Vercel AI Gateway API - Unified AI Model Access Interface

📋 Service Overview

Service Name: Vercel AI Gateway API
Provider: Vercel
API Endpoint: Unified gateway endpoint (accessed via Vercel AI SDK)
Service Type: Free Trial ($5 monthly credits) + Paid Usage
Registration Requirements: Vercel account required

✅ Service Description

Vercel AI Gateway API is a unified AI model access gateway provided by Vercel, allowing developers to access hundreds of AI models from multiple providers through a single interface.

Key Features

• 🌐 Unified Interface: Access all provider models through one endpoint
• 🔄 Automatic Failover: Automatically switches to backup provider when failures occur
• 💰 Transparent Pricing: Based on upstream provider list prices with zero markup
• 🔑 BYOK Support: Use your own API keys with zero markup
• ⚡ High Performance: Vercel sets no rate limits; determined by upstream providers
• 📊 Unified Billing: All costs settled through Vercel billing

🎁 Supported Providers

Vercel AI Gateway supports multiple mainstream AI providers:

Provider List

Note: For the complete list of available models, please refer to the Vercel AI SDK Documentation.

🔢 Quotas and Limits

Free Tier Limits

⚠️ Important Limitations

1. Free Credit Limitations: Once you purchase AI Gateway Credits, your account converts to paid status and no longer receives $5 monthly free credits.
2. Upstream Rate Limits: Vercel sets no rate limits, but each provider has their own restrictions. Must comply with upstream provider policies.
3. Model Availability: Model availability depends on upstream providers and may vary by region or account type.
4. BYOK Usage: When using BYOK (Bring Your Own Key), you theoretically bypass Gateway Credits billing, but thorough testing before production is recommended.

Quota Reset Time

• Free Credits: Auto-refreshes every 30 days
• Paid Usage: Billed based on actual usage; no reset cycle

💰 Pricing

Free Trial

• Free Credits: $5 per team account per month
• Validity: Auto-refreshes every 30 days
• How to Get: Automatically granted when you first use AI Gateway after registration
• Note: Once you purchase AI Gateway Credits (top-up), you’ll switch to paid mode and no longer receive the monthly free $5

Paid Pricing

Note:

• Vercel AI Gateway adds zero markup (0%) for all modes
• Actual costs depend on models used and upstream provider pricing
• For specific prices, please refer to each provider’s official pricing page

🚀 How to Use

Prerequisites

1. Register Vercel Account

Please first register a Vercel account

2. Choose Usage Mode

Vercel AI Gateway supports two usage modes:

Mode 1: Using Gateway Credits (Recommended for beginners)

• No need to manage multiple API keys
• Unified billing for easy management
• $5 monthly free credits

Mode 2: BYOK (Bring Your Own Key)

• Use your own API keys
• Vercel zero markup (0%)
• Suitable for users who already have API keys

💻 Code Examples

Install Dependencies

npm install ai @ai-sdk/openai @vercel/ai-gateway

Python Example (Using OpenAI SDK)

Basic Usage (Gateway Credits Mode):

from openai import OpenAI

# Initialize client
# Note: Use the actual base_url from your Vercel Dashboard AI Gateway settings
client = OpenAI(
    base_url="https://gateway.vercel.ai/v1",  # Example endpoint, replace with actual
    api_key="YOUR_VERCEL_API_KEY"  # ⬅️ Replace with your Vercel API key
)

# Send request
response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="gpt-4o",
    messages=[
        {"role": "system", "content": "You are a helpful assistant."},
        {"role": "user", "content": "Explain the advantages of Vercel AI Gateway"}
    ],
    max_tokens=1000
)

# Print response
print(response.choices[0].message.content)

# Check token usage
print(f"\nTokens used: {response.usage.total_tokens}")

Streaming Output Example:

# Streaming output
stream = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="gpt-4o",
    messages=[
        {"role": "user", "content": "Write a poem about cloud computing"}
    ],
    stream=True
)

for chunk in stream:
    if chunk.choices[0].delta.content:
        print(chunk.choices[0].delta.content, end="")

Node.js Example (Using Vercel AI SDK)

Basic Usage:

import { createAI } from '@ai-sdk/openai';
import { generateText } from 'ai';

// Configure AI Gateway
const ai = createAI({
  apiKey: process.env.VERCEL_API_KEY,
  // Enable Gateway
  gateway: {
    enabled: true
  }
});

async function main() {
  // Use OpenAI model
  const { text } = await generateText({
    model: ai('gpt-4o'),
    prompt: 'Explain the advantages of Vercel AI Gateway',
  });

  console.log(text);
}

main();

Using Multiple Providers (Failover):

import { createAI } from '@ai-sdk/openai';
import { createAnthropic } from '@ai-sdk/anthropic';
import { generateText } from 'ai';

// Configure primary provider
const openai = createAI({
  apiKey: process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY,
  gateway: { enabled: true }
});

// Configure backup provider
const anthropic = createAnthropic({
  apiKey: process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY,
  gateway: { enabled: true }
});

async function generateWithFallback() {
  try {
    // First try OpenAI
    const { text } = await generateText({
      model: openai('gpt-4o'),
      prompt: 'Hello, world!',
    });
    return text;
  } catch (error) {
    console.log('OpenAI failed, switching to Anthropic');
    // Automatically switch to Anthropic on failure
    const { text } = await generateText({
      model: anthropic('claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022'),
      prompt: 'Hello, world!',
    });
    return text;
  }
}

generateWithFallback();

BYOK Mode Example

import { createAI } from '@ai-sdk/openai';
import { generateText } from 'ai';

// Use your own OpenAI API key
const openai = createAI({
  apiKey: process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY,  // Your own key
  gateway: {
    enabled: true,
    byok: true  // Enable BYOK mode
  }
});

async function main() {
  const { text } = await generateText({
    model: openai('gpt-4o'),
    prompt: 'Call using BYOK mode',
  });

  console.log(text);
}

main();

cURL Example

Basic Request (adjust based on specific configuration):

curl https://api.vercel.ai/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_VERCEL_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "model": "openai:gpt-4o",
    "messages": [
      {
        "role": "user",
        "content": "Hello, Vercel AI Gateway!"
      }
    ]
  }'

Note: Specific endpoint and request format may vary by configuration. Please refer to the official documentation for the latest information.

🌟 Core Advantages

Technical Advantages

1. Simplified Integration:

   • No need to manage multiple API keys and accounts
   • Unified interface reduces learning curve
   • Quick switching between different providers

2. High Availability:

   • Automatic failover mechanism
   • Multi-provider redundancy
   • Improved service stability

3. Cost Optimization:

   • Zero markup strategy
   • BYOK support to reduce costs
   • Transparent pricing mechanism

Comparison with Other Solutions

💡 Best Practices

✅ Recommended Approaches

1. Maximize Free Credits:

   • Use free credits to test different provider models
   • Evaluate model performance and costs
   • Find the best model for your needs

2. Configure Failover:

   • Configure multiple providers for critical services
   • Set reasonable timeout and retry strategies
   • Monitor provider availability

3. Use BYOK to Reduce Costs:

   • Use BYOK mode if you already have API keys
   • Enjoy Vercel Gateway convenience without extra cost
   • Flexibly control usage across providers

🎯 Best Practices

Optimize Requests:

• Set reasonable max_tokens to avoid waste
• Use streaming output for better UX
• Cache common query results

Error Handling:

import { generateText } from 'ai';

async function robustGenerate(model, prompt, maxRetries = 3) {
  for (let i = 0; i < maxRetries; i++) {
    try {
      const { text } = await generateText({
        model,
        prompt,
      });
      return text;
    } catch (error) {
      console.error(`Attempt ${i + 1} failed:`, error.message);
      
      if (i === maxRetries - 1) {
        throw new Error('All retries failed');
      }
      
      // Exponential backoff
      await new Promise(resolve => 
        setTimeout(resolve, Math.pow(2, i) * 1000)
      );
    }
  }
}

Monitor Usage:

• Regularly check Vercel Dashboard usage statistics
• Set budget alerts to avoid overspending
• Analyze cost-effectiveness of each model

⚠️ Considerations

1. Free Credit Management: Avoid exhausting all free credits before month-end; allocate usage wisely.
2. Provider Limits: Understand rate limits and usage policies of upstream providers.
3. Data Privacy: Confirm data usage policies of each provider; choose models that meet requirements.
4. Regional Restrictions: Some provider models may be unavailable in certain regions.

🎯 Real-World Use Cases

Case 1: Multi-Model Comparison Application

Scenario: Build an application that calls multiple models simultaneously and compares results.

import { createAI } from '@ai-sdk/openai';
import { createAnthropic } from '@ai-sdk/anthropic';
import { generateText } from 'ai';

const openai = createAI({
  apiKey: process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY,
  gateway: { enabled: true }
});

const anthropic = createAnthropic({
  apiKey: process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY,
  gateway: { enabled: true }
});

async function compareModels(prompt) {
  const models = [
    { name: 'GPT-4o', provider: openai('gpt-4o') },
    { name: 'Claude 3.5 Sonnet', provider: anthropic('claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022') }
  ];

  const results = await Promise.all(
    models.map(async ({ name, provider }) => {
      const startTime = Date.now();
      const { text } = await generateText({
        model: provider,
        prompt,
      });
      const duration = Date.now() - startTime;

      return { name, text, duration };
    })
  );

  return results;
}

// Usage example
const results = await compareModels('Explain the basic principles of quantum computing');
results.forEach(({ name, text, duration }) => {
  console.log(`\n=== ${name} (${duration}ms) ===`);
  console.log(text);
});

Case 2: High-Availability Chatbot

Scenario: Build a chatbot with automatic failover.

import { generateText } from 'ai';

const providers = [
  { name: 'OpenAI', model: openai('gpt-4o'), priority: 1 },
  { name: 'Anthropic', model: anthropic('claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022'), priority: 2 },
  { name: 'Google', model: google('gemini-pro'), priority: 3 }
];

async function chatWithFallback(message) {
  // Sort by priority
  const sortedProviders = providers.sort((a, b) => a.priority - b.priority);

  for (const provider of sortedProviders) {
    try {
      console.log(`Trying ${provider.name}...`);
      
      const { text } = await generateText({
        model: provider.model,
        prompt: message,
      });

      console.log(`✅ ${provider.name} succeeded`);
      return {
        text,
        provider: provider.name
      };
    } catch (error) {
      console.error(`❌ ${provider.name} failed: ${error.message}`);
      continue;
    }
  }

  throw new Error('All providers unavailable');
}

// Usage example
const response = await chatWithFallback('Hello, introduce yourself');
console.log(`Response from ${response.provider}:`, response.text);

🔧 FAQ

Q: What’s the difference between Vercel AI Gateway and other AI Gateway services?
A: Vercel AI Gateway’s core advantages are zero markup, automatic failover, and unified billing. Many other Gateway services charge 5-20% markup.

Q: Will I be charged automatically when free credits run out?
A: No. When free credits are exhausted, requests will fail if you haven’t purchased Gateway Credits. You need to actively purchase credits to continue.

Q: Do I still get failover functionality in BYOK mode?
A: Yes, but you need to configure keys for multiple providers yourself. Vercel won’t automatically transfer between different providers.

Q: Which programming languages are supported?
A: Vercel AI SDK primarily supports JavaScript/TypeScript. For other languages, use standard HTTP requests or official SDKs from each provider.

Q: Can I use AI Gateway outside Vercel platform?
A: Yes, Vercel AI Gateway doesn’t restrict deployment platforms and can be used in any environment that supports HTTP requests.

Q: What are the rate limits?
A: Vercel sets no rate limits; specific limits depend on upstream providers. When using Gateway Credits, Vercel is negotiating higher limits with providers.

🔗 Related Resources

• API Documentation: https://vercel.com/docs/ai-gateway
• AI SDK Documentation: https://ai-sdk.dev/providers/ai-sdk-providers/ai-gateway
• Pricing Page: https://vercel.com/docs/ai-gateway/pricing
• Provider Homepage: Vercel AI Gateway
• Open-source Chatbot Template: https://github.com/vercel-labs/ai-chatbot-gateway
• Vercel Dashboard: https://vercel.com/dashboard

📝 Changelog

• January 2026: Continuing to provide $5 monthly free credits
• December 2024: Vercel AI Gateway officially launched
• 2024: Continuously adding support for more AI providers

Service Provider: Vercel AI Gateway