Costs are per million tokens and usually vary between input and output. NanoGPT has a page that lays it all out for you with an example . Pricing usually differs between providers, even for the same models, so if you're willing to pay, then look around for the best deal for the model you want. Are there any subscription for Open Router? No. OR simply provides access to different providers on one unified platform and does not host any models itself. How much does it cost per message Depends on the model and, if not using OR, the provider. OR pricing is based on the model and is the same regardless of provider. If you directly go to the provider and pay their sub, will this rather be cheaper in case I dont mind using one model Highly dependent. For NanoGPT, Deepseek V3 chat is more than 50% cheaper than the official API. You have to look around and familiarize yourself with the prices of different providers. Answer from NotLunaris on reddit.com
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OpenRouter
openrouter.ai › docs › api › reference › authentication
API Authentication | OpenRouter OAuth and API Keys | OpenRouter | Documentation
To use an API key, first create your key. Give it a name and you can optionally set a credit limit. If you’re calling the OpenRouter API directly, set the Authorization header to a Bearer token with your API key.
Discussions

Can anyone help me understanding how Open Router / API key works?..
Costs are per million tokens and usually vary between input and output. NanoGPT has a page that lays it all out for you with an example . Pricing usually differs between providers, even for the same models, so if you're willing to pay, then look around for the best deal for the model you want. Are there any subscription for Open Router? No. OR simply provides access to different providers on one unified platform and does not host any models itself. How much does it cost per message Depends on the model and, if not using OR, the provider. OR pricing is based on the model and is the same regardless of provider. If you directly go to the provider and pay their sub, will this rather be cheaper in case I dont mind using one model Highly dependent. For NanoGPT, Deepseek V3 chat is more than 50% cheaper than the official API. You have to look around and familiarize yourself with the prices of different providers. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/SillyTavernAI
7
3
May 25, 2025
[Howto]: how can i use OPENROUTER_API_KEY?i am confused to configure these key
Version Command-line (Python) version Operating System MacOS Your question if i want to use OPENROUTER_API_KEY, i am confused to configure above keys,can you do me a favor? thanks! ENDPOINT=OPENROU... More on github.com
🌐 github.com
4
February 29, 2024
OpenRouter Error: "API key disabled or exhausted"
Yeah OR has become 101% more useless now. I know OR probably has nothing to do with it and it's just annoying corpos over at OAI forcing this change, but to me, this service has just became completely useless. The only worthwile uncensored model left on that website is Mythomax and i can get that either running via Kobold or for free via Mencer. Openrouter is just as dead as Poe is right now. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/SillyTavernAI
30
17
August 24, 2023
Does OpenRouter cost money/need a subscription even for free models?
No but DeepSeek is getting hammered by too many users. I doubt it's going to be free for much longer. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/Chub_AI
3
2
February 3, 2025
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OpenRouter
openrouter.ai
OpenRouter
250k+ apps using OpenRouter with 4.2M+ users globallyView all ... Create an account to get started. You can set up an org for your team later. ... Credits can be used with any model or provider. ... Create an API key and start making requests.
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/sillytavernai › can anyone help me understanding how open router / api key works?..
r/SillyTavernAI on Reddit: Can anyone help me understanding how Open Router / API key works?..
May 25, 2025 -

Hi, I'm pretty new to the AI chat... I am paying like 60-70 usd per month to chat website such as SC, Y***ayo because I had no idea about how API key works and wanted a convenient solution.

However, I want to now try using Open Router and try different models they dont offer from their website and also because of larger context memory. But when I firstly logged in to Open Router, I am a bit overwhelmed how the pricing is and how much it will cost.

I understand what token and context memory is and it seems like they are charging per request which seems to be basically one message?... I would like to estimate the cost but as a just ai bot RP user (not coding or smth), i have no idea how much it will cost per message.

so the questions are (i.e. I want to use sonnet):

  • Are there any subscription for Open Router?

  • How much does it cost per message

  • If you directly go to the provider and pay their sub, will this rather be cheaper in case I dont mind using one model

Thank you so much in advance!...

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OpenRouter
openrouter.ai › docs › guides › overview › auth › provisioning-api-keys
Provisioning API Keys | Programmatic Control of OpenRouter API Keys | OpenRouter | Documentation
February 19, 2025 - All key management endpoints are under /api/v1/keys and require a Provisioning API key in the Authorization header.
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Kerlig
kerlig.com › help › integrations › open-router › get-api-key
Get API key - OpenRouter - Kerlig™ Help
First, visit the OpenRouter↗ website and create an account. Click the Sign in button in the top right corner and then Sign up to create your account. ... Once signed in, go to API Keys↗ section.
Find elsewhere
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Puter
developer.puter.com › tutorials › free-unlimited-openrouter-api
Free, Unlimited OpenRouter API
4 weeks ago - With OpenRouter, you can access models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, Google, and many other providers through one consistent interface. Puter.js is completely serverless and works without any API keys or server-side setup.
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OpenRouter
openrouter.ai › docs › quickstart
OpenRouter Quickstart Guide | Developer Documentation | OpenRouter | Documentation
Get started with OpenRouter's unified API for hundreds of AI models. Learn how to integrate using OpenAI SDK, direct API calls, or third-party frameworks.
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Optimize Smart
optimizesmart.com › what-is-openrouter-api-and-how-to-use-it
What is OpenRouter API and how to use it. - Optimize Smart
September 22, 2025 - Think of OpenRouter as a universal booking counter at an airport.
Address   Southampton, GB
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Cline
docs.cline.bot › provider-config › openrouter
OpenRouter - Cline
Select Provider: Choose “OpenRouter” from the “API Provider” dropdown. Enter API Key: Paste your OpenRouter API key into the “OpenRouter API Key” field.
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YouTube
youtube.com › watch
How to Create OpenRouter API Keys - YouTube
A quick video showing how to generate OpenRouter API keys in a minute. Also, some tips for preventing your API from being used by someone else.---🎉 Try our ...
Published   October 6, 2025
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GitHub
github.com › Pythagora-io › gpt-pilot › issues › 692
[Howto]: how can i use OPENROUTER_API_KEY?i am confused to configure these key · Issue #692 · Pythagora-io/gpt-pilot
February 29, 2024 - Version Command-line (Python) version Operating System MacOS Your question if i want to use OPENROUTER_API_KEY, i am confused to configure above keys,can you do me a favor? thanks! ENDPOINT=OPENROUTER OPENAI_ENDPOINT=https://api.OPENROUT...
Published   Feb 29, 2024
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OpenRouter
openrouter.ai › docs › api-reference › api-keys › get-current-api-key
Get current API key | OpenRouter | Documentation
API ReferenceAPI Keys · Copy page · GET · https://openrouter.ai/api/v1/key · GET · /api/v1/key · cURL · Try it · 200Retrieved · Get information on the API key associated with the current authentication session · AuthorizationBearer · Bearer authentication of the form Bearer <token>, where token is your auth token.
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GitGuardian
docs.gitguardian.com › openrouter api key
OpenRouter API Key | GitGuardian documentation
1 month ago - Summary: OpenRouter provides a unified API to access multiple AI models. This detector can catch both authentication and provisioning keys.
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Lumetrium
lumetrium.com › definer › wiki › sources › ai › api-keys › openrouter
How To Get An OpenRouter API Key | Definer Wiki
First, head over to Openrouter.ai ... account, look for and click on the "Keys" option in the navigation menu. On the Keys page, locate and click the "Create Key" button to start generating your API key....
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LibreChat
librechat.ai › docs › configuration › librechat_yaml › ai_endpoints › openrouter
Openrouter
3 weeks ago - # recommended environment variables: apiKey: "${OPENROUTER_KEY}" # NOT OPENROUTER_API_KEY baseURL: "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1" models: default: ["meta-llama/llama-3-70b-instruct"] fetch: true titleConvo: true titleModel: "meta-llama/llama-3-70b-instruct" # Recommended: Drop the stop parameter from the request as Openrouter models use a variety of stop tokens.