Tool profile
Portkey: cost, fit and limits
Portkey is an AI gateway and LLM operations platform that routes requests to many model providers and includes a prompt library, a playground, guardrails and logs. The pricing page states it is now part of the Prisma AIRS AI Gateway from Palo Alto Networks, and it keeps an open-source self-host route.
What to know first
Portkey stores prompts as a library attached to a gateway, so the prompt, the routing and the logs share one API. Every plan includes a playground, API endpoints, versioning and variables, and the difference is the template count: 3 on the free Developer plan, unlimited from Production at $49 a month. The pricing page notes the Palo Alto Networks link, which buyers should read before multi-year commitments.
Portkey at a glance
| Maker | Portkey, Inc., United States |
|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes |
| Entry price | $49 per month (Production) |
| API access | Yes |
| Category | Best AI Prompt Management Software in 2026, rank 7 of 10 |
| Website | portkey.ai |
Who Portkey is best for
Teams that already want a gateway
One API reaches many providers, and prompts stored in the library are called through the same endpoint, so routing and wording are managed together.
Teams with high log volume
Production includes 100k recorded logs a month with $9 per additional 100k, and 30-day log and 90-day metric retention, priced openly.
Companies needing guardrails
Production adds LLM and partner guardrails, RBAC and service-account API keys, which suits a team enforcing rules on prompts and outputs.
Security-reviewed procurement
The pricing page lists SOC2, ISO 27001, GDPR and HIPAA certificates, with SOC 2 Type 2 under Enterprise Essentials, and private-cloud options on Enterprise.
Portkey plans and pricing
| Plan | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Open Source | Self-host, price not listed | Run the gateway yourself. The page lists no limits or retention for this option. Retention and support are not described. |
| Developer | Free forever | 10K recorded logs a month, 3-day log and 30-day metric retention, 3 prompt templates. The page says not suitable for production workloads. |
| Production | $49 per month | 100K recorded logs (+$9 per additional 100K), 30-day log and 90-day metric retention, unlimited templates, guardrails, RBAC and service account keys. |
| Enterprise | Custom | 10M+ logs, custom retention, SSO, granular budgets and rate limits, dedicated support, and private cloud or VPC hosting. |
Checked October 2026.
What Portkey does
- Prompt library
- Saving a prompt adds it to the library, and each new prompt gets a unique ID for reference in applications through the Prompt API. The ID stays stable across edits.
- Versioning by user and time
- Changes are tracked by user and timestamp, so reviewers can see who edited a prompt and when. Prompt Versioning keeps that history for later review of who changed which wording and when.
- Prompt Playground
- Prompts are built and tested in the playground before saving, and all plans include the playground and variables. Variables are available on all plans, and testing happens before any prompt enters the library.
- Cross-workspace sharing
- Prompts can be shared across workspaces read-only, and recipients use them through the Prompt API or fork their own copy. Forking gives the receiving team an editable copy without touching the original library entry.
- Gateway extras
- Production adds guardrails, RBAC and service-account API keys, and Enterprise adds budgets, rate limits and private LLM deployments on AWS, GCP or Azure. These controls sit on the same gateway that serves prompt calls.
How Portkey handles your data
Portkey's pricing page lists SOC2, ISO 27001, GDPR and HIPAA certificates, a HIPAA badge in the footer, and private-cloud, VPC hosting and data isolation on Enterprise. It says Production is not recommended for organizations needing custom security controls or data residency guarantees, and names no hosting regions. The privacy policy page read showed a San Francisco address and a HIPAA badge but no policy text, so retention, subprocessors and training on customer data were not checked for this page.
Where Portkey falls short in practice
- Developer is not for production. The free plan keeps logs for only 3 days, allows 3 prompt templates and is marked unsuitable for production, so it works as a trial only.
- Residency guarantees need Enterprise. The page says Production is not recommended where custom security controls or data residency guarantees are needed, and lists no regions, so European buyers must go to sales.
- Ownership change. The pricing page states Portkey is now part of Palo Alto Networks' Prisma AIRS AI Gateway, with upgrade links pointing to Palo Alto pages. Roadmap and pricing may follow the parent.
- Prompt docs are partial. The library page read confirms history, playground and an API ID but does not describe variables, labels or render endpoints, so test release flow in a trial.
Works with
Alternatives to Portkey
Portkey: common questions
How many prompt templates does Portkey allow?
The Developer plan allows 3 prompt templates and Production and Enterprise allow unlimited templates. All plans include a playground, API endpoints, versioning and variables, so moving from Developer to Production at $49 a month mainly lifts the template and log limits.
What does Portkey Production cost?
Production is $49 a month with 100k recorded logs, then $9 per additional 100k. It keeps logs 30 days and metrics 90 days and adds guardrails, RBAC and service-account keys. The page says it is not recommended where data residency guarantees are required.
Is Portkey now owned by Palo Alto Networks?
The pricing page says Portkey is now part of the Prisma AIRS AI Gateway, and its upgrade and contact links lead to Palo Alto Networks pages. The wording of the deal was not on the pages read, so confirm how contracts and roadmap are affected.
Can Portkey be self-hosted?
The pricing page lists an Open Source option described as host it yourself via local deployment, with no price or limits shown. Enterprise adds private cloud deployment, VPC hosting and data isolation, and supports private LLM deployments on AWS, GCP or Azure.
How do I reference a Portkey prompt from code?
The library page says each saved prompt gets a unique ID that applications use through the Prompt API. Prompts shared to another workspace are read-only and can be used through the API or forked. Variable and label mechanics were not documented on that page.