AI Perks curates and provides access to exclusive discounts, credits, and deals on AI tools, cloud services, and APIs to help startups and developers save money.
How much does OpenRouter cost?
OpenRouter does not mark up inference. You pay the provider's list price, plus a 5.5% fee when you buy credits on Standard (8% on Business). Up to $3,000 in OpenRouter credits can cover that cost.
The fee is charged on the credit purchase, never on individual requests. So the real question is not "what does each call cost" but "how much of my top-up survives the fee". The rest of this guide answers that with numbers.
The OpenRouter card in the AI Perks catalogue shows who qualifies and how to claim. AI Perks also tracks more student and educator offers, so it is worth browsing before you pay for a single token.
Top AI Credits for Startups
Apply directly through these verified programs.
OpenRouter Up to $3,000 + 0% fees for 12 months
Eligible for early-stage startups
Claude (via program) $100,000
Eligible for early-stage startups
OpenAI (via program) $2,500
Eligible for early-stage startups
Anthropic $20,000
Eligible for early-stage startups
AWS $300,000
Eligible for early-stage startups
Google Cloud $350,000
Eligible for early-stage startups
How does OpenRouter charge: plans and fees?
Standard and Business both work the same way. You buy credits, manually or with auto top-up, and each request deducts its cost from your balance. Standard and Business have no minimum spend and no lock-in, per the OpenRouter pricing page.
| Plan | Fee on credit purchases | How you pay |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | 5.5% (minimum fee $0.80 on non-crypto) | Cards, AliPay, USDC crypto |
| Business | 8% | Cards, AliPay, USDC crypto |
| Enterprise | Set by contract | Invoicing and purchase orders |
Crypto payments carry a flat 5.0% fee with no minimum. Token prices are the same on every plan, and the Business fee applies to credit purchases only.
Enterprise pricing is based on volume, prepaid credits and annual commitments. Discounted OpenRouter fees exist only there, and inference itself is never discounted. Upgrading to Business is self-serve with no contract, and you can downgrade 30 days later.
What does a $100 top-up actually buy?
On a $100 top-up at the 5.5% fee, $5.50 comes off your inference budget (5.5% of $100). Whatever remains of the $100 is what you can spend on tokens. Here is how the same $100 plays out across payment types.
| Top-up of $100 | Fee |
|---|---|
| Standard, card (5.5%) | $5.50 |
| Crypto (5.0% flat) | $5.00 |
| Business (8%) | $8.00 |
The $0.80 minimum fee matters on small orders. The smallest purchase is $5, and 5.5% of $5 is less than the $0.80 minimum, so the minimum applies there. The 5.5% rate only takes over once it comes to more than $0.80.
To make it concrete, on Claude Sonnet 5.5 at $2.00 per 1M input tokens, each $1 of inference budget buys 0.5M input tokens (1 / 2.00). DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 at $0.60 per 1M output tokens stretches the same budget much further.
Top AI Credits for Startups
Apply directly through these verified programs.
OpenRouter Up to $3,000 + 0% fees for 12 months
Eligible for early-stage startups
Claude (via program) $100,000
Eligible for early-stage startups
OpenAI (via program) $2,500
Eligible for early-stage startups
Anthropic $20,000
Eligible for early-stage startups
AWS $300,000
Eligible for early-stage startups
Google Cloud $350,000
Eligible for early-stage startups
What do popular models cost per 1M tokens?
The pricing page does not repeat per-model prices. They are read from the models API, which lists prompt, completion and per-request prices in USD and needs no API key. Here is a snapshot for popular models.
| Model | Input per 1M tokens | Output per 1M tokens |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Opus 5.5 | $4.00 | $20.00 |
| Claude Sonnet 5.5 | $2.00 | $10.00 |
| GPT-6.1 Sol | $2.00 | $10.00 |
| Grok 4.7 | $2.00 | $6.00 |
| Gemini 3.8 Flash | $0.83 | $4.12 |
| DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 | $0.15 | $0.60 |
| Claude Haiku 5.5 | $0.10 | $0.50 |
Output tokens cost 3 to 5 times more than input tokens on every row. If your app writes long answers, budget on the output column. For a wider comparison across vendors, see the AI API pricing comparison.
How does OpenRouter BYOK pricing work?
BYOK means you bring your own provider key and route requests through OpenRouter. Standard and Business include $25,000 of list-price inference per month through BYOK with no OpenRouter fee. Enterprise allowances are custom.
Above that allowance, OpenRouter charges 5% of what the same request would cost at list price on OpenRouter, deducted from your credits. The allowance is measured by list-price inference cost, not by request count.
BYOK is where vendor credits become useful. If you hold credits with a provider, you can spend them through your own key and keep OpenRouter's routing and fallbacks. Start with the $20,000 in Anthropic API credits, then see the other vendor credits in the table below.
Top AI Credits for Startups
Apply directly through these verified programs.
OpenRouter Up to $3,000 + 0% fees for 12 months
Eligible for early-stage startups
Claude (via program) $100,000
Eligible for early-stage startups
OpenAI (via program) $2,500
Eligible for early-stage startups
Anthropic $20,000
Eligible for early-stage startups
AWS $300,000
Eligible for early-stage startups
Google Cloud $350,000
Eligible for early-stage startups
What are the expiry, refund and tax rules?
A few rules decide whether a large top-up is a good idea.
- Limits: each purchase is $5 minimum and $25,000 maximum per transaction.
- Expiry: OpenRouter can expire unused credits 365 days after purchase.
- Refunds: unused credits can be refunded only if you ask within 24 hours of the transaction. The platform fee is non-refundable, and crypto payments are never refundable.
- Taxes: prices exclude taxes, and VAT/GST may be added on invoices.
- Failed calls: an attempt that errors is not charged for model tokens, so with fallback you pay only for the run that answers. Auxiliary services may still be billed.
Two small savings exist. Opting in to let OpenRouter use your prompts and completions earns a 1% discount on model usage. Free models are capped at 20 requests per minute and 50 per day, rising to 1,000 per day once you have bought at least $10 of credits. The free models list covers the limits in detail.
Which free credits offset OpenRouter costs?
The cheapest way to pay the fee is to not pay it. OpenRouter credits in the catalogue are listed at up to $3,000. Vendor credits can then run through BYOK. Each row below links to its own card.
| Company | Free credits | How to get |
|---|---|---|
| OpenRouter | Up to $3,000 | Get this perk |
| Anthropic API | $20,000 | Get this perk |
| Claude via partners | Up to $100,000 | Get this perk |
| Google Cloud (Vertex AI, Gemini) | $350,000 | Get this perk |
| AWS (Amazon Bedrock) | $300,000 | Get this perk |
| Azure OpenAI | $150,000 | Get this perk |
| Together AI | Up to $50,000 | Get this perk |
| Cerebras | Up to $22,500 | Get this perk |
| Mistral AI | $10,000 | Get this perk |
| OpenAI API | $1,200 | Get this perk |
Combined headline value across these 10 perks: 3,000 + 20,000 + 100,000 + 350,000 + 300,000 + 150,000 + 50,000 + 22,500 + 10,000 + 1,200 = up to $1,006,700.
Each card shows who qualifies and how to claim, so open the ones that fit your stack. For more on stacking credits, read Free OpenRouter Credits 2026 and the promo code guide.
Top AI Credits for Startups
Apply directly through these verified programs.
OpenRouter Up to $3,000 + 0% fees for 12 months
Eligible for early-stage startups
Claude (via program) $100,000
Eligible for early-stage startups
OpenAI (via program) $2,500
Eligible for early-stage startups
Anthropic $20,000
Eligible for early-stage startups
AWS $300,000
Eligible for early-stage startups
Google Cloud $350,000
Eligible for early-stage startups
How do you keep OpenRouter costs low? Step by step
Step 1: Get credits via AI Perks. Open the AI Perks catalogue, search for OpenRouter and open its card. Check the card for who qualifies and how to claim, then start there before topping up.
Step 2: Check the live prices. Read the pricing object from the models API for the models you plan to use. It needs no API key, and per-1M-token prices are the numbers that drive your bill.
Step 3: Pick your payment route. On a $100 top-up, crypto costs $5.00 in fees versus $5.50 by card on Standard. Remember that crypto payments are never refundable.
Step 4: Start with a small top-up. The minimum is $5. A small first purchase lets you verify costs inside the 24-hour refund window, though the fee is not refunded.
Step 5: Use BYOK for vendor credits. If you hold credits with a provider, route them through your own key. You get up to $25,000 of list-price inference per month with no OpenRouter fee.
FAQ
Does OpenRouter charge extra on top of model prices?
No. Inference is billed at the provider's list price on every plan. OpenRouter's fee is charged when you buy credits, 5.5% on Standard and 8% on Business, never on individual requests. To reduce what you pay, check the OpenRouter card for credits first.
Is there an OpenRouter subscription?
Not for Standard or Business. Both have no minimums and no lock-in, and you pay only for what you use: list-price inference plus the fee when you buy credits. Enterprise is priced by contract. Free credits that lower the bill are tracked at getaiperks.com.
Can I get a refund on OpenRouter credits?
Only within 24 hours of the transaction, and only for unused credits. The platform fee is non-refundable, and crypto payments are never refundable. Credits can also be expired 365 days after purchase. Free credits from the catalogue avoid that risk, so see the credits card.
Are there free models on OpenRouter?
Yes. Free models are capped at 20 requests per minute and 50 per day. After buying at least $10 of credits, the cap rises to 1,000 per day. For other ways to get started without paying, browse the full perk list at getaiperks.com.
How much fee does a $100 top-up cost?
On Standard by card, the fee is $5.50 on $100. By crypto at 5.0% the fee is $5.00. On Business at 8% it is $8.00. Prices exclude taxes, so VAT or GST may be added on invoices.
Can I discount the fee on OpenRouter?
Discounted OpenRouter fees exist only on Enterprise, which is priced by contract. Inference is never discounted. The one small discount on other plans is 1% off model usage if you opt in to let OpenRouter use your prompts and completions.
Top AI Credits for Startups
Apply directly through these verified programs.
OpenRouter Up to $3,000 + 0% fees for 12 months
Eligible for early-stage startups
Claude (via program) $100,000
Eligible for early-stage startups
OpenAI (via program) $2,500
Eligible for early-stage startups
Anthropic $20,000
Eligible for early-stage startups
AWS $300,000
Eligible for early-stage startups
Google Cloud $350,000
Eligible for early-stage startups
Start with credits, not a card payment
OpenRouter's fee is predictable: 5.5% or 8% on credit purchases, provider list prices on every call, and 5% on BYOK above $25,000 a month. The cheapest dollar is the one a free credit covers. Open the OpenRouter card, see who qualifies and how to claim, and start your trial from there.
Get free AI credits at getaiperks.com →
AI Perks tracks free AI credits and free API keys across many companies, including OpenRouter credits and vendor credits you can use via BYOK. Browse them all at getaiperks.com.
