and want the model picked for each turn.
What does Vercel AI Gateway cost?
No markup and no platform fee on tokens. You pay the provider's list price. The free tier covers a subset of models with lower rate limits, and purchased credits move a team to the paid tier. Enterprise teams can pay by invoice, which has no payment processing fees.
How do you set up Vercel AI Gateway?
Point Claude Code at the gateway with two environment variables: the gateway's base URL and an AI Gateway key header. Claude Code then starts as usual.
How does Vercel AI Gateway choose models?
The model list shows the price of each model, and budgets cap spend by team, project, API key or member.
How do I move over from Vercel AI Gateway?
Vercel bills tokens at provider prices, and AutoRouter bills paid models at the provider's price plus 10%. A team on Vercel can keep its apps where they are, and AutoRouter only adds the model picker in Codex and Claude Code.
What does AutoRouter cost?
Routing across your ChatGPT and Claude plans is free. Pro is $20 a month with $20 of usage, and paid models bill at the provider’s price plus 10%. See pricing, or estimate a month with and without AutoRouter in the savings calculator.
