OpenRouter: One API for Hundreds of AI Models

What is OpenRouter?

OpenRouter is a service that gives you one API and one account for hundreds of AI models from many providers. Instead of signing up with each lab, managing separate keys and bills, and writing different code for each, you send requests to OpenRouter and choose the model by name. It also has a chat room in the browser for trying models side by side.

Source: OpenRouter Docs: FAQ (fees, free models, BYOK, privacy); OpenRouter: Models

Why do developers use OpenRouter?

Three main reasons: one integration for many models (it implements the OpenAI API format, so existing OpenAI SDK code works by changing the base URL and key), better uptime because OpenRouter falls back to another provider when one returns an error, and one place to see and pay for all usage.

Source: OpenRouter Docs: FAQ (fees, free models, BYOK, privacy)

Is OpenRouter an AI model?

No. It routes your request to a model run by a provider (for example a lab's own API or a hosting company) and returns the result. The quality of answers depends on the model you pick, not on OpenRouter.

Source: OpenRouter Docs: FAQ (fees, free models, BYOK, privacy)

How much does OpenRouter cost?

Each model shows its price per million input and output tokens, and some charge per request, per image or for reasoning tokens. OpenRouter says it passes through the underlying provider's price with no markup. Its revenue is a fee of 5.5% (minimum $0.80) when you buy credits, or 5% for crypto payments.

Source: OpenRouter Docs: FAQ (fees, free models, BYOK, privacy)

Does OpenRouter have free models?

Yes. Many models have a free variant (the :free suffix). Free models have low rate limits: 50 requests a day in total, rising to 1,000 a day once you have purchased at least 10 credits. OpenRouter says free models are usually not suitable for production. The openrouter/free router can pick a free model automatically.

Source: OpenRouter Docs: FAQ (fees, free models, BYOK, privacy)

What is BYOK on OpenRouter?

Bring your own key lets you plug your own provider API keys into OpenRouter so you keep your own rate limits and billing with the provider while using OpenRouter's interface. Pay-as-you-go accounts get a free BYOK allowance of $25,000 of list-price usage per month; above that, OpenRouter charges 5% of what the same usage would normally cost on OpenRouter.

Source: OpenRouter Docs: FAQ (fees, free models, BYOK, privacy)

Do OpenRouter credits expire, and can I get a refund?

OpenRouter's terms reserve the right to expire unused credits one year after purchase. Unused credits can be refunded within 24 hours of purchase using the refund button on the Credits page; platform fees are not refunded and crypto payments are never refundable.

Source: OpenRouter Docs: FAQ (fees, free models, BYOK, privacy)

How do I get started?

Create an account, add credits on the Credits page (or start with free models), create an API key, and send requests to OpenRouter's endpoint using the OpenAI SDK or plain HTTP with your key as a Bearer token. Choose models by their OpenRouter ID from the models page.

Source: OpenRouter Docs: FAQ (fees, free models, BYOK, privacy)

What are :nitro and :floor?

They are routing variants you add to a model ID. :nitro sorts providers by throughput for faster responses, :floor sorts by price for the cheapest option, and :exacto prefers providers with the most reliable tool calling. :free and :batch are separate catalogue variants with their own pricing.

Source: OpenRouter Docs: FAQ (fees, free models, BYOK, privacy)

Can I use OpenRouter with coding tools?

Yes. Because it is OpenAI-compatible, many editors, agents and frameworks accept an OpenRouter base URL and key. Check each tool's documentation for custom provider settings.

Source: OpenRouter Docs: FAQ (fees, free models, BYOK, privacy)

Does OpenRouter log my prompts?

OpenRouter logs basic request metadata such as timestamps, model and token counts, but says it does not log prompts and completions unless you opt in. Opting in gives a 1% discount on usage. Chat room conversations are stored locally in your browser.

Source: OpenRouter Docs: FAQ (fees, free models, BYOK, privacy)

Will providers train on my data?

It depends on the provider. OpenRouter will not route to providers that log or train on data, or whose policy it cannot confirm, unless you enable that in your privacy settings. You can also enforce zero data retention (ZDR) endpoints, and EU in-region routing is available through eu.openrouter.ai.

Source: OpenRouter Docs: FAQ (fees, free models, BYOK, privacy)

Is OpenRouter cheaper than using a provider directly?

Token prices are the same as the provider's listed price, so OpenRouter costs slightly more overall because of the credit purchase fee. You pay that for one integration, one bill, fallbacks across providers and easy model switching.

Source: OpenRouter Docs: FAQ (fees, free models, BYOK, privacy)

When should I go direct instead?

If you use a single provider at high volume, need provider-specific features on day one, or have negotiated enterprise pricing, a direct account can be simpler and cheaper. Many teams prototype on OpenRouter and move heavy, stable workloads direct.