OpenRouter — tracked routes and prices
3 access routes across credits / prepaid, free / promos. 0 routes verified directly on official pages this pass; 3 via official snapshot rather than a live fetch. Snapshot 2026-09-07 (rows accessed 2026-09-07). Rankings live on the cost leaderboard.
| Category | Route | Price (list) | Notes and caveats | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Credits / prepaid | Prepaid USD creditsopenrouter--credits--payg | 5.5% top-up fee (Stripe, $0.80 min); 5% via crypto (USDC) | No markup on inference; credits are deposits; auto top-up supported; BYOK 5% fee above free allowances; unused credits may expire after 1 year.· Top-up fee· Credit expiry after 1 year | srcEXCERPT |
| Credits / prepaid | Free models tieropenrouter--credits--free-tier | $0 | About 50 requests/day default; 1,000/day after buying $10+ of credits; free router endpoint auto-selects.· Daily request caps | srcEXCERPT |
| Free / promos | New-user allowance + free modelsopenrouter--promo--new-user-free | $0 | Small free allowance for all new users; free models capped at 50 requests/day (1,000 with a $10 credit purchase).· Daily request caps | srcEXCERPT |
Prepaid USD credits
5.5% top-up fee (Stripe, $0.80 min); 5% via crypto (USDC)
Credits / prepaid · EXCERPT · Top-up fee
Free models tier
$0
Credits / prepaid · EXCERPT · Daily request caps
New-user allowance + free models
$0
Free / promos · EXCERPT · Daily request caps
Route economics at a glance
Assembled from the verified rows above — no new data. Each figure links its official source and carries the date it was read.
| Free / promo routes | 2 | 2 sold by OpenRouter (Free models tier · New-user allowance + free models). | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Batch / off-peak discounts | 0 | None published on tracked routes. | |
| Published overage terms | 0 of 2 routes | Checked — no per-unit figure published on tracked routes. | |
Sources & methods
Snapshot 2026-09-07 (per-datum access dates at right; a few rows rest on dated official snapshots — see notes). Every price above links its official source in the routes table; every score above links its AA source row. Below, each datum's source and access date, in full. Method: methodology.
| Datum | Source | Accessed | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prepaid USD creditsCredits / prepaid · 5.5% top-up fee (Stripe, $0.80 min); 5% via crypto (USDC) | openrouter.ai | 2026-09-07 | EXCERPT |
| Free models tierCredits / prepaid · $0 | openrouter.ai | 2026-09-07 | EXCERPT |
| New-user allowance + free modelsFree / promos · $0 | openrouter.ai | 2026-09-07 | EXCERPT |