---
title: "Comment by dougame841114 on \"LLM Router vs Direct API: What Founders Should Weigh\" | Hashnode"
description: "Great comparison! This is a decision every founder building with LLMs has to make. Our take: it depends on where you are in your journey. Early stage / MVP: Use"
url: "https://hashnode.com/posts/llm-router-vs-direct-api-what-founders-should-weigh/6a8a59defa3c9bb6b78d1ff1/comment/6ab0a8f7fbb083d805cfb346"
---

[Discussion](https://hashnode.com/posts/llm-router-vs-direct-api-what-founders-should-weigh/6a8a59defa3c9bb6b78d1ff1)

Comment [LLM Router vs Direct API: What Founders Should Weigh](https://hashnode.com/posts/llm-router-vs-direct-api-what-founders-should-weigh/6a8a59defa3c9bb6b78d1ff1)

[dougame841114](https://hashnode.com/@dougame)

[Sep 21](https://hashnode.com/posts/llm-router-vs-direct-api-what-founders-should-weigh/6a8a59defa3c9bb6b78d1ff1/comment/6ab0a8f7fbb083d805cfb346)

Great comparison! This is a decision every founder building with LLMs has to make.

Our take: it depends on where you are in your journey.

**Early stage / MVP:** Use a router/gateway. It's faster to build with, you get access to more models, and you don't have to worry about vendor lock-in. You can start shipping in days instead of weeks.

**Scaling / optimization:** You might want to go direct for specific models to squeeze out better latency or custom features. But keep the gateway layer in front - you can always route to direct endpoints later.

**Full enterprise:** Probably a mix. Use the gateway for 80% of traffic (routine tasks), and go direct for the 20% that needs the absolute best performance or lowest latency.

We use JZS Token as our gateway. One endpoint, 40+ models, all three protocols (Chat Completions, Responses, Messages). It's saved us a ton of integration work.

The key insight: going direct sounds simpler, but once you need 3-4 different providers, the operational complexity adds up fast. A gateway pays for itself quickly.

Good article. This is a really useful decision framework.