Launched 2023 · Verified Oct 2, 2026

OpenRouter

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AI Gateways & Routing Write a reviewUnited StatesEffect81/ 100

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Single OpenAI-compatible API and credit balance for 500+ models from 80+ providers, with fallbacks and routing rules.

llm gateway model routing openai compatiblemulti providerusage based pricingFreemium

Listed on EffectHub · Oct 15, 2026

Web · API

Screenshot of the OpenRouter website — openrouter.ai as we captured it — our own screenshot, not the vendor’s press image.

Pricing

Pricing model: Freemium

There is no subscription: you prepay credits and pay each model's per-token price plus a platform fee of 5.5% on Standard or 8% on Business. The free tier gives 25+ free models capped at 50 requests per day; bring-your-own-key usage is fee-free up to $25,000 of list-price inference a month.

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Overview

About OpenRouter

OpenRouter is a model gateway: you buy credits once, get one API key, and call text, image, video and audio models from dozens of labs and inference providers through an OpenAI-compatible endpoint. Requests can fall back to another provider when one is down, be routed by price or latency, or be restricted by data policy so prompts only reach providers you allow. It also publishes public usage rankings of models and apps, and has a browser chat for trying models side by side. Paid tiers add budgets, prompt caching, regional routing and admin controls. The company, OpenRouter, Inc., is based in New York and started in early 2023.

Platforms: Web · API
API: Yes
Last verified: Oct 2, 2026

Verified sources

Home page describes the unified interface for 500+ models on 80+ providers, fallbacks, custom data policies and OpenAI compatibilityopenrouter.ai ↗
Pricing page lists Free (25+ free models, 50 requests/day), Standard 5.5% and Business 8% platform fees, and BYOK allowancesopenrouter.ai ↗
About page states the service started in early 2023openrouter.ai ↗
Terms name OpenRouter, Inc. at a New York address under New York lawopenrouter.ai ↗

Fact check

Is OpenRouter legit?

We don’t label tools safe or unsafe. Below are the records we checked ourselves, each with the date we read it.

Last checked: Oct 2, 2026The site answered
On the market since: 2023The vendor's own material, read by us
Operated by: OpenRouter, Inc., United StatesOur research, card verified Oct 2, 2026

How we collect these records

Editorial verdict

Pros & cons of OpenRouter

high confidence

OpenRouter is the practical default for developers who want to try or mix many models without opening an account with every lab, and who value automatic fallback when a provider goes down. High-volume teams already on direct contracts with one or two labs will mostly be paying the platform fee for convenience they do not need.

Pros

500+ models behind one OpenAI-compatible API
Automatic fallback across providers and routing by price or latency
Data-policy routing to keep prompts away from providers you do not trust
Free tier with 25+ free models for experimenting

Cons

Platform fee of 5.5 to 8% on top of model prices
Free tier is limited to 50 requests per day
Adds another party between your app and the model provider

Best for

Developers comparing or switching between many models from one codebase
Apps that need provider fallback for uptime
Small teams that want one bill instead of a dozen provider accounts

Not for

High-volume users with negotiated direct pricing from a single model lab
Organizations that require all inference to stay inside their own cloud

Watch out: The percentage platform fee is easy to overlook at small scale but becomes real money at high token volume; compare with direct provider pricing or the bring-your-own-key allowance.

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