---
title: OpenRouter
slug: openrouter
url: "https://toolweight.com/tools/openrouter"
homepage: "https://openrouter.ai"
categories: llm-apis
last_verified: 2026-01-15
dataset_version: 0738be72
license: CC-BY-4.0
---

# OpenRouter

> One OpenAI-shaped key in front of hundreds of models

- Aggregates nearly every model behind a single OpenAI-compatible endpoint
- Automatic failover between upstream hosts, per-provider routing preferences, and privacy filters excluding hosts that train on prompts
- You pay upstream rates plus a credit fee
- The cheapest way to keep model choice a runtime decision, not an architectural one

## Identity

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| Name | OpenRouter |
| Company | OpenRouter |
| One-liner | One OpenAI-shaped key in front of hundreds of models |
| Site | https://openrouter.ai |
| Docs | https://openrouter.ai/docs |
| Founded | 2023 |
| Open source | No |
| Compared in | 1 |

## Where it is compared

### [LLM APIs](https://toolweight.com/compare/llm-apis)
Ranked **#14 of 18** on default weights.
| Field | Value | Confidence | Verified | Source | Note | Permalink |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Flagship model | Whichever upstream model you route to (400+ available) | Vendor-claimed | 2026-01-15 | https://openrouter.ai/models | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/llm-apis#openrouter--flagship_model |
| Context window | - | Unknown | - | - | Per-model; the router exposes each upstream's window unchanged. | https://toolweight.com/compare/llm-apis#openrouter--context_window |
| Max output | - | Unknown | - | - | Per-model, passed through from the upstream. | https://toolweight.com/compare/llm-apis#openrouter--max_output |
| Image input | ◐ | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | Available on models that support it. | https://toolweight.com/compare/llm-apis#openrouter--vision |
| Audio in/out | ◐ | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/llm-apis#openrouter--audio_io |
| Open weights | ◐ | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | Routes to both open and closed models; publishes none. | https://toolweight.com/compare/llm-apis#openrouter--open_weights |
| OpenAI-compat API | ● | Vendor-claimed | 2026-01-15 | https://openrouter.ai/docs/api-reference/overview | A single OpenAI-shaped endpoint in front of every upstream is the entire product. | https://toolweight.com/compare/llm-apis#openrouter--openai_compatible |
| TTFT p50 | - | Unknown | - | - | OpenRouter publishes live per-model latency and throughput in its own console, better data than this column can hold. | https://toolweight.com/compare/llm-apis#openrouter--ttft_p50 |
| Output tok/s | - | Unknown | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/llm-apis#openrouter--throughput_tps |
| $/M input | - | Unknown | - | - | Upstream list price passed through, plus a fee on credit purchases (around 5%). No inference markup. | https://toolweight.com/compare/llm-apis#openrouter--price_in |
| $/M output | - | Unknown | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/llm-apis#openrouter--price_out |
| $/M cache read | - | Unknown | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/llm-apis#openrouter--cached_input |
| Batch discount | 0% | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | No batch endpoint, a real cost if half your workload could tolerate async. | https://toolweight.com/compare/llm-apis#openrouter--batch_discount |
| Tool use | ● | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | Passed through where the upstream supports it. | https://toolweight.com/compare/llm-apis#openrouter--tool_use |
| Schema output | ◐ | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/llm-apis#openrouter--structured_output |
| Effort control | ◐ | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | A normalised reasoning parameter is mapped onto each upstream's equivalent where one exists. | https://toolweight.com/compare/llm-apis#openrouter--reasoning_effort |
| Computer use | ○ | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/llm-apis#openrouter--computer_use |
| MCP support | ○ | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/llm-apis#openrouter--mcp_support |
| Cache TTL | Passed through where the upstream supports caching | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/llm-apis#openrouter--prompt_cache_ttl |
| Continuity policy | Structurally the best hedge on this page and formally the weakest promise. OpenRouter guarantees nothing itself, a closed model vanishes the moment its lab retires it. But for open-weight models the same ID stays routable because several independent hosts serve it, and automatic failover means a single host going dark is invisible to your application. Buy it as insurance against host failure, not against model retirement. | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/llm-apis#openrouter--continuity_policy |
| Notice period | - | Unknown | - | - | Inherits each upstream's policy; OpenRouter publishes none of its own. | https://toolweight.com/compare/llm-apis#openrouter--deprecation_notice |
| Pinnable versions | ◐ | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | Model IDs are stable but resolve to whichever upstream host is available, so serving behaviour can vary between identical requests. | https://toolweight.com/compare/llm-apis#openrouter--pinned_snapshots |
| Zero retention | ◐ | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | Logging is off by default at the router and provider policies can be filtered so requests never reach a host that trains on prompts, but the router cannot make a promise on behalf of an upstream's abuse-monitoring logs, which is the bar this column sets. Regraded down from yes: you are buying a filter over other people's retention terms, not zero retention. | https://toolweight.com/compare/llm-apis#openrouter--zero_retention |
| Trains on your data | ○ | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/llm-apis#openrouter--trains_on_data |
| AU region | ○ | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/llm-apis#openrouter--au_region |
| API since | 2023 | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/llm-apis#openrouter--launch_year |
| Positioning | One key, one API shape, every model worth calling | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/llm-apis#openrouter--positioning |

**Verdict.** The highest-leverage integration: one endpoint, hundreds of models, failover; the trade is intersection features, not the union.

## Alternatives

- [Qwen](https://toolweight.com/tools/alibaba-qwen), Alibaba's model family, huge open-weight range, closed flagship
- [Amazon Bedrock](https://toolweight.com/tools/amazon-bedrock), Multi-vendor model access inside your existing AWS account
- [Anthropic](https://toolweight.com/tools/anthropic), Claude models, built around long agentic runs and tool use
- [Cerebras](https://toolweight.com/tools/cerebras), Wafer-scale inference, the fastest tokens per second available
- [Cohere](https://toolweight.com/tools/cohere), Enterprise-focused models built for RAG and private deployment
- [DeepSeek](https://toolweight.com/tools/deepseek), Frontier-adjacent models at a small fraction of Western prices
- [Fireworks AI](https://toolweight.com/tools/fireworks-ai), Fast open-weight inference with strong structured-output support
- [Google Gemini](https://toolweight.com/tools/google-gemini), Gemini via AI Studio for prototyping or Vertex AI for production
- [Groq](https://toolweight.com/tools/groq), Custom LPU silicon serving open-weight models at extreme speed
- [Meta Llama](https://toolweight.com/tools/meta-llama), Open-weight Llama models, hosted almost everywhere but Meta
- [Mistral AI](https://toolweight.com/tools/mistral-ai), European lab with an open-weight lineage and EU-resident hosting
- [Moonshot AI](https://toolweight.com/tools/moonshot-ai), Kimi models, open-weight agentic performance at low cost

## Logo & brand colours

SVG files: https://toolweight.com/teams/openrouter/logo.svg and https://toolweight.com/teams/openrouter/mono.svg. JSON: https://toolweight.com/api/v1/brands/openrouter.

| Hex | oklch |
| --- | --- |
| #111111 | oklch(17.8% 0.000 0.0) |

## Licence and attribution

Data from Toolweight (https://toolweight.com), licensed CC-BY-4.0.

- Licence: [CC-BY-4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
- Canonical HTML: https://toolweight.com/tools/openrouter
- Machine-readable: https://toolweight.com/tools/openrouter.md · https://toolweight.com/api/v1 · https://toolweight.com/mcp
- Toolweight takes no affiliate revenue and sells no placements.