NEW: Real-Time Usage Tracking for AI Agents — track Claude Code, Kimi, Codex & more. Try it free →

CostGoat Logo

CostGoat

LAST UPDATED: MAY 28, 2026

OpenRouter Pricing Calculator & Complete Cost Guide

Calculate OpenRouter API costs for 315+ models. Compare per-token pricing across Claude, GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, and more.

Calculatorvs DirectPricing GuideSave MoneyFAQ

Pricing TLDR

  • Pay-per-token with no monthly fees — add credits and use any model
  • 315+ models from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, DeepSeek, Meta, and more
  • Free models available with rate limits • OpenAI-compatible API

Official pricing:

OpenRouter

Quality Scores: Theozard

OpenRouter Cost Calculator - Monthly Pricing

Calculate by

Input Tokens

Output Tokens

API Calls / Month

Quick Examples:

Sort:

(openai/gpt-5.5)

Context

1.1M

Quality

100

Per 1M Tokens

In: $5.00

Out: $30.00

Monthly Cost

$20.00

(google/gemini-3.1-pro-preview)

Context

1.0M

Quality

95

Per 1M Tokens

In: $2.00

Out: $12.00

Monthly Cost

$8.00

(anthropic/claude-opus-4.7)

Context

1.0M

Quality

95

Per 1M Tokens

In: $5.00

Out: $25.00

Monthly Cost

$17.50

(openai/gpt-5.4)

Context

1.1M

Quality

94

Per 1M Tokens

In: $2.50

Out: $15.00

Monthly Cost

$10.00

(google/gemini-3.5-flash)

Context

1.0M

Quality

92

Per 1M Tokens

In: $1.50

Out: $9.00

Monthly Cost

$6.00

(moonshotai/kimi-k2.6)

Context

262K

Quality

89

Per 1M Tokens

In: $0.73

Out: $3.49

Monthly Cost

$2.48

(x-ai/grok-4.3)

Context

1.0M

Quality

88

Per 1M Tokens

In: $1.25

Out: $2.50

Monthly Cost

$2.50

(deepseek/deepseek-v4-pro)

Context

1.0M

Quality

86

Per 1M Tokens

In: $0.44

Out: $0.87

Monthly Cost

$0.87

(anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6)

Context

1.0M

Quality

86

Per 1M Tokens

In: $3.00

Out: $15.00

Monthly Cost

$10.50

(openai/gpt-5.4-mini)

Context

400K

Quality

81

Per 1M Tokens

In: $0.75

Out: $4.50

Monthly Cost

$3.00

(deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash)

Context

1.0M

Quality

77

Per 1M Tokens

In: $0.10

Out: $0.20

Monthly Cost

$0.20

(google/gemini-3-flash-preview)

Context

1.0M

Quality

77

Per 1M Tokens

In: $0.50

Out: $3.00

Monthly Cost

$2.00

(openai/gpt-5.4-nano)

Context

400K

Quality

73

Per 1M Tokens

In: $0.20

Out: $1.25

Monthly Cost

$0.83

(mistralai/mistral-medium-3-5)

Context

262K

Quality

65

Per 1M Tokens

In: $1.50

Out: $7.50

Monthly Cost

$5.25

(anthropic/claude-haiku-4.5)

Context

200K

Quality

62

Per 1M Tokens

In: $1.00

Out: $5.00

Monthly Cost

$3.50

(meta-llama/llama-3.3-70b-instruct)

Context

131K

Quality

24

Per 1M Tokens

In: $0.10

Out: $0.32

Monthly Cost

$0.26

Spending across 315+ OpenRouter models?

Monitor your OpenRouter credits and usage in real-time.

Try free for 7 daysLearn more →

Privacy-first desktop app. No sign-up required.

CostGoat desktop app showing AI agent quotas, usage costs, credit balances, and subscriptions

About OpenRouter

What is OpenRouter?

OpenRouter is a unified API gateway that provides access to 315+ AI models from every major provider — Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, DeepSeek, Meta, Mistral, xAI, and more — through a single, OpenAI-compatible API. Instead of managing separate API keys and billing for each provider, you use one API key and one credit balance.

  • 315+ Models, One API Key: Access Claude, GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, Llama, Grok, and hundreds more through a single endpoint. Switch models by changing one parameter — no code changes needed.
  • OpenAI-Compatible API: Drop-in replacement for the OpenAI API. Change the base URL and API key in your existing code — everything else works unchanged. Compatible with all OpenAI SDKs.
  • Pay-Per-Token, No Commitments: Add credits to your account and pay only for what you use. No monthly fees, no minimum spend. Free models available with rate limits for testing and light usage.

When to Use OpenRouter

OpenRouter is ideal when you need access to multiple AI providers without managing separate accounts, or when you want to easily compare and switch between models.

Ideal for

  • Teams using multiple AI models across different providers
  • Rapid prototyping and model comparison across providers
  • Applications needing fallback routing between models
  • Developers who want one API key for all AI models
  • Projects that need access to niche or specialized models

Not ideal for

  • Enterprise workloads needing direct provider SLAs
  • Applications requiring provider-specific features (batch API, caching)
  • Cost-sensitive production with high volume (direct API may be cheaper)
  • Workloads requiring guaranteed model version pinning

OpenRouter vs Direct API Pricing

How do OpenRouter prices compare to using each provider's API directly? For most popular models, OpenRouter passes through pricing at or near cost.

Anthropic: Claude Opus 4.7 (Anthropic)

OpenRouter (per 1M)

$5.00 / $25.00

Direct API (per 1M)

$5.00 / $25.00

Difference

Same

Anthropic: Claude Sonnet 4.6 (Anthropic)

OpenRouter (per 1M)

$3.00 / $15.00

Direct API (per 1M)

$3.00 / $15.00

Difference

Same

Anthropic: Claude Haiku 4.5 (Anthropic)

OpenRouter (per 1M)

$1.00 / $5.00

Direct API (per 1M)

$1.00 / $5.00

Difference

Same

Direct API prices from official provider documentation. OpenRouter prices from their API, updated daily via ISR.

OpenRouter Pricing Breakdown

How OpenRouter Billing Works

Credit-Based System

Add credits to your account via credit card or crypto. Credits are deducted per-token as you make API calls. No minimum purchase, no expiration, no monthly fees.

Per-Token Pricing

Each model has separate input (prompt) and output (completion) token prices. Prices are set by model providers and passed through by OpenRouter, typically at or near direct API cost.

Free Models Available

OpenRouter offers dozens of free models with zero per-token cost. Free models have rate limits (20 req/min, 200 req/day) but require no credits to use.

Usage Tracking

Track spending per model and per API key in your OpenRouter dashboard. Set up usage alerts to monitor costs and prevent unexpected charges.

OpenRouter Monthly Cost Estimates

Hobby / Testing

$0-10/mo

Free models only

<200 req/day

No credits needed

Light Use

$10-50/mo

Haiku / Flash models

1-5K requests/day

Single project

Medium Use

$50-300/mo

Sonnet / GPT-4.1

5-20K requests/day

Multiple projects

Heavy Use

$300+/mo

Opus / GPT-5

20K+ requests/day

Production workloads

5 OpenRouter Cost Optimization Tips

1

Start with Free Models

Use free models for prototyping and testing. Models like DeepSeek R1, Llama 3.3 70B, and Gemma 3 are available at zero cost. Only switch to paid models when you need higher quality or throughput.

2

Match Model to Task Complexity

Don't use Opus ($5/$25 per 1M tokens) for tasks that Haiku ($1/$5) handles well. Use cheaper models for classification, routing, and simple queries. Reserve expensive models for complex reasoning.

3

Use Smaller Context When Possible

Input tokens cost money. Trim unnecessary context, use concise system prompts, and avoid sending full documents when a summary suffices. Every token saved is money saved.

4

Implement Model Fallback Chains

Start with the cheapest model that might work, then escalate to more expensive ones only when needed. Example: Llama 3.3 → Gemini Flash → Claude Sonnet → Claude Opus.

5

Monitor Spending with CostGoat

Track your OpenRouter credit usage in real-time with CostGoat. Get alerts when spending spikes, see per-model cost breakdowns, and identify which models are consuming the most credits.

Start Tracking Your OpenRouter Spending

Monitor your OpenRouter credit balance and overall spend from your menubar — across 315+ models. Alerts before you hit zero.

Try Free for 7 DaysLearn more →

Privacy-first desktop app. 7-day free trial, no sign-up required.

CostGoat desktop app showing AI agent quotas, usage costs, credit balances, and subscriptions

OpenRouter Pricing FAQ

Common questions about OpenRouter API costs and billing

AI Pricing

Gemini API PricingClaude API PricingGoogle Veo PricingAI Cost CalculatorsReplicate API PricingOpenRouter API PricingOpenRouter Free Models
DownloadsPricingDashboardContactIssuesAffiliatesTermsPrivacy

© 2026 CostGoat. All rights reserved.

Made by Functioncraft: Redis GUI Client · SSH GUI Client

Affiliate disclosure: Some links earn CostGoat a commission or credit when you sign up — no extra cost to you.