OpenRouter
US platform that gives you access to hundreds of AI models from different providers through one OpenAI-compatible API and a single credit balance.
What it does
OpenRouter puts language models from many providers behind one API in the OpenAI format. You switch models by changing only the model name in your request and pay for everything from one shared credit balance. If a provider goes down or hits its rate limit, OpenRouter automatically sends the request to another one. Besides text models, it also offers models for images, video and speech. In the browser-based chatroom you can compare models side by side; chat history stays locally on your device.
Who it suits
Development teams who want to test several models or build them into their own applications without opening an account with every provider. You can also add your own provider API keys.
Data protection for businesses
By default, OpenRouter does not store prompts and responses and does not use them for training. Individual model providers may do so, though; in the privacy settings you can exclude such providers, and zero data retention is available on every plan. Processing exclusively within the EU via eu.openrouter.ai is only offered on the Business and Enterprise plans. The data processing agreement is part of the terms of service; a signed copy is available on request from the Business plan upwards.
How we use it
We use OpenRouter in projects where the model should stay interchangeable or where costs can be cut by sending simple requests to cheaper models.
Limits
Free models are limited to 50 requests a day, or 1,000 after buying $10 in credits. In EU mode fewer models and features are available, for example no image generation and no batch API. Unused credits may expire after one year.