LiteLLM vs Stainless
Updated March 10, 2026
Overview
LiteLLM is an open-source LLM proxy that translates OpenAI-format API calls to 100+ LLM providers. It provides a standardized interface for calling models from Anthropic, Google, Azure, AWS Bedrock, and dozens more. LiteLLM is popular as a self-hosted gateway with features like spend tracking, rate limiting, and team management.
Powers the official SDKs for OpenAI, Anthropic, and others. The de facto gateway interface layer.
Key features
Core capabilities each platform advertises.
- Open-source LLM proxy
- OpenAI-compatible API for 100+ providers
- Budget management and rate limiting
- Self-hostable
- Automatic retries and fallbacks
- SDK generation
- API interface
- Type-safe clients
Strengths and tradeoffs
What each tool does well, and the limitations to keep in mind.
Pros
- Free open-source core with MIT license
- Unified interface to 100+ LLM providers
- 18k+ GitHub stars with strong community
- Trusted by major enterprises
Cons
- Hidden operational costs (USD 200-500/mo infrastructure)
- Production latency overhead (20-40ms typical)
- Enterprise features require USD 30k annual fee
- Operational burden for self-hosting teams
Pros
- Automates SDK dev
- Type-safe code
- Multi-language
Cons
- Requires OpenAPI
- Limited customization
LiteLLM or Stainless — which should you choose?
Choose LiteLLM if you wantChoose if you want
- Self-hosted LLM gateway for data control
- Standardizing LLM access across teams
- Budget enforcement per team or project
- Provider migration without code changes
- Open-source LLM infrastructure
Choose Stainless if you wantChoose if you want
Compare LiteLLM and Stainless 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 500+ models through one gateway.