Two AI gateways, side by side.
An objective comparison, sourced from each product's public documentation. We attribute no motive. We state what each one does.
Feature comparison
| Dimension | LowRouter | OpenRouter |
|---|---|---|
| Per-request metadata | lowrouter_metadata on every response: provider, region, gCO₂eq, grid carbon intensity, and upstream cost. | Provider and token cost are returned; carbon and datacenter-level data are not part of the response format. |
| Carbon accounting | Per-call gCO₂eq computed from open grid datasets (Ember Climate + regional grid operators) and EcoLogits energy modelling; methodology published. | No carbon accounting features in the public documentation. |
| Jurisdiction control | Filter to EU-only providers and pin an alias to a specific provider, model, and region on any account; the routed region is confirmed in every response. Operated by Carbonifer SAS (France, EU). Automatic jurisdiction policies are on the roadmap. | EU in-region routing on enterprise plans; provider-level data policies on standard accounts. Operated from the US. |
| Routing signals | auto/<creator>/<model> keeps the model your choice and picks the route: EU-sovereign providers first, then lowest grid carbon, then lowest price. You can also choose an explicit provider, model, and region yourself. Configurable routing policies are on the roadmap. | Price, throughput, and uptime (documented strategy, tunable via sort/order); openrouter/auto model selection via a third-party router (NotDiamond). |
| Rights over prompts | No storage of prompt or output content except as strictly necessary; no license claimed over your prompts (ToS §26). | No storage by default; opt-in prompt logging (≈1% discount) grants a perpetual, irrevocable license for OpenRouter's own commercial purposes, including selling User Content in anonymized form (their ToS). |
- Per-request metadata
LowRouter: lowrouter_metadata on every response: provider, region, gCO₂eq, grid carbon intensity, and upstream cost.
OpenRouter: Provider and token cost are returned; carbon and datacenter-level data are not part of the response format.
- Carbon accounting
LowRouter: Per-call gCO₂eq computed from open grid datasets (Ember Climate + regional grid operators) and EcoLogits energy modelling; methodology published.
OpenRouter: No carbon accounting features in the public documentation.
- Jurisdiction control
LowRouter: Filter to EU-only providers and pin an alias to a specific provider, model, and region on any account; the routed region is confirmed in every response. Operated by Carbonifer SAS (France, EU). Automatic jurisdiction policies are on the roadmap.
OpenRouter: EU in-region routing on enterprise plans; provider-level data policies on standard accounts. Operated from the US.
- Routing signals
LowRouter: auto/<creator>/<model> keeps the model your choice and picks the route: EU-sovereign providers first, then lowest grid carbon, then lowest price. You can also choose an explicit provider, model, and region yourself. Configurable routing policies are on the roadmap.
OpenRouter: Price, throughput, and uptime (documented strategy, tunable via sort/order); openrouter/auto model selection via a third-party router (NotDiamond).
- Rights over prompts
LowRouter: No storage of prompt or output content except as strictly necessary; no license claimed over your prompts (ToS §26).
OpenRouter: No storage by default; opt-in prompt logging (≈1% discount) grants a perpetual, irrevocable license for OpenRouter's own commercial purposes, including selling User Content in anonymized form (their ToS).
Comparison based on public documentation as of July 2026. OpenRouter is a trademark of its respective owner; this page is not affiliated with or endorsed by OpenRouter.