Bifrost
Open-source Go LLM gateway claiming microsecond overhead at scale
Overview
Bifrost is Maxim AI's open-source (Apache 2.0), Go-built LLM gateway, unifying 1000+ models behind one OpenAI-compatible API with load balancing, automatic failover, semantic caching and built-in OpenTelemetry observability. Self-host via Docker/NPX or use the managed Enterprise tier.
Pricing
Pricing shown for reference only. These figures reflect RECATOOLS research as of 12 Jul 2026 and may be out of date or incomplete. This is not financial or purchasing advice — always confirm the current price on the provider’s official website before making any decision.
- Unified OpenAI-compatible API
- OpenTelemetry observability
- Semantic and simple caching
- MCP Gateway with Code Mode
- Cluster mode with high availability
- SAML/OIDC SSO and RBAC
- Vault integrations
- SOC 2, GDPR, ISO 27001, HIPAA claims
What you can produce with Bifrost
- Unified OpenAI-compatible API across 1000+ models, 20+ providers
- Adaptive load balancing and cluster mode with automatic failover
- Semantic and simple response caching
- Built-in OpenTelemetry tracing and observability
- MCP Gateway with Code Mode for tool-calling agents
- Self-host via Docker, Kubernetes, Go binary, or NPX in seconds
- Apache 2.0 open-source core
- Enterprise VPC/air-gapped deployment with SAML SSO and RBAC
ASEAN Perspective
Bifrost in Southeast Asia
ASEAN-region availability and pricing notes coming soon. Drop the editorial team a note via /contact/ if you can supply local context (Singapore/Malaysia/Indonesia/Thailand/Vietnam).
Bifrost's entire premise is speed: a Go rewrite of the LLM-gateway problem, claiming roughly 11 microseconds of added overhead at 5,000 requests per second and benchmarks showing it beating LiteLLM by a wide margin. Those are Maxim's own published numbers rather than independently audited ones, but the Go implementation and cluster-mode architecture are a real, verifiable design choice, not just marketing.
For teams that want to self-host rather than route traffic through a third-party SaaS gateway, Bifrost OSS is free, Apache 2.0, and reportedly deployable in seconds via NPX or Docker — genuinely competitive with LiteLLM and Portkey's open gateway on that front. The Enterprise tier adds VPC/air-gapped deployment, SAML SSO, RBAC and SLA-backed support for regulated environments.
It's built by Maxim AI and pairs naturally with Maxim's LLM evaluation platform, but runs fine standalone. For teams already self-hosting who've hit LiteLLM's throughput ceiling, it's one of the strongest open options; for most other teams the performance gap won't matter until you're well past typical request volume.
What people say
Bifrost's public case is built almost entirely on its own benchmarks: Maxim AI reports roughly 11 microseconds of overhead at 5,000 sustained requests per second, and claims of 40-54x lower overhead than LiteLLM depending on which blog post or comparison you read (the numbers move around between Maxim's own marketing pages). Those figures come from Maxim's own testing, not a third-party benchmark suite, so treat them as a starting point for your own load test rather than a guarantee.
Independent commentary is still sparse. A Hacker News submission titled "Every LLM gateway we tested failed at scale — ended up building Bifrost" generated attention but limited public discussion at the time of writing, and Bifrost ranked #3 Product of the Day on Product Hunt at launch — decent early traction, but not the volume of scrutiny that established gateways like LiteLLM or Portkey have accumulated over a longer track record.
What's verifiable: the GitHub repo (maximhq/bifrost) is Apache 2.0-licensed and actively maintained, with support for 1000+ models across 20+ providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, AWS Bedrock, Google Vertex, Azure, Cohere and others) through one OpenAI-compatible API. It ships MCP Gateway support for tool-calling agent workflows, adaptive load balancing, cluster mode with peer-to-peer failover, semantic caching, and OpenTelemetry tracing out of the box — a genuinely broad feature set for a self-hosted tool that deploys via a single Docker command or NPX.
The Enterprise tier — VPC/air-gapped deployment, SAML SSO, vault integrations, RBAC, audit logs and SLA support, with SOC 2/GDPR/ISO 27001/HIPAA claims — targets the same regulated-industry buyer as Portkey Enterprise and Kong's AI gateway, priced on request via a demo call rather than published rate cards.
Bottom line: strong on paper and genuinely open-source, but still building the independent review record that would let a buyer verify the performance claims against something other than Maxim's own numbers.
Summary of public user & expert reviews, compiled by RECATOOLS.
About this listing
This entry was compiled from publicly available data including Bifrost's official website, press releases, documentation, and reputable third-party publications. RECATOOLS is not affiliated with Bifrost unless explicitly stated.
Third-party AI tools update their pricing, features, availability, and policies frequently. Information here may be outdated by the time you read this — we make reasonable efforts to keep listings current, but cannot guarantee absolute accuracy.
For the latest details, please refer to Bifrost directly →
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