Cloudflare AI Gateway vs Requesty (2026)
Updated March 27, 2026
Overview
Cloudflare AI Gateway is a proxy for AI API traffic that provides caching, rate limiting, analytics, and logging for LLM requests. Running on Cloudflare's global edge network, it reduces latency and costs by caching repeated requests. Free to use on all Cloudflare plans.
Unified LLM gateway and router with intelligent routing, automatic failover, cost optimization, and PII redaction. Access 400+ models through a single API.
Key features
Core capabilities each platform advertises.
- Edge-deployed AI gateway
- Caching and rate limiting
- Usage analytics
- Provider failover
- Cloudflare network integration
- 400+ model access
- Intelligent routing & failover (<20ms)
- Cost optimization & spending controls
- PII redaction
- Prompt caching
Strengths and tradeoffs
What each tool does well, and the limitations to keep in mind.
Pros
- Core features free with Cloudflare plans—no per-call gateway fees
- Tightly integrated with Cloudflare global network for low-latency routing
- One-line integration for major LLM providers
- Built-in caching, rate limiting, and fallbacks improve reliability
Cons
- Adds 10-50ms proxy latency to every request
- Lacks token-level tracing and prompt analysis
- Strict log retention caps require manual management at scale
- No enterprise governance features like RBAC or audit trails
Pros
- Extreme cost savings with smart routing and semantic caching delivering 40-80% API cost reduction
- Near-zero integration friction — OpenAI-compatible API requires only a single base_url change
- Best-in-class reliability with 99.99% uptime SLA and automatic failover in under 20ms
- Transparent pricing with flat 5% markup, no hidden fees, and generous free tier
- Enterprise governance with PII scrubbing, spending limits, approved model lists, and EU data residency
Cons
- Tiny team of ~5 employees — startup durability is a concern for enterprise buyers
- Limited community presence with no organic developer discussions on Reddit or Hacker News
- Recent pivot from data analytics (2025) — long-term commitment to LLM gateway space unproven
- No open-source option unlike competitor LiteLLM
Cloudflare AI or Requesty — which should you choose?
Choose Cloudflare AI if you wantChoose if you want
- Edge caching for AI API calls
- Rate limiting AI usage per user
- Cost management for AI APIs
- Global AI traffic management
- Cloudflare ecosystem AI integration
Choose Requesty if you wantChoose if you want
- Multi-provider LLM access
- Cost optimization
- Enterprise governance
- Failover & reliability
- Data privacy compliance
Compare Cloudflare AI Gateway and Requesty on your own traffic
Respan lets you trace LLM and agent calls across any model or framework, A/B test prompts on production traffic, and route requests across 1,000+ models through one gateway.
Try Respan free