OpenRouter

What is OpenRouter?

OpenRouter is a unified API and gateway for calling large language models from many providers with one account and one API key. It implements the OpenAI API format for completions and chat completions, supports text, images and PDFs, and routes each request to a provider, falling back automatically if one returns an error. You buy credits and each request deducts its cost, with inference passed through at the provider's list price. The platform lists 500+ models from 80+ providers on paid plans, plus 25+ free models. Developers can use routing variants such as :nitro for throughput, :floor for lowest price and :exacto for tool-calling reliability, and a chat page lets you try models in the browser. The Free plan costs nothing, Standard adds a 5.5% fee on credit purchases, Business adds an 8% fee plus EU and US in-region routing, and Enterprise is priced by contract. There are no monthly minimums on Standard or Business.

Use cases

• Call many LLMs through one API key
• Fail over to another provider automatically
• Compare model prices and throughput
• Cap team spending on AI inference
• Route requests inside the EU or US
• Try models in a browser chat room

Who it's for

• App developers
• AI startups
• Engineering teams
• Enterprises

Why use OpenRouter

• One account and one API key reach models from many providers, so switching models needs few code changes.
• Inference is billed at the provider's list price, with fees applied only when credits are bought.
• Fallback routing improves uptime when a single provider has errors, and failed attempts are not billed for model tokens.
• Budgets, activity logs and data policies give teams visibility and control over AI spend.
• Standard and Business have no minimum spend and no lock-in.

OpenRouter features

• OpenAI-compatible API for completions and chat completions
• 500+ models and 80+ providers on paid plans
• 25+ free models with the :free variant
• Automatic fallback to the next provider on errors
• Routing variants :nitro, :floor and :exacto
• Budgets and spend controls on paid plans
• Prompt caching and auto-routing
• Bring your own provider keys with a monthly fee-free allowance
• Activity logs and export
• EU and US in-region routing on Business and Enterprise
• SSO/SAML, SLAs and invoicing on Enterprise

OpenRouter integrations

• OpenAI API format
• Slack
• TypeScript SDK
• Python
• cURL

How to get started with OpenRouter

1. Sign up and top up your balance on the Credits page.
2. Create an API key, or try models first in the chat room.
3. Send requests to the OpenAI-compatible endpoint, naming any supported model.
4. OpenRouter routes the request to a provider and falls back to another if one errors.
5. Review spend by model and key in the Activity tab, and set budgets or upgrade the plan if needed.

OpenRouter limitations

• Free plan has 50 requests/day and 5 workspaces
• Free-model limits rise to 1000 requests/day once you have bought at least 10 credits
• Credit purchases carry a fee: 5.5% on Standard and 8% on Business
• In-region routing, advanced notifications and Workload Identity Federation require Business or Enterprise
• Pay-as-you-go plans include $25,000 of BYOK inference per month, with a 5% fee above that

OpenRouter pricing

Yes, OpenRouter has a free plan.

OpenRouter plans

• Free

  Free

  • 25+ free models
  • 4 free providers
  • Chat and API access
  • 50 requests/day
  • Community support

• Standard Pay-as-you-go

  5.5% platform fee

  charged on credit purchases

  • 500+ models, 80+ providers
  • Budgets and spend controls
  • Prompt caching
  • Email support

• Business Pay-as-you-go

  8% platform fee

  charged on credit purchases

  • EU and US in-region routing
  • Advanced notifications
  • Workload Identity Federation
  • 1,000 workspaces

• Enterprise

  Custom

  set by contract

  • SSO/SAML
  • Contractual SLAs
  • Invoicing options
  • Dedicated support team

Plans as listed on the official pricing page on 24 Oct 2026. Prices can change and may vary by country or exclude tax. Check the official pricing page.

OpenRouter alternatives

The main OpenRouter alternatives listed on Debuly are LiteLLM, Portkey, Together AI, Mesh API, Blackbox AI and nRouter. The table compares pricing and platforms; order is A–Z.

1. 

   Blackbox AI

   Inference platform with one OpenAI-compatible endpoint for 300+ open and closed models, encrypted connections, and dedicated enterprise deployments.

   Developer platformsCodingAutomation and agents
   Contact salesVisit Blackbox AI (official site)
2. 

   LiteLLM

   Open-source AI gateway and Python SDK that gives one OpenAI-format API to 100+ LLM providers, with keys, budgets and cost tracking.

   Developer platformsCodingAutomation and agents
   Open sourceVisit LiteLLM (official site)
3. 

   Mesh API

   Pay-as-you-go gateway giving one API key and one bill for 1,000+ AI models across many providers.

   Developer platforms
   PaidVisit Mesh API (official site)
4. 

   nRouter

   LLM gateway with one OpenAI-compatible API key, budgets, guardrails and pay-as-you-go credits at list price.

   Developer platformsAutomation and agents
   PaidVisit nRouter (official site)
5. 

   Portkey

   AI gateway with observability, guardrails, caching and prompt management for teams running LLM apps in production.

   Developer platformsAutomation and agents
   FreemiumVisit Portkey (official site)
6. 

   Together AI

   AI cloud for running open-source models through serverless and batch inference, dedicated endpoints, GPU clusters and fine-tuning.

   Developer platformsCoding
   PaidVisit Together AI (official site)

OpenRouter FAQ

Sources & verification

Facts on this page come from the official sources below, each with the date we read it. Written by Debuly; the vendor did not review this page.

Image credits

• Logo: from openrouter.ai · fetched 24 Oct 2026 · Vendor trademark, used only to identify the product; removed on request
• Cover: none collected yet, so a generated tile is shown.

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