BotTools / Coding
OpenRouter
One OpenAI-compatible API and chat for 600+ AI models from 80+ providers, with routing and automatic fallback between providers.
Free tierFree plan (25+ free models, 50 requests/day); pay as you go at provider prices plus a 5.5% fee when you buy creditsCoding
OpenRouter at a glance
| Category | Coding |
|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan (25+ free models, 50 requests/day); pay as you go at provider prices plus a 5.5% fee when you buy credits |
| Free tier | Yes |
| Pricing checked | 2026-11-09 |
| Official site | openrouter.ai |
Good for
What OpenRouter is used for
- Use one API key and one OpenAI-compatible API to call models from many AI companies; switch models by changing the model name.
- Try and compare different models in OpenRouter's chat before building with them.
- Keep an app running when a provider has problems: routing and fallback can retry other providers automatically.
OpenRouter pricing and key facts
- 600+ models from 80+ providers on paid plans; the Free plan has 25+ free models from 4 providers.
- Free plan: 50 requests a day. Free models are capped at 20 requests a minute, and the daily cap rises to 1,000 once you have bought at least $10 of credits.
- Paid plans are pay as you go: model tokens are billed at each provider's list price, and OpenRouter charges a fee when you buy credits, 5.5% on Standard and 8% on Business. No minimum spend. Enterprise pricing is by contract.
- Bring your own provider keys: Standard and Business include $25,000 of list-price usage a month with no OpenRouter fee, then 5%.
- Failed attempts are not charged for model tokens. OpenRouter says it does not train on your data, and Zero Data Retention routing is available on every plan.
From the official site, checked 2026-11-09: openrouter.ai/pricing.
OpenRouter FAQ
Is OpenRouter free?
There is a free plan with 25+ free models and 50 requests a day. Paid models are pay as you go.
Does OpenRouter mark up model prices?
No. OpenRouter says it bills tokens at the provider's list price and charges a 5.5% fee (8% on Business) when you buy credits.
Can I use OpenRouter with code written for OpenAI?
Yes. The API is OpenAI-compatible, so you change the base URL and model names.
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Pricing changes often; confirm on the official site before buying.