llms ai-agents model-routing developer-tools

Everyone is building LLM routers, we deprecated ours

manifest.build

July 31, 2026

3 min read

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Summary

LLM routers, which select AI models dynamically for responses, have gained significant attention recently. A company has decided to deprecate its LLM router, stating that using a single, reliable model is more effective for most use cases.

Key Takeaways

Manifest deprecated its LLM router after four months of mixed results, concluding that a single, reliable model is often more effective for most use cases.
Complexity of tasks cannot be accurately determined from prompts alone, as additional context is often revealed through subsequent actions.
Caching is significantly more cost-effective than model routing, with cache reads being 75% to 90% cheaper than uncached inputs.
Switching between different models during workflows leads to lower quality work and unpredictability, which can complicate maintenance and management.

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Coverage & discussions

Hacker News · manifest.build

Everyone is building LLM routers, we deprecated ours ↗

Community discussions

Hacker News discussion ↗

Historical count: 5 · 5 saved in sample · Historical sample

Analysis ready

Community Sentiment

Mixed

Positives

Some commenters highlight the practicality of using cheaper models for personal tasks, emphasizing the importance of cost-effectiveness in LLM selection.
There's a belief that defining subagent roles linked to specific models can enhance efficiency, with one user sharing their success in optimizing workflows.

Concerns

Skepticism looms around the idea of LLM routing, with many arguing that understanding the subtleties of different models is impractical given the rapid pace of new releases.
Commenters express doubts about the viability of routing as a long-term solution, suggesting that model providers are better positioned to solve these challenges themselves.