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It's a split decision.
YepAPI is a metered API service for SEO, scraping, social and e-commerce data, and AI models. Portkey is an AI gateway and operations platform for routing, observing and governing model calls. Pick YepAPI when your code needs those data endpoints or varied models under one API key. Pick Portkey when production needs include fallbacks, logs, guardrails, prompt management or self-hosting. Their pricing units differ: YepAPI charges by usage; Portkey offers a free log tier and monthly plans.
01Side by side
| YepAPI | Portkey | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Pay per call; no subscriptions or minimums | Free tier, then $49 monthly Production plan |
| Free tier | $5 signup credit; no card required | 10,000 recorded logs monthly on Developer |
| Open source and licence | Open-source status not published | Open source; licence terms need checking |
| Self-hosting | Self-hosting option not published | Self-hosting; Enterprise private cloud deployment |
| API and docs | Shared-key endpoints return JSON; API docs and llms.txt | Unified API for 1,600+ LLMs |
| Integrations | Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, MCP server, agent skills | Azure, MongoDB, GitHub, Docker, Auth0, Figma, Cloudflare |
| Deployment model | Usage-billed API service | Hosted platform; Enterprise private cloud deployment |
| Limits and scaling | No rate limits; failed calls are not charged | Plan log caps; Production overages priced |
YepAPI Choose YepAPI if
- Choose YepAPI if your app needs SEO, scraping or social data endpoints.
- Choose YepAPI if you want one key across data and AI APIs.
- Choose YepAPI if you prefer metered calls without monthly subscriptions.
Portkey Choose Portkey if
- Choose Portkey if AI requests need routing, fallbacks and retries.
- Choose Portkey if you need logs, guardrails or prompt management.
- Choose Portkey if self-hosting or private cloud deployment matters.
02Pricing at real usage
YepAPI has no monthly subscription or minimum. Its pricing page lists a $5 signup credit and charges by call or other metered unit; Google SERP starts at $0.01 per call, while the homepage lists keyword overview at $0.03 per call. The amount you spend grows with endpoint use, and failed calls are not charged. The vendor says there are no rate limits. Portkey's Developer plan costs $0 and includes 10,000 recorded logs monthly, with three-day log and 30-day metrics retention. Production is $49 monthly for 100,000 recorded logs, 30-day log and 90-day metrics retention, and unlimited prompt templates. The pricing page lists $9 per additional 100,000 requests for Production, up to 3 million requests; Enterprise overages are custom. Enterprise pricing is custom and includes 10 million+ recorded logs monthly.
03API, SDKs and integration
YepAPI exposes endpoints for SEO, SERP, scraping, social and commerce data, and AI models. Its homepage shows POST requests and JSON responses, with the same API key across endpoints. Developers can use the API docs and the vendor's llms.txt, which is intended for coding agents. The homepage names Claude Code, Cursor and Codex, plus an MCP server and agent skills. It does not identify SDK languages, so verify client support before choosing a language-specific integration. Portkey's unified API connects to 1,600+ LLMs, while its gateway supports fallbacks, load balancing, retries and request timeouts. Its platform also includes observability, guardrails, governance and prompt management; the homepage lists Microsoft Azure, MongoDB, GitHub, Docker, Auth0, Figma and Cloudflare. The vendor's pages do not identify SDK languages. Portkey's homepage now says it is PRISMA AIRS AI Gateway, so confirm the product and documentation path before building against it.
04Open source, self-hosting and lock-in
Portkey says it is open source and supports self-hosting; the Enterprise plan also lists private cloud deployment. The vendor does not publish a licence in the product facts, so check the repository's licence and any hosted-service terms before depending on self-hosting. YepAPI does not publish an open-source or self-hosting option; its documented model is a usage-billed API service. Both approaches create different migration work: with YepAPI, code depends on its endpoints, response formats and model catalog; with Portkey, code depends on its gateway configuration and operational features. Neither vendor describes a data-export path in the cited product pages. Before production adoption, ask how to export logs, prompts and configuration, and test how calls can be moved to direct provider APIs or another gateway.
Questions people ask
Is YepAPI a replacement for Portkey?
Not for most AI operations needs. YepAPI provides metered endpoints for SEO, scraping, social and commerce data, plus AI models. Portkey is a gateway and operations platform with routing, observability, guardrails and prompt management. Choose by the layer you need: data and model access, or control over AI traffic.
Which is cheaper for a small project?
It depends on what the project calls. YepAPI starts with $5 in signup credit and bills by usage, with no monthly minimum. Portkey's Developer plan is free and includes 10,000 recorded logs monthly. Compare your expected API calls and log volume against the relevant plan units.
Can I self-host YepAPI or Portkey?
Portkey lists self-hosting and Enterprise private cloud deployment. YepAPI's published model is a usage-billed API service, and it does not publish a self-hosting option. Confirm the hosting terms, licence and support conditions with Portkey before relying on a self-hosted deployment.
Do either of them publish SDKs for my language?
The product pages do not identify SDK languages for either tool. YepAPI documents HTTP endpoints and JSON responses and provides API docs and llms.txt. Portkey offers a unified API. Check each vendor's current documentation for supported clients and language-specific examples before implementation.