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Bifrost

50x faster LLM gateway with MCP support, built in Go

open sourceupdated Jul 8, 2026

Bifrost is a high-performance open-source AI gateway built from scratch in Go. Unifies access to 15+ providers and 1,000+ models through a single OpenAI-compatible API with only 11 microsecond overhead per request at 5K RPS — 50x faster than LiteLLM. Features automatic failover, load balancing, semantic caching, and functions as both MCP client and MCP server. Apache 2.0 licensed.

Bifrost is a high-performance AI gateway built from scratch in Go by the Maxim AI team. It unifies access to over 15 LLM providers — including OpenAI, Anthropic, AWS Bedrock, and Google Vertex — through a single OpenAI-compatible API endpoint. In sustained benchmarks at 5,000 requests per second, Bifrost adds only 11 microseconds of overhead per request, making it roughly 50 times faster than LiteLLM.

The gateway provides automatic failover with circuit breakers, intelligent load balancing, and semantic caching for reduced latency and cost. A key differentiator is its dual role as both an MCP client and MCP server, allowing it to function as a full MCP gateway in addition to standard LLM proxy duties. It supports over 1,000 AI models across providers through a unified interface.

Bifrost can be deployed in seconds via npx for quick testing or as a production-ready Docker container for self-hosted environments. Licensed under Apache 2.0, it offers a self-hostable alternative to managed gateway services like Portkey, with particular appeal for teams that need enterprise-grade reliability and performance without vendor lock-in.

Pricing

Free and open-source (Apache 2.0)

full pricing breakdown →

Platforms

Self-hosted (Docker), Cloud

Categories

Tags

Use Cases

LiteLLM logo

LiteLLM

Unified API proxy for 100+ LLMs

Drop-in OpenAI-compatible proxy supporting 100+ LLM providers with load balancing, spend tracking, rate limiting, and fallback routing. Acts as a unified gateway for all your AI model calls, letting teams switch between providers, enforce budgets, and add reliability layers without changing application code. Essential infrastructure for multi-model AI architectures.

Open Source
Portkey logo

Portkey

AI gateway with observability, routing, and guardrails

Portkey is an AI gateway and observability platform providing a unified API for 200+ LLM providers with intelligent routing, caching, rate limiting, and guardrails. Route requests across OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and more with automatic failover, load balancing, and cost optimization. Features request logging, prompt management, evaluation tools, and real-time monitoring. The open-source gateway can be self-hosted; Portkey Cloud adds managed observability and team features.

freemiumOpen Source
OpenRouter logo

OpenRouter

Unified API gateway for 200+ AI models

Unified API gateway providing access to 500+ AI models from leading providers through a single OpenAI-compatible interface. OpenRouter eliminates the need to manage separate keys, billing, and integrations across providers like OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Meta, with built-in plugins for web search, PDF processing, automatic fallback routing, and per-model cost tracking.

api-usage-based
Maxim AI logo

Maxim AI

Multi-agent simulation and LLM evaluation platform

Maxim AI is an evaluation and monitoring platform for LLM applications with multi-agent simulation capabilities. Features automated test generation from production traces, custom evaluation metrics, regression detection, and real-time monitoring dashboards. Supports simulating multi-turn conversations for testing chatbots and agents at scale. Provides prompt versioning, A/B testing, and integration with CI/CD pipelines for continuous quality assurance of AI outputs across deployment cycles.

freemium

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FAQ

What is Bifrost?

Bifrost is a high-performance open-source AI gateway built from scratch in Go. Unifies access to 15+ providers and 1,000+ models through a single OpenAI-compatible API with only 11 microsecond overhead per request at 5K RPS — 50x faster than LiteLLM. Features automatic failover, load balancing, semantic caching, and functions as both MCP client and MCP server. Apache 2.0 licensed.

Is Bifrost free?

Yes — Bifrost is open source and free to use. Free and open-source (Apache 2.0)

Is Bifrost open source?

Yes — Bifrost is open source.

What are the best Bifrost alternatives?

The top editor-verified Bifrost alternatives are LiteLLM, Portkey, OpenRouter, and more.