Best Claude Code Proxies Compared (2026)
Claude Code's rate limits have spawned an ecosystem of proxy solutions. Each takes a different approach to the same problem: letting developers use Claude without getting throttled. Here's how the major options compare.
What Is a Claude Proxy?
A Claude proxy sits between your development tool (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.) and Anthropic's API. Instead of hitting Anthropic directly with your single account, the proxy routes requests through a pool of accounts, distributing the load so no single account hits rate limits.
The key differences between proxies are: who manages the accounts, what it costs, and how much maintenance you need to do.
Comparison Overview
| Feature | ccflare | 9Router | LiteLLM | OpenLimits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Self-hosted | Free service | Enterprise gateway | Managed service |
| Cost | Free (+ your accounts) | Free (limited) | Enterprise pricing | €120/mo |
| Account management | You manage | Shared pool | You manage | Fully managed |
| Setup time | 30-60 min | 5 min | 1-2 hours | 30 seconds |
| Maintenance | Ongoing | None | Ongoing | None |
| Streaming | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Extended thinking | Yes | Varies | Yes | Yes |
| Analytics dashboard | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Token tracking | No | No | Yes | Per-request |
| Automatic failover | Basic | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| OpenAI-compatible | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | No | Yes | No |
ccflare
ccflare is the most popular open-source Claude proxy. It's a Cloudflare Worker you deploy yourself that rotates requests across your own Anthropic accounts.
Pros
- Free to use (open source)
- Full control over your infrastructure
- Good streaming support
- Active community
Cons
- You need to create and manage multiple Anthropic accounts yourself
- OAuth token refresh must be handled manually or scripted
- No analytics or usage tracking
- No automatic failover on 429/529 errors (basic round-robin only)
- Requires Cloudflare account setup
Best for: developers comfortable with DevOps who want free, self-hosted rate limit bypass and don't mind managing accounts. See our detailed ccflare vs OpenLimits comparison.
9Router
9Router is a free proxy service that offers basic Claude API access through a shared account pool.
Pros
- Free to use
- No account management needed
- Quick setup
Cons
- Shared pool means unpredictable availability
- Limited throughput during peak hours
- No SLA or reliability guarantees
- No analytics or usage tracking
- Unclear long-term sustainability
Best for: trying out a proxy to see if it solves your rate limit issues. Not recommended for production use.
LiteLLM
LiteLLM is an enterprise-grade LLM proxy that supports multiple providers, including Anthropic. It's more of a general API gateway than a Claude-specific solution.
Pros
- Multi-provider support (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.)
- Enterprise features (logging, budgets, team management)
- Open source core
- OpenAI-compatible endpoint
Cons
- Complex setup — overkill for single-provider use
- Still requires your own API keys/accounts
- Doesn't solve rate limits by itself (no account pooling)
- Enterprise pricing for hosted version
Best for: teams already using multiple LLM providers who want a unified gateway. Not specifically designed for Claude rate limit bypass.
OpenLimits
OpenLimits is a fully managed Claude proxy service. You pay a flat monthly fee and get unlimited access without managing any accounts yourself.
Pros
- Zero setup — set two env vars and you're done
- No account management (fully managed pool)
- Real-time analytics dashboard with per-request token tracking
- Automatic failover with intelligent account selection
- OpenAI-compatible endpoint included
- Works with every dev tool (Claude Code, Cursor, Conductor, etc.)
- Predictable flat-rate pricing
Cons
- Monthly cost (€120/mo)
- Not open source
- Anthropic-only (no multi-provider support)
Best for: developers who want Claude without limits and don't want to manage infrastructure.
Which Should You Choose?
| If you want... | Choose |
|---|---|
| Free, DIY, full control | ccflare |
| Quick test, no commitment | 9Router |
| Multi-provider enterprise gateway | LiteLLM |
| Zero hassle, unlimited Claude, analytics | OpenLimits |