How I Built a Self-Hosted LLM API Gateway That Cuts AI Costs by 80% Using Python and OpenRouter
Dev.to AI
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Generative AI
How I Built a Self-Hosted LLM API Gateway That Cuts AI Costs by 80% Using Python and OpenRouter Stop overpaying for AI APIs - here's what serious builders do instead. Last month, I watched my OpenAI bill hit $847. For a bootstrapped SaaS with moderate usage, that was unsustainable. So I built an intelligent API gateway that routes requests between OpenRouter, OpenAI, and local models based on cost, speed, and task requirements. The result? My monthly bill dropped to $167. This isn't a theoretical exercise.