Cortecs
Vienna gateway that routes one API across European and other providers, with an EU-only routing option and payloads held only in volatile memory
Quick Overview
| Company | Cortecs GmbH, company register number 560802i, Commercial Court of Vienna |
|---|---|
| Category | LLM API Providers Alternatives |
| Headquarters | Vienna, Austria |
| EU Presence | EU (Austria) |
| Data Location | Depends on the provider chosen: the home page lists 16 active providers including IONOS, Scaleway, OVH, Nebius and Berget alongside Amazon, Google and Microsoft, and a Sovereign Cloud mode restricts routing to providers established in the EU |
| Open Source | No |
| Compliance | ISO certified, EU Sovereign, AI Act and GDPR claimed on its home page |
| Pricing | Pay as you go at the provider price plus a 5% flat service fee, billed in euro by card or invoice |
| Replaces | OpenRouter, AWS Bedrock |
Detailed Review
Cortecs is a Vienna company that sells an LLM router: one API, one invoice, and policy-based routing across providers. Its home page lists 16 active providers, including Berget, IONOS, Scaleway, OVH and Nebius, and also Amazon, Google and Microsoft, supports OpenAI or Anthropic endpoints, and adds budgets, usage tracking per team or key, and a model catalog of more than 150 models.
The imprint names Cortecs GmbH at Althanstraße 4 in Vienna, company register number 560802i, Commercial Court of Vienna, and the terms apply Austrian law with Vienna courts. The DPA states that payload data is processed only in volatile memory and deleted on completion of the routing request, that operational metadata may be kept for up to twelve months, and that data sent to an inference sub-processor follows that provider's own retention policy.
Pricing is pay as you go at the provider's direct price plus a 5% flat service fee, in euro by card or invoice. The Sovereign Cloud option restricts routing to providers established in the EU.
What Cortecs does well
- Sovereign Cloud mode limits routing to EU-established providers
- One API and one euro invoice across many providers
- Payloads held only in volatile memory, per the DPA
- Budgets and usage tracking by team, user, key and provider
Where Cortecs falls short
- Outside Sovereign Cloud mode, requests can reach Amazon, Google or Microsoft
- Retention at the end provider depends on that provider
- A gateway fee of 5% is added to every provider price
Standout feature. It is the only provider here whose DPA states that retention at the sub-processor is the customer's responsibility to configure.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Sovereign Cloud mode limits routing to EU-established providers
- One API and one euro invoice across many providers
- Payloads held only in volatile memory, per the DPA
- Budgets and usage tracking by team, user, key and provider
Cons
- Outside Sovereign Cloud mode, requests can reach Amazon, Google or Microsoft
- Retention at the end provider depends on that provider
- A gateway fee of 5% is added to every provider price
Alternatives to Cortecs
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Cortecs?
Cortecs is a Vienna company that sells an LLM router: one API, one invoice, and policy-based routing across providers. Its home page lists 16 active providers, including Berget, IONOS, Scaleway, OVH and Nebius, and also Amazon, Google and Microsoft, supports OpenAI or Anthropic endpoints, and adds budgets, usage tracking per team or key, and a model catalog of more than 150 models.
Where is Cortecs based?
Cortecs operates from Vienna, Austria, which places it under EU (Austria). Compliance: ISO certified, EU Sovereign, AI Act and GDPR claimed on its home page.
What does Cortecs cost?
Pay as you go at the provider price plus a 5% flat service fee, billed in euro by card or invoice.
Who is Cortecs best for?
Teams that want one European gateway that can be limited to EU-established providers. It is the only provider here whose DPA states that retention at the sub-processor is the customer's responsibility to configure.
What are the drawbacks of Cortecs?
Outside Sovereign Cloud mode, requests can reach Amazon, Google or Microsoft. Retention at the end provider depends on that provider. A gateway fee of 5% is added to every provider price.
Is Cortecs a good alternative to OpenRouter?
Cortecs is built as a European alternative to OpenRouter: Vienna gateway that routes one API across European and other providers, with an EU-only routing option and payloads held only in volatile memory. It will not be a like-for-like feature match in every respect, so check the review above for where the two genuinely differ before switching.
How does Cortecs compare to other LLM API Providers Alternatives tools?
Cortecs is one of several European LLM API Providers Alternatives tools we cover. It is most often compared with OpenRouter, AWS Bedrock.