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It's a split decision.
YepAPI is a usage-billed API for SEO, SERP data, scraping, social and e-commerce data, and AI models. Vercel AI Gateway is for routing requests across AI providers through one endpoint, with fallbacks, spend controls and usage visibility. Choose YepAPI when your app needs data services as well as model calls. Choose Vercel when AI model choice, provider routing and team-level controls matter more than non-AI endpoints.
01Side by side
| YepAPI | Vercel AI Gateway | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Prepaid, metered API calls; no subscriptions or minimums. | Purchased credits; provider list rates, zero token markup. |
| Free tier | $5 signup credit; no card required. | $5 monthly credit; eligible models only. |
| API and SDKs | Shared API key; JSON responses across endpoint types. | AI SDK, Python, and compatible provider APIs. |
| Docs and agent tools | Docs, llms.txt, MCP server, and agent skills. | Docs; supports Claude Code, Codex, and AI SDK. |
| Integrations | SEO, scraping, social, commerce, and AI model endpoints. | 400+ AI models across providers. |
| Deployment model | Hosted API service. | Hosted model-routing API. |
| Platforms | Web. | Web. |
| Limits and scaling | No rate limits; failed calls are not charged. | Free-tier limits; custom paid-tier rate limits available. |
YepAPI Choose YepAPI if
- Choose YepAPI if your app needs SEO and SERP data.
- Choose YepAPI if scraping or social data belongs in the same integration.
- Choose YepAPI if you want one key across data and AI endpoints.
Vercel AI Gateway Choose Vercel AI Gateway if
- Choose Vercel AI Gateway if you need provider routing and automatic fallbacks.
- Choose Vercel AI Gateway if you want team, project, and key spend controls.
- Choose Vercel AI Gateway if your stack uses its supported AI APIs or SDKs.
02Pricing at real usage
YepAPI gives new accounts $5 in signup credit, with no card required. After that, calls are prepaid and metered, with no subscription or monthly minimum. The pricing page lists Google SERP from $0.01 per call and web scraping at $0.01 per call; keyword overview starts at $0.03. Failed calls are not charged, and the service says it has no rate limits.
Vercel AI Gateway’s free tier provides $5 in monthly credits, but only for eligible models and with lower per-model rate limits. Paid use requires purchased credits, with no renewal commitment; the pricing page lists provider rates with zero token markup. Costs vary by model and usage, and payment processing fees may apply. Vercel also lists optional charges for features such as ZDR and trace drains. Neither service has a published fixed monthly price for ongoing usage.
03API, SDKs and integration
YepAPI exposes endpoints for SEO, SERP results, scraping, social and commerce data, and AI models. Its examples use HTTP POST requests with JSON bodies and return JSON; the same API key works across endpoint types. The homepage points developers to its docs and llms.txt, and lists an MCP server and agent skills. It also names Claude Code, Cursor and Codex as agent integrations. The stated integrations do not identify a language-specific SDK.
Vercel AI Gateway provides one endpoint and key for more than 400 models. The homepage lists the AI SDK, TypeScript and Python, and compatibility with OpenAI Chat Completions and Responses, Anthropic Messages, and Open Responses. It also lists Claude Code, Codex and other coding agents. That makes it the more directly documented fit for an app already using those AI interfaces. Both products are hosted APIs, so integration requires sending requests to the vendor rather than deploying the service in your application.
04Open source, self-hosting and lock-in
Neither vendor publishes an open-source licence or self-hosting option. Both are hosted APIs, so an application using either depends on the vendor’s service and credentials at runtime. The vendors do not publish a data-export path for these services; ask about export and retention requirements before putting them in a production workflow.
Migration work will depend on which features your code uses. YepAPI spans data endpoints as well as AI models, so replacing it may mean changing requests for SEO, scraping, or social data in addition to model calls. Vercel AI Gateway focuses on model access and routing; its support for several AI request formats may help when adapting model integrations, but does not establish that settings or usage history transfer to another service. Keep vendor-specific request handling behind an internal interface if portability matters.
Questions people ask
Is YepAPI an alternative to Vercel AI Gateway?
They overlap on access to AI models, but serve different scopes. YepAPI also offers SEO, SERP, scraping, social and commerce endpoints. Vercel AI Gateway focuses on routing AI requests across providers, with fallbacks, spend controls and usage visibility.
Which is cheaper for AI model calls?
Both list provider-based usage rather than a fixed monthly subscription for paid use. YepAPI charges by endpoint or other metered unit; Vercel says it charges provider list rates with zero token markup. Compare the price for your specific model and workload before choosing.
Do both services offer free credits?
Yes. YepAPI offers $5 in signup credit. Vercel AI Gateway offers $5 in monthly credit, limited to eligible models and subject to lower per-model rate limits. The different credit terms matter if you plan to test over multiple months.
Can I self-host either service?
Neither vendor publishes a self-hosting option or open-source licence for these services. Both are offered as hosted APIs. If self-hosting or data portability is a requirement, ask the vendor about supported deployment and export options before adopting either.