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Documentation
Technical documentation and API references
Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to common questions about OpenRouter
Getting started
OpenRouter provides a unified API to access major LLM models, aggregate billing, and track usage with analytics.
We pass through provider pricing while pooling uptime, so you get the same provider rates with a unified API and automatic fallbacks for better reliability.
Create an account and add credits on the Credits page. Credits are used for LLM inference.
Use the chat room or create API keys and start using the API. See our quickstart guide.
Join our community Discord and ask in the #help forum.
For billing and account questions, email [email protected].
Pricing is per model and may differ for prompt/completion, images, and reasoning tokens. See the model page for details.
We compute cost from provider token usage and deduct it from your credits. Review your history in Activity.
Include usage: {include: true} in requests to receive usage data in the response. We pass through provider pricing; we charge a small fee when purchasing credits.
Pricing and Fees
We charge a small fee when you purchase credits. Model inference pricing is passed through from providers without markup.
Crypto payments may include an additional processing fee.
Using BYOK includes a plan-dependent free allowance measured by list-price inference cost, not request count; subsequent usage incurs a 5% fee based on the equivalent OpenRouter cost. See our pricing page for current allowance details. This is deducted from your credits.
Models and Providers
Access a wide variety of models, including frontier models. See the models browser or the models API.
We add models regularly, often in partnership with labs. If something’s missing, reach out on Discord.
Variants are suffixes that modify behavior. Static variants are available on specific models, listed in the models API:
:free– free model with low rate limits
Dynamic variants can be used on all models:
:online– attach web results to the prompt:nitro– optimize for faster throughput:floor– prioritize lowest price
See provider requirements. For contact, email is best.
Model pages show latency and throughput by provider. Use :nitro to route to faster providers.
OpenRouter automatically falls back to the next provider on errors. Configure provider routing in documentation.
API Technical Specifications
Cookie-based auth for web/chatroom, API keys for completions and core endpoints, and management API keys for administrative actions.
Free model rate limits depend on your purchased credits. See details in the rate limits documentation.
We implement OpenAI-compatible /completions and /chat/completions, plus /api/v1/models. See the API docs.
Text and images are supported. Images can be URLs or base64. PDF and other file types are coming soon.
Streaming uses SSE for real-time token delivery. Set stream: true.
OpenRouter is a drop-in replacement for OpenAI; most OpenAI SDKs work. See SDK docs.
Privacy and Data Logging
See our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
We log basic request metadata (timestamps, model, token counts). Prompts and completions are not logged by default.
You can opt in to log prompts/completions for a small discount via privacy settings.
Conversations are stored locally on your device and do not sync across devices. You can export/import conversations from chatroom settings.
Requests are proxied to model providers. We aim to avoid provider logging or training by default; routing respects your privacy settings. If no providers match, the request will error.
Credit and Billing Systems
OpenRouter uses a credit system denominated in USD. You can top up manually or enable auto top up.
Unused credits may expire after one year per our terms.
For Stripe purchases, allow up to one hour. If no charge/receipt appears, your card may have been declined; try a different method.
If charged but credits are missing, email [email protected] with purchase details. For crypto payments, email support as well.
Refunds for unused credits may be requested within 24 hours of purchase via the refund button on the Credits page. Platform fees are non-refundable. Cryptocurrency payments are not refundable.
Use the Activity page or the credits API for balance and remaining credits.
New users receive a small free allowance to test OpenRouter. Many free models are available but have low rate limits and are not suitable for production. Rate limits increase with purchased credits.
We don’t currently offer volume discounts. If you have an exceptional use case, contact us.
Major credit cards, AliPay, and USDC crypto. PayPal is in progress. For other methods, reach out on Discord.
We charge a small fee when purchasing credits. We never mark up provider pricing.
Account Management
Go to Settings → Manage Account → Security tab to delete your account.
Note: unused credits will be lost and cannot be reclaimed if you delete and later recreate your account.
The activity dashboard provides real-time usage metrics. Contact us for specific reports.
For account and billing questions, email [email protected].
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