--- title: "9router vs rtk" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/decolua-9router-vs-rtk-ai-rtk" tools: ["decolua-9router", "rtk-ai-rtk"] --- # 9router vs rtk Neutral, constraint-first comparison with live GitHub stats. | | [9router](/tools/decolua-9router.md) | [rtk](/tools/rtk-ai-rtk.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | FREE AI Router & Token Saver | High-performance CLI proxy that reduces LLM token consumption by 60-90% | | Stars | 20,882 | 69,390 | | Forks | 3,388 | 4,309 | | Open issues | 1,074 | 1,517 | | Language | JavaScript | Rust | | Adopt for | An efficient coding tool that connects multiple AI providers to save tokens and avoid rate limits, offering a 20-40% token saving feature with RTK and auto-fallback to free models. | Compresses CLI command outputs to reduce LLM token consumption by 60-90%, enhancing cost efficiency. | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | MIT | Apache-2.0 | | Categories | AI Agents, Inference & Serving | Inference & Serving, Developer Tools | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [9router](/tools/decolua-9router.md) | [rtk](/tools/rtk-ai-rtk.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Open issues (now) | 1.1k | 1.5k | | Owner type | User | Organization | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/decolua-9router/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/rtk-ai-rtk/trust.md) | **Typed relationship:** 9router _(alternative)_ rtk Both 9Router and RTK aim to reduce LLM token consumption, but use different methods (auto-compression vs proxy reduction). ## Decision facts: 9router - **Adopt for:** An efficient coding tool that connects multiple AI providers to save tokens and avoid rate limits, offering a 20-40% token saving feature with RTK and auto-fallback to free models. ## Decision facts: rtk - **Adopt for:** Compresses CLI command outputs to reduce LLM token consumption by 60-90%, enhancing cost efficiency. ## Choose when ### Choose 9router if… - 9router is primarily JavaScript; rtk is Rust. - License: 9router is MIT, rtk is Apache-2.0. - Both 9Router and RTK aim to reduce LLM token consumption, but use different methods (auto-compression vs proxy reduction). - Tags unique to 9router: copilot, codex, chatgpt, ai-gateway. - Also covers AI Agents. - 9router ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment. - - When you need to connect various AI coding tools (like Claude Code, Codex) across 40+ providers. ### Choose rtk if… - rtk is primarily Rust; 9router is JavaScript. - License: rtk is Apache-2.0, 9router is MIT. - Both 9Router and RTK aim to reduce LLM token consumption, but use different methods (auto-compression vs proxy reduction). - Tags unique to rtk: command-line-tool, ai-coding, agentic-coding, claude-code. - Also covers Developer Tools. - - When working on projects where the usage of tokens for Language Models (LLMs) significantly impacts costs, rtk can drastically cut down on these expenses. ## When NOT to use 9router - - Avoid if you are looking for specialized features specific to a single top-tier AI coding tool, as 9router's strength lies in its multi-provider fallback and token-saving functionalities. - - If the project requires heavy reliance on expensive APIs where cost is not a concern and direct access without intermediate routing offers better performance or control. - - For users who prefer manual switching between different providers to maintain full control over which AI services they use at any given time. ## When NOT to use rtk - - If your project or work environment does not involve substantial interaction with LLMs, the benefits of using rtk in terms of token and cost reduction will be negligible. - - For projects where CLI output integrity needs to remain unchanged (e.g., for debugging purposes), rtk's compression and filtering might interfere with essential outputs needed for analysis. ## Common questions ### What is the difference between 9router and rtk? 9router: FREE AI Router & Token Saver. rtk: High-performance CLI proxy that reduces LLM token consumption by 60-90%. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose 9router over rtk? Choose 9router over rtk when 9router is primarily JavaScript; rtk is Rust; License: 9router is MIT, rtk is Apache-2.0; Both 9Router and RTK aim to reduce LLM token consumption, but use different methods (auto-compression vs proxy reduction); Tags unique to 9router: copilot, codex, chatgpt, ai-gateway; Also covers AI Agents; 9router ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment; - When you need to connect various AI coding tools (like Claude Code, Codex) across 40+ providers. ### When should I choose rtk over 9router? Choose rtk over 9router when rtk is primarily Rust; 9router is JavaScript; License: rtk is Apache-2.0, 9router is MIT; Both 9Router and RTK aim to reduce LLM token consumption, but use different methods (auto-compression vs proxy reduction); Tags unique to rtk: command-line-tool, ai-coding, agentic-coding, claude-code; Also covers Developer Tools; - When working on projects where the usage of tokens for Language Models (LLMs) significantly impacts costs, rtk can drastically cut down on these expenses. ### When should I avoid 9router? - Avoid if you are looking for specialized features specific to a single top-tier AI coding tool, as 9router's strength lies in its multi-provider fallback and token-saving functionalities. - If the project requires heavy reliance on expensive APIs where cost is not a concern and direct access without intermediate routing offers better performance or control. - For users who prefer manual switching between different providers to maintain full control over which AI services they use at any given time. ### When should I avoid rtk? - If your project or work environment does not involve substantial interaction with LLMs, the benefits of using rtk in terms of token and cost reduction will be negligible. - For projects where CLI output integrity needs to remain unchanged (e.g., for debugging purposes), rtk's compression and filtering might interfere with essential outputs needed for analysis. ### Is 9router or rtk more popular on GitHub? rtk has more GitHub stars (69,390 vs 20,882). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are 9router and rtk open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (9router: MIT, rtk: Apache-2.0). ### Where can I find alternatives to 9router or rtk? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at /tools/decolua-9router/alternatives and /tools/rtk-ai-rtk/alternatives (/tools/decolua-9router/alternatives.md, /tools/rtk-ai-rtk/alternatives.md), ranked by typed relationship edges rather than popularity votes. ### Is there a machine-readable version of this comparison? Yes. The markdown twin at /compare/decolua-9router-vs-rtk-ai-rtk.md mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, 9router or rtk? 9router: Very active. rtk: Very active. Compare maintenance labels, days since push, and release cadence in the trust section below - stars alone do not measure maintenance. ### Where are the full trust reports for 9router and rtk? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: 9router: /tools/decolua-9router/trust; rtk: /tools/rtk-ai-rtk/trust. --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=decolua-9router`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=decolua-9router) - LLM index: [/llms.txt](/llms.txt) - Full corpus: [/llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt) _GraphCanon - The knowledge graph for AI development. https://www.graphcanon.com/_