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Inference Labs vs Portkey
Honest, dated comparison of Inference Labs and Portkey -- router architecture, eval pipeline, pricing, public utilities, and when to pick each. Updated 2026-05-28.
Portkey
AI gateway and observability suite for production LLM workloads.
Strengths
- Mature observability + tracing UI with built-in dashboards.
- Fallback chains, retries, conditional routing, and caching are all configurable from the dashboard.
- Enterprise features (RBAC, SOC2, audit logs) shipped in higher tiers.
- Strong integration story with major LLM observability tools.
Inference Labs
Vendor-neutral multimodal router + cache + eval pipeline. BYO provider keys, per-workspace policy router, JSONL eval/SFT exports, MCP server for Claude Desktop.
Where Inference Labs differs
- Inference Labs's eval pipeline is first-class: production traces feed directly into JSONL SFT / preference / eval set exports and benchmark runs.
- Public free pricing API + SVG badges + embeddable price-table iframe (zero-auth utilities anyone can consume).
- MCP server so Claude Desktop / Cursor / Windsurf users can route LLM calls through us directly from their editor.
- Self-hosted PEP-503 pip index for the SDK -- the Python install path is one line and doesn't depend on third-party package registries.
Feature-by-feature
| Capability | Portkey | Inference Labs |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor-neutral router | Yes | Yes |
| Observability + traces dashboard | Yes (strong) | Yes |
| Eval / fine-tune dataset pipeline | Add-on | Built-in |
| Free public pricing API | No | Yes |
| MCP server for Claude Desktop/Cursor | No | Yes |
| Multi-modal (image, video) routing | Limited | In active development |
| Self-hosted pip index for SDK install | No | Yes |
Which one should you pick?
Pick Portkey if…
you primarily want observability + a configurable gateway and you're already invested in Portkey's dashboard.
Pick Inference Labs if…
you want routing + evals + fine-tuning datasets in the same pipeline, plus zero-auth public utilities (pricing API, badges, MCP) you can build into your own tooling.
Many teams adopt both: Portkey for one workload (or its specific strength) and Inference Labs for the routing + evaluation layer. The platforms are not mutually exclusive.
Try Inference Labs free. 500 credits, no card required, takes 30 seconds to send your first routed request. Create an account → or read the 5-min quickstart.
Frequently asked
Is this comparison biased toward Inference Labs?
We try to be honest. We name Portkey's real strengths up front, then describe where Inference Labs is genuinely different -- not better at everything. If you spot something factually wrong, email [email protected] and we will update the page.
Can I use both?
Yes. Inference Labs is BYO-provider-key and never requires you to drop another tool. Many users wire Portkey for one surface (e.g. observability) and Inference Labs for the routing + eval pipeline.
Where can I see live pricing?
Our public dataset is at /api/prices.json (CC BY 4.0) and the human view is at /benchmarks.html. To estimate your spend, use the cost calculator.