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APIs · head to head

LiteLLM vs Skyflow

LiteLLM logo

LiteLLM

APIs

The AI Gateway for platform teams

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Skyflow logo

Skyflow

APIs

Data privacy vault that holds sensitive records outside your own systems

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only LiteLLM has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: LiteLLM enterprise pricing based on annual request capacity and deployment architecture, sized via direct sales; Skyflow reported contracts near 195,000 US dollars a year with a platform fee before usage put this out of reach of early stage companies, which are precisely the ones whose architecture is still cheap to change.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which LiteLLM and Skyflow actually diverge.

Attributes where LiteLLM and Skyflow differ
AttributeLiteLLMSkyflow
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelopen-sourcequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebAPI, Web, Self-hosted

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (APIs).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in LiteLLM

Nothing recorded that Skyflow does not also cover.

Only in Skyflow

  • Tokenised storage
  • Polymorphic encryption
  • Field level access policies
  • Data residency
  • Secure functions
  • PCI scope reduction
  • Detokenisation gateway
  • Audit trail

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

LiteLLM

  • Accessing 140+ LLM providers through single APInot Skyflow
  • Implementing cost-based routing for advanced AI tasksnot Skyflow
  • Deploying new LLM models usually within a daynot Skyflow
  • Switching backend models with config changes onlynot Skyflow
  • Maintaining consistent access across 100+ endpointsnot Skyflow

Skyflow

  • A fintech that wants card and bank account data out of its own infrastructure so its application servers leave PCI DSS assessment scopenot LiteLLM
  • A company entering India or the EU with data localisation obligations that would otherwise require standing up regional databases and operationsnot LiteLLM
  • A health technology business that needs protected health information isolated from the analytics stack while still supporting aggregate reportingnot LiteLLM
  • An engineering team that wants support agents to see masked identifiers and payment services to see real ones, enforced centrally rather than in every servicenot LiteLLM

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

LiteLLM

  • Enterprise pricing based on annual request capacity and deployment architecture, sized via direct sales
  • Not per-token based pricing for Enterprise tier

Skyflow

  • Reported contracts near 195,000 US dollars a year with a platform fee before usage put this out of reach of early stage companies, which are precisely the ones whose architecture is still cheap to change.
  • Every read of a protected field becomes a network call to a third party, so latency and an external availability dependency enter paths that were previously local database reads, and outage planning has to account for a vendor you do not control.
  • Analytics and joins on vaulted data are constrained; work that was a simple SQL join now happens through secure functions or on tokens, and data teams routinely discover this after the engineering team has committed.
  • Unwinding the vault later is a rewrite rather than a migration because tokens are threaded through every service, so the switching cost climbs steadily and the negotiating position at renewal weakens with each release.
  • Scope reduction is an architectural claim your own assessor must accept, so the audit saving is real only if the implementation genuinely keeps sensitive values off your systems, and partial implementations that leave a cache or a log line in place deliver the cost without the benefit.

Pricing, plan by plan

LiteLLM

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • 100+ providers
    • One OpenAI API
    • Virtual keys
  • Enterprise$null/mo
    • All Open Source features
    • SSO + SCIM
    • OIDC/JWT authentication

Skyflow

On request
  • Skyflow Data Privacy Vault$undefined/year
    • Platform fee plus usage by data subject count
    • Priced additionally per data residency region
    • PCI Level 1, SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001 and HIPAA coverage

Which should you pick?

Choose LiteLLM if

  • You want to start without paying.
LiteLLM review

Choose Skyflow if

  • You need tokenised storage.
  • You work on API, Web, Self-hosted.
  • You also want polymorphic encryption.
Skyflow review

Questions people ask

Is LiteLLM or Skyflow better?
Neither clearly leads. LiteLLM starts at Free and Skyflow at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, LiteLLM or Skyflow?
LiteLLM has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for LiteLLM and On request for Skyflow.
Does LiteLLM or Skyflow run on more platforms?
LiteLLM runs on Web. Skyflow runs on API, Web, Self-hosted.
Can I use LiteLLM for free?
Yes. LiteLLM has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Skyflow starts at On request.
What is LiteLLM best used for?
LiteLLM is most often used for accessing 140+ llm providers through single api, implementing cost-based routing for advanced ai tasks, deploying new llm models usually within a day, switching backend models with config changes only. Of those, accessing 140+ llm providers through single api and implementing cost-based routing for advanced ai tasks are not what Skyflow is typically brought in for.
What can LiteLLM do that Skyflow cannot?
Skyflow covers Tokenised storage, Polymorphic encryption, Field level access policies, Data residency.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

LiteLLM: Is LiteLLM free to use?

Yes, LiteLLM's open-source version is free forever and requires no credit card. Self-host in minutes with support for 100+ LLM providers.

Source
Skyflow: Does Skyflow really take my systems out of PCI scope?

It can, if card data never touches your infrastructure and the detokenisation happens at the boundary. Your QSA has to agree the design, so validate the architecture with your assessor before signing.

LiteLLM: What does LiteLLM's Enterprise plan cost?

Enterprise pricing is custom and annual, sized based on your annual gateway request capacity, deployment architecture, and support needs. Not charged per token.

Source
Skyflow: What does it cost?

Nothing is published. Reported annual contracts sit around 195,000 US dollars, built from a platform fee plus usage by data subject count and additional charges per data residency region.

LiteLLM: Is there a free trial for Enterprise?

Yes, a 30-day Enterprise trial key is available via email with no credit card required.

Source
Skyflow: How does it help with data localisation?

Records can be pinned to a specified region, so an Indian or EU residency requirement is met by the vault rather than by you running regional databases and operations teams.

Skyflow: Can I still run analytics on vaulted data?

Partly. Aggregates and comparisons are supported through polymorphic encryption and secure functions, but arbitrary joins against other datasets are harder than they were, and this is the most common late surprise.

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