Portkey vs Adaptive ML
A side-by-side look at pricing plans, free tiers, features, pros and cons, updated for 2026. Portkey starts at $49/mo and Adaptive ML starts at See pricing page. Check both pricing pages for current plans.
At a glance
Best for
Category
Pricing model
Starting price
Free plan
Made by
Based in
Rating
Key features
- Universal LLM API
- Fallbacks and load balancing
- Logs and traces
- Guardrails
- Prompt management
- Budgets and rate limits
- RL-based model tuning
- LLM evaluation
- Model serving
- Open model specialization
- Enterprise deployment
| Feature | Portkey | Adaptive ML |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | AI gateway with observability, guardrails and prompt management | Tune, evaluate and serve specialized LLMs with reinforcement learning |
| Category | Models & APIs | Models & APIs |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Paid |
| Starting price | $49/mo | See pricing page |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Made by | Portkey (Palo Alto Networks) | Adaptive ML |
| Based in | United States | France |
| Rating | No ratings yet | No ratings yet |
| Key features |
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Pricing compared
Portkey starts at $49/mo and Adaptive ML starts at See pricing page. Check both pricing pages for current plans.
Free plan
Cheapest paid plan
Top plan
Free trial
3 plans
Developer
Free
- 10k recorded logs per month
- 3-day log retention
- AI gateway and observability
- Community support
Production
$49/mo
- 100k recorded logs per month
- $9 per extra 100k requests
- 30-day log retention
- Alerts and traces
Enterprise
Custom
- 10M+ recorded logs per month
- SSO and RBAC
- Custom guardrails
- Self-hosting
Prices in USD, checked Oct 29, 2026 or later. Plans change often, so confirm on each tool's site before you buy.
Pros and cons
Portkey
- One API for many model providers
- Request flow isn't cut at log limits
- Self-hosting option for enterprises
- Free plan keeps logs only 3 days
- SSO and RBAC need Enterprise
- Brand is shifting under Palo Alto Networks
Adaptive ML
- Lets smaller models match larger ones
- Evaluation and serving in one place
- You own the tuned models
- Acquired by Datadog, roadmap unclear
- No public pricing
- Needs ML expertise to use well
Which one should you choose?
Choose Portkey if you want:
- One API for many model providers
- Request flow isn't cut at log limits
- Self-hosting option for enterprises
Watch out: free plan keeps logs only 3 days.
Choose Adaptive ML if you want:
- Lets smaller models match larger ones
- Evaluation and serving in one place
- You own the tuned models
Watch out: acquired by datadog, roadmap unclear.
Portkey vs Adaptive ML FAQ
What is the difference between Portkey and Adaptive ML?
Portkey: AI gateway with observability, guardrails and prompt management. Adaptive ML: Tune, evaluate and serve specialized LLMs with reinforcement learning. Both are models & apis tools.
Is Portkey or Adaptive ML cheaper?
Portkey starts at $49/mo and Adaptive ML starts at See pricing page. Check both pricing pages for current plans.
Do Portkey and Adaptive ML have free plans?
Portkey: Yes. Adaptive ML: No.
Who makes Portkey?
Portkey is made by Portkey (Palo Alto Networks), based in United States.
Who makes Adaptive ML?
Adaptive ML is made by Adaptive ML, based in France.
Which should I choose, Portkey or Adaptive ML?
Choose Portkey if you value one api for many model providers and request flow isn't cut at log limits. Choose Adaptive ML if you value lets smaller models match larger ones and evaluation and serving in one place.