Self-Hosted vs Cloud

BitRouter ships as a single open-source binary under Apache 2.0. You can run it entirely self-hosted with your own provider keys and never pay for the software itself. BitRouter Cloud is an optional hosted layer you attach to that same binary when you want managed infrastructure, team features, or a provider network you don't have to wire up yourself.

This page is the one place in get-started where Cloud is framed against the self-hosted option. Read it once, decide, then move on.

The core is identical either way

Every routing, fallback, model-variant, BYOK, local-model, guardrail, observability, MCP, ACP, and structured-output capability works the same whether you self-host the binary or attach a Cloud account to it. Cloud adds what needs a server you don't run — it does not replace or restrict the core.

Capability comparison

What each option is best for

Self-hosted is the right default if you:

• Already have provider API keys and want full control over where your traffic goes.
• Are running local or private models that never leave your network.
• Have compliance or data-residency requirements that prevent traffic from leaving your infrastructure.
• Are prototyping alone and don't need team access controls yet.

Cloud makes sense when you:

• Want a single account and no upstream key management — one bill, billed per request, failed requests not charged.
• Need open models served at a discount without setting up your own provider accounts.
• Are working with a team and need per-workspace isolation, seat management, and a hosted console.
• Want an uptime SLA and priority support for production workloads.

What Cloud adds in detail

Managed provider network

Cloud's managed provider network means you make model requests without setting up upstream accounts or storing API keys. Today this is Managed Models — one account, requests billed per token, open models served at a discount below official pricing. Managed Tools and Agents are on the roadmap.

Team workspaces

A Cloud account gives you workspaces: isolated environments with their own API keys, routing policies, usage data, and access controls. Each member gets a seat scoped to specific workspaces. Credential scoping is strict — a workspace-baked key cannot reach other workspaces or manage billing. See Cloud Workspaces for the full model.

For the OSS namespace isolation primitive (available in both self-hosted and Cloud), see Namespaces.

Hosted observability

The Cloud console surfaces per-workspace request history, spend, and usage breakdowns without you running any infrastructure. The self-hosted binary exports the same data via OTLP if you run your own observability stack.

Billing and SLA

Cloud provides managed billing (one wallet, per-request, failed requests not charged) and an uptime SLA on the hosted endpoint. Self-hosted has no software licensing cost and no SLA commitment from Anthropic on your own infrastructure.

Attaching Cloud to a self-hosted binary

Cloud is not a different binary — it's an account you attach:

bitrouter auth login
# Opens a browser to sign in and pick a workspace.
# Your local binary now routes Cloud-managed models alongside your BYOK keys.

You can add or remove the Cloud account at any time. The binary's self-hosted capabilities are unaffected either way.

Next steps

• Using Cloud managed models — see Managed Models for the model catalog, pricing, and how to make your first managed request.
• Namespaces (OSS isolation) — see Namespaces for the self-hosted isolation primitive.
• Team workspaces — see Cloud Workspaces for seats, credential scoping, and per-workspace policies.
• Full Cloud overview — see Cloud Overview for the complete hosted layer reference.