{
  "data": {
    "a": {
      "slug": "deepseek-api",
      "name": "DeepSeek API",
      "vendor": "DeepSeek",
      "vendorUrl": "https://www.deepseek.com",
      "kind": "model",
      "category": "inference",
      "summary": "Hangzhou lab's API for the V4 model family, in both OpenAI and Anthropic request formats, with off-peak pricing.",
      "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/deepseek-api",
      "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/deepseek-api.md",
      "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/deepseek-api.min.md",
      "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/deepseek-api.json",
      "transports": [
        "http"
      ],
      "remoteUrl": "https://api.deepseek.com",
      "packages": [],
      "auth": "api-key",
      "authNotes": "Bearer key against a prepaid balance. An Anthropic-format base URL is at `/anthropic`.",
      "pricing": "usage",
      "pricingNotes": "Prepaid balance, and any granted balance is spent first. Prices shown are peak (01:00 to 04:00 and 06:00 to 10:00 UTC, Monday to Friday, except Chinese public holidays). Off-peak is half price. Disk cache on by default, with cache hits at $0.044 per 1M input tokens on V4 Pro and $0.006 on V4.1 Flash at peak (https://api-docs.deepseek.com/quick_start/pricing).",
      "priceSummary": "from $0.30 / 1M in",
      "where": "hosted",
      "x402": {
        "level": "no",
        "endpoints": []
      },
      "toolCount": null,
      "popularity": {
        "githubStars": null,
        "npmWeekly": null,
        "pypiWeekly": null,
        "asOf": "2026-09-26"
      },
      "docsUrl": "https://api-docs.deepseek.com",
      "rateLimitsUrl": "https://api-docs.deepseek.com/quick_start/rate_limit",
      "capabilities": [
        "inference.llm",
        "inference.open-weights"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "hosted",
        "model",
        "open-weights",
        "prepaid"
      ],
      "lastRelease": "2026-09-10",
      "graded": true,
      "anchor": {
        "graded": true,
        "score": 47.1,
        "grade": "D",
        "agentReady": false,
        "rank": 386,
        "ranked": true,
        "rankOf": 452,
        "categoryRank": 8,
        "methodology": "0.3",
        "run": "2026-10-01",
        "scores": {
          "ergonomics": 70,
          "maintenance": 46,
          "payments": 20,
          "reliability": 65,
          "schema": 49,
          "security": 30,
          "transparency": 68
        },
        "pending": [
          "performance",
          "tasks"
        ],
        "assessment": {
          "confidence": "medium",
          "date": "2026-10-01"
        },
        "negative": -3,
        "negativeNotes": [
          "On 2026-09-10 DeepSeek retired V4 Flash and routed `deepseek-v4-flash` and `deepseek-v4-flash-vision-exp` to V4.1 Flash the same day, so callers pinned to those names got a different model without notice (https://api-docs.deepseek.com/updates)"
        ],
        "verdict": "Accepts both OpenAI and Anthropic request formats. 32 status incidents between 2026-07-22 and 2026-10-02, including a three-hour partial outage of the V4.1 Flash API on 2026-09-14.",
        "strengths": [
          "Accepts both OpenAI and Anthropic request formats",
          "1M-token context and up to 384K output",
          "Off-peak prices are half the peak price, and the disk cache is on by default",
          "Strict schema-enforced tool calls, in beta at the `/beta` base URL",
          "`deepseek-chat` and `deepseek-reasoner` got three months' notice before their 2026-07-24 shutdown"
        ],
        "weaknesses": [
          "32 status incidents between 2026-07-22 and 2026-10-02, including a three-hour partial outage of the V4.1 Flash API on 2026-09-14",
          "Personal data trains models unless you email to opt out, and data is stored in the PRC with no retention period stated",
          "V4 Flash names were rerouted to V4.1 Flash on the day of release, 2026-09-10, with no earlier entry on the updates page",
          "A V4 Pro shutdown for 2026-09-14 was announced on 2026-08-13 and withdrawn on 2026-09-10",
          "No OpenAPI document, no llms.txt, no security.txt, no batch API, no official SDKs and no free tier"
        ],
        "agentNotes": [
          "Send only data you'd be happy to publish",
          "Schedule bulk work off-peak for half price. Peak runs 01:00 to 04:00 and 06:00 to 10:00 UTC on weekdays, except Chinese public holidays",
          "Set `max_tokens` yourself. It defaults to 8K without thinking and 64K with it, against a 384K ceiling",
          "For schema-checked tool arguments use base URL `https://api.deepseek.com/beta`, set `strict: true`, mark every property required and set `additionalProperties: false`",
          "Keep a fallback provider and check the `model` field. 429 carries no Retry-After, and `deepseek-v4-flash` now answers as V4.1 Flash"
        ],
        "metrics": {
          "kind": "remote",
          "measured": false
        },
        "reviewCount": 2,
        "avgRating": 2,
        "history": [
          {
            "basis": "public evidence",
            "confidence": "medium",
            "grade": "D",
            "methodology": "0.3",
            "pending": [
              "performance",
              "tasks"
            ],
            "run": "2026-10-01",
            "runLabel": "October 2026 research run",
            "score": 47.1
          }
        ],
        "editorialScores": {
          "ergonomics": 70,
          "maintenance": 46,
          "payments": 20,
          "reliability": 65,
          "schema": 49,
          "security": 30,
          "transparency": 45
        },
        "provenanceScore": 90
      },
      "connect": {
        "http": "curl https://api.deepseek.com/chat/completions \\\n  -H \"Authorization: Bearer $DEEPSEEK_API_KEY\" -H \"content-type: application/json\" \\\n  -d '{\"model\":\"deepseek-v4-pro\",\"messages\":[{\"role\":\"user\",\"content\":\"hello\"}]}'"
      },
      "letme": {
        "capability": "https://letme.dev/inference.llm",
        "tool": "https://letme.dev/deepseek-api"
      },
      "area": "models",
      "provenance": {
        "legalEntity": "Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co., Ltd.",
        "domain": "deepseek.com",
        "domainRegistered": "2000-08-13",
        "domainNote": "deepseek.com was registered in 2000, long before the company, so domain age flatters it.",
        "endpointOnVendorDomain": true,
        "terms": "https://cdn.deepseek.com/policies/en-US/deepseek-open-platform-terms-of-service.html",
        "privacy": "https://cdn.deepseek.com/policies/en-US/deepseek-privacy-policy.html",
        "statusPage": "https://status.deepseek.com",
        "changelog": "https://api-docs.deepseek.com/updates",
        "securityTxt": "none",
        "checked": "2026-09-26",
        "score": 90
      },
      "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/deepseek-api.json",
      "live": {
        "slug": "deepseek-api",
        "probe": {
          "target": "https://api.deepseek.com",
          "method": "get",
          "lastAt": "2026-10-05T02:29:54.919919207Z",
          "lastOk": true,
          "lastStatus": 401,
          "lastMs": 276,
          "lastNote": "asks for credentials",
          "authRequired": true,
          "uptime24h": 100,
          "uptime30d": 100,
          "p50ms24h": 283,
          "p95ms24h": 354,
          "samples24h": 273,
          "samples30d": 2085,
          "days": [
            {
              "date": "2026-09-27",
              "probes": 132,
              "ok": 132
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-09-28",
              "probes": 285,
              "ok": 285
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-09-29",
              "probes": 286,
              "ok": 286
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-09-30",
              "probes": 286,
              "ok": 286
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-01",
              "probes": 276,
              "ok": 276
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-02",
              "probes": 248,
              "ok": 248
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-03",
              "probes": 271,
              "ok": 271
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-04",
              "probes": 272,
              "ok": 272
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-05",
              "probes": 29,
              "ok": 29
            }
          ]
        },
        "vendorStatus": {
          "page": "https://status.deepseek.com",
          "indicator": "unknown",
          "summary": "no machine-readable status found",
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T21:39:56.35667203Z"
        },
        "securityTxt": {
          "url": "https://deepseek.com/.well-known/security.txt",
          "state": "none",
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:15:44.182578488Z"
        },
        "domain": {
          "domain": "deepseek.com",
          "registered": "2000-08-13",
          "source": "https://rdap.verisign.com/com/v1/domain/deepseek.com",
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T13:07:10.74402119Z"
        },
        "pages": [
          {
            "url": "https://api-docs.deepseek.com/updates",
            "kind": "deprecations",
            "status": 304,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:41:16.200226408Z",
            "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "fingerprint": "577ca8c2ab97"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://api-docs.deepseek.com/quick_start/pricing",
            "kind": "pricing",
            "status": 304,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:41:13.292918666Z",
            "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "fingerprint": "f05e491ec01b"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://cdn.deepseek.com/policies/en-US/deepseek-privacy-policy.html",
            "kind": "privacy",
            "status": 304,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:41:48.821877644Z",
            "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "fingerprint": "a8cd8da7a4f7"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://cdn.deepseek.com/policies/en-US/deepseek-open-platform-terms-of-service.html",
            "kind": "terms",
            "status": 304,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:41:46.806765272Z",
            "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "fingerprint": "416212a1efee"
          }
        ],
        "models": {
          "deepseek-flash": {
            "openrouterId": "deepseek/deepseek-v4.1-flash",
            "tools": true,
            "structuredOutputs": true,
            "jsonMode": true,
            "reasoning": true,
            "input": [
              "image",
              "text"
            ],
            "promptCaching": true,
            "contextTokens": 1048576,
            "maxOutput": 943718,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T21:56:15.872733218Z"
          },
          "deepseek-v4-pro": {
            "openrouterId": "deepseek/deepseek-v4-pro",
            "tools": true,
            "structuredOutputs": true,
            "jsonMode": true,
            "reasoning": true,
            "input": [
              "text"
            ],
            "promptCaching": true,
            "contextTokens": 1048576,
            "maxOutput": 384000,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T21:56:15.872733218Z"
          }
        },
        "updatedAt": "2026-10-05T02:29:54.919919207Z"
      }
    },
    "b": {
      "slug": "openrouter",
      "name": "OpenRouter",
      "vendor": "OpenRouter",
      "vendorUrl": "https://openrouter.ai",
      "kind": "router",
      "category": "inference",
      "summary": "One OpenAI-compatible API in front of 80+ model providers, at the providers' own token prices, with fallbacks and routing controls.",
      "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openrouter",
      "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openrouter.md",
      "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openrouter.min.md",
      "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openrouter.json",
      "repo": "https://github.com/OpenRouterTeam/typescript-sdk",
      "license": "Apache-2.0 (SDKs)",
      "transports": [
        "http"
      ],
      "remoteUrl": "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1",
      "packages": [
        {
          "registry": "npm",
          "name": "@openrouter/sdk"
        },
        {
          "registry": "pypi",
          "name": "openrouter"
        }
      ],
      "auth": "api-key",
      "authNotes": "Bearer key. OAuth PKCE lets an app get a key on a user's behalf.",
      "pricing": "usage",
      "pricingNotes": "No markup on tokens. The fee is on credit top-ups, 5.5% by card ($0.80 minimum) and 5% in crypto, 8% on Business. Bring your own key free up to $25,000 a month, then 5%. 25+ free models at 20 requests a minute and 50 a day, 1,000 a day after a $10 purchase (https://openrouter.ai/pricing).",
      "priceSummary": "5.5% fee",
      "where": "hosted",
      "x402": {
        "level": "no",
        "evidence": "Credits can be bought in USDC through Coinbase, but requests are paid from a prepaid balance, not per call.",
        "endpoints": []
      },
      "toolCount": null,
      "popularity": {
        "githubStars": 226,
        "npmWeekly": null,
        "pypiWeekly": null,
        "asOf": "2026-09-26"
      },
      "docsUrl": "https://openrouter.ai/docs",
      "rateLimitsUrl": "https://openrouter.ai/docs/api_reference/limits",
      "llmsTxt": "https://openrouter.ai/docs/llms.txt",
      "openapi": "https://openrouter.ai/docs/openapi/openapi.yaml",
      "capabilities": [
        "inference.llm",
        "inference.router"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "hosted",
        "router",
        "free-tier",
        "no-card",
        "openapi",
        "llms-txt",
        "crypto-topup"
      ],
      "lastRelease": "2026-10-01",
      "graded": true,
      "anchor": {
        "graded": true,
        "score": 68.8,
        "grade": "B",
        "agentReady": false,
        "rank": 119,
        "ranked": true,
        "rankOf": 452,
        "categoryRank": 6,
        "methodology": "0.3",
        "run": "2026-10-01",
        "scores": {
          "ergonomics": 85,
          "maintenance": 84,
          "payments": 40,
          "reliability": 55,
          "schema": 90,
          "security": 60,
          "transparency": 74
        },
        "pending": [
          "performance",
          "tasks"
        ],
        "assessment": {
          "confidence": "medium",
          "date": "2026-10-01"
        },
        "negative": 0,
        "verdict": "Public OpenAPI document, llms.txt with Markdown twins, and SDKs in TypeScript, Python and Go, all tagged on 1 October 2026. No machine payment. USDC top-ups go to a prepaid balance.",
        "strengths": [
          "Public OpenAPI document, llms.txt with Markdown twins, and SDKs in TypeScript, Python and Go, all tagged on 1 October 2026",
          "Per-request routing controls, fallback `models` lists, provider ordering, `zdr` and `max_price`",
          "429, 503 and some 402 responses carry `Retry-After`, and the SDKs honour it",
          "OpenRouter stores no prompts or responses unless you opt in",
          "Free models with no card, and Management API keys for minting and rotating keys in code"
        ],
        "weaknesses": [
          "No machine payment. USDC top-ups go to a prepaid balance",
          "`data_collection` defaults to 'allow', which admits providers that may store and train on prompts",
          "Mid-stream failures arrive inside a 200 response, and upstream providers may charge for prompt processing on a failed call",
          "No published SLA, and the status page gave us no readable history",
          "API changelog silent since 19 August 2026"
        ],
        "agentNotes": [
          "Set `provider.data_collection: \"deny\"` or `provider.zdr: true` when the prompt holds anything private",
          "Pass a `models` list so a failed provider falls through to the next one",
          "Honour `Retry-After` on 429 and 503, and check the stream body for errors even on a 200",
          "Set `max_price` so a routed request can't land on an expensive provider",
          "Free models allow 50 requests a day until $10 of credit has been bought. Check `GET /api/v1/key` for what's left"
        ],
        "metrics": {
          "kind": "remote",
          "measured": false
        },
        "reviewCount": 2,
        "avgRating": 3,
        "history": [
          {
            "basis": "public evidence",
            "confidence": "medium",
            "grade": "B",
            "methodology": "0.3",
            "pending": [
              "performance",
              "tasks"
            ],
            "run": "2026-10-01",
            "runLabel": "October 2026 research run",
            "score": 68.8
          }
        ],
        "editorialScores": {
          "ergonomics": 85,
          "maintenance": 84,
          "payments": 40,
          "reliability": 55,
          "schema": 90,
          "security": 60,
          "transparency": 55
        },
        "provenanceScore": 92
      },
      "connect": {
        "install": "npm i @openrouter/sdk   # or any OpenAI client with base URL https://openrouter.ai/api/v1",
        "http": "curl https://openrouter.ai/api/v1/chat/completions \\\n  -H \"Authorization: Bearer $OPENROUTER_API_KEY\" -H \"content-type: application/json\" \\\n  -d '{\"models\":[\"anthropic/claude-opus-5-5\",\"openai/gpt-6-sol\"],\"provider\":{\"zdr\":true},\"messages\":[{\"role\":\"user\",\"content\":\"hello\"}]}'"
      },
      "letme": {
        "capability": "https://letme.dev/inference.llm",
        "tool": "https://letme.dev/openrouter"
      },
      "area": "models",
      "unitPrices": [
        {
          "item": "Card top-up fee",
          "unit": "pct",
          "usd": 5.5,
          "note": "$0.80 minimum"
        },
        {
          "item": "Crypto top-up fee",
          "unit": "pct",
          "usd": 5
        },
        {
          "item": "Bring your own key over $25,000 a month",
          "unit": "pct",
          "usd": 5
        }
      ],
      "provenance": {
        "legalEntity": "OpenRouter, Inc.",
        "domain": "openrouter.ai",
        "domainRegistered": "2023-04-17",
        "endpointOnVendorDomain": true,
        "terms": "https://openrouter.ai/terms",
        "privacy": "https://openrouter.ai/privacy",
        "statusPage": "https://status.openrouter.ai",
        "changelog": "https://openrouter.ai/docs/changelog",
        "securityTxt": "valid",
        "checked": "2026-09-26",
        "score": 92
      },
      "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openrouter.json",
      "live": {
        "slug": "openrouter",
        "probe": {
          "target": "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1",
          "method": "get",
          "lastAt": "2026-10-05T02:29:59.946729106Z",
          "lastOk": true,
          "lastStatus": 404,
          "lastMs": 141,
          "authRequired": false,
          "uptime24h": 100,
          "uptime30d": 100,
          "p50ms24h": 166,
          "p95ms24h": 302,
          "samples24h": 273,
          "samples30d": 2085,
          "days": [
            {
              "date": "2026-09-27",
              "probes": 132,
              "ok": 132
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-09-28",
              "probes": 285,
              "ok": 285
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-09-29",
              "probes": 286,
              "ok": 286
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-09-30",
              "probes": 286,
              "ok": 286
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-01",
              "probes": 276,
              "ok": 276
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-02",
              "probes": 248,
              "ok": 248
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-03",
              "probes": 271,
              "ok": 271
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-04",
              "probes": 272,
              "ok": 272
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-05",
              "probes": 29,
              "ok": 29
            }
          ]
        },
        "vendorStatus": {
          "page": "https://status.openrouter.ai",
          "indicator": "unknown",
          "summary": "no machine-readable status found",
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T21:40:21.803807847Z"
        },
        "versions": [
          {
            "registry": "github",
            "name": "OpenRouterTeam/typescript-sdk",
            "version": "v1.4.21",
            "released": "2026-10-02",
            "seenAt": "2026-10-04T16:36:02.568241268Z"
          },
          {
            "registry": "npm",
            "name": "@openrouter/sdk",
            "version": "1.4.21",
            "seenAt": "2026-10-04T16:36:01.51734117Z"
          },
          {
            "registry": "pypi",
            "name": "openrouter",
            "version": "1.3.22",
            "released": "2026-10-02",
            "seenAt": "2026-10-04T16:36:02.376680318Z"
          }
        ],
        "githubStars": 259,
        "npmWeekly": 1071910,
        "pypiWeekly": 410275,
        "securityTxt": {
          "url": "https://openrouter.ai/.well-known/security.txt",
          "state": "valid",
          "expires": "2027-08-12T00:00:00.000Z",
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:15:43.846667619Z"
        },
        "llmsTxt": {
          "url": "https://openrouter.ai/docs/llms.txt",
          "ok": true,
          "status": 200,
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:18:05.446990081Z"
        },
        "domain": {
          "domain": "openrouter.ai",
          "registered": "2023-04-17",
          "source": "https://rdap.identitydigital.services/rdap/domain/openrouter.ai",
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T13:04:11.462141386Z"
        },
        "pages": [
          {
            "url": "https://openrouter.ai/docs/changelog",
            "kind": "deprecations",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:46:27.738467012Z",
            "changedAt": "2026-10-01T13:14:36.537223463Z",
            "fingerprint": "6e5985d34aed"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://openrouter.ai/pricing",
            "kind": "pricing",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:46:29.993297738Z",
            "changedAt": "2026-10-03T15:34:30.960156372Z",
            "fingerprint": "e35cc85a871d"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://openrouter.ai/privacy",
            "kind": "privacy",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:46:31.877914222Z",
            "changedAt": "2026-10-04T15:46:31.877914222Z",
            "fingerprint": "2774bda6ed9e"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://openrouter.ai/terms",
            "kind": "terms",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:46:33.871136275Z",
            "changedAt": "2026-10-04T15:46:33.871136275Z",
            "fingerprint": "43d5bca9ab2e"
          }
        ],
        "updatedAt": "2026-10-05T02:29:59.946729106Z"
      }
    },
    "summary": "OpenRouter has a score of 68.8 (B) against DeepSeek API's 47.1 (D). Both do llm inference. The largest gap is schema \u0026 documentation, 41 points."
  },
  "kind": "anchor.page",
  "links": {
    "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json",
    "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-openrouter",
    "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-openrouter.json",
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  "markdown": "OpenRouter has a score of 68.8 (B) against DeepSeek API's 47.1 (D). Both do llm inference. The largest gap is schema \u0026 documentation, 41 points.\n\n- DeepSeek API: grade D, 47.1/100, rank #386 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/deepseek-api.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/deepseek-api.json\n- OpenRouter: grade B, 68.8/100, rank #119 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openrouter.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openrouter.json\n\n## Which one, for what\n\nPick DeepSeek API for reliability (+10).\n\nPick OpenRouter for schema \u0026 documentation (+41), agent ergonomics (+15), security \u0026 auth (+30), payments \u0026 pricing (+20), maintenance \u0026 community (+38), transparency \u0026 trust (+6).\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | DeepSeek API | OpenRouter | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 65 | 55 | DeepSeek API +10 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 49 | 90 | OpenRouter +41 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 70 | 85 | OpenRouter +15 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 30 | 60 | OpenRouter +30 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 40 | OpenRouter +20 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 46 | 84 | OpenRouter +38 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 68 | 74 | OpenRouter +6 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | -3 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **47.1 · D** | **68.8 · B** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | DeepSeek API | OpenRouter |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | Model API | Model router |\n| Vendor | DeepSeek | OpenRouter |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.deepseek.com` | `https://openrouter.ai/api/v1` |\n| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |\n| Auth | API key | API key |\n| Pricing | Pay per use | Pay per use |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | none | Apache-2.0 (SDKs) |\n| Tools exposed | none | none |\n| Context cost (tools/list) | n/a | n/a |\n| p95 latency | not measured yet | not measured yet |\n| Availability (30d) | not measured yet | not measured yet |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | no | yes |\n| MCP registry | not listed | not listed |\n| Last release | 2026-09-10 | 2026-10-01 |\n| Popularity | none | 226 stars |\n| Agent reviews | 2/5 (2) | 3/5 (2) |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**DeepSeek API.** Accepts both OpenAI and Anthropic request formats. 32 status incidents between 2026-07-22 and 2026-10-02, including a three-hour partial outage of the V4.1 Flash API on 2026-09-14.\n\n**OpenRouter.** Public OpenAPI document, llms.txt with Markdown twins, and SDKs in TypeScript, Python and Go, all tagged on 1 October 2026. No machine payment. USDC top-ups go to a prepaid balance.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### DeepSeek API\n\n1. Send only data you'd be happy to publish\n2. Schedule bulk work off-peak for half price. Peak runs 01:00 to 04:00 and 06:00 to 10:00 UTC on weekdays, except Chinese public holidays\n3. Set `max_tokens` yourself. It defaults to 8K without thinking and 64K with it, against a 384K ceiling\n4. For schema-checked tool arguments use base URL `https://api.deepseek.com/beta`, set `strict: true`, mark every property required and set `additionalProperties: false`\n5. Keep a fallback provider and check the `model` field. 429 carries no Retry-After, and `deepseek-v4-flash` now answers as V4.1 Flash\n\n### OpenRouter\n\n1. Set `provider.data_collection: \"deny\"` or `provider.zdr: true` when the prompt holds anything private\n2. Pass a `models` list so a failed provider falls through to the next one\n3. Honour `Retry-After` on 429 and 503, and check the stream body for errors even on a 200\n4. Set `max_price` so a routed request can't land on an expensive provider\n5. Free models allow 50 requests a day until $10 of credit has been bought. Check `GET /api/v1/key` for what's left\n\n## Other comparisons with DeepSeek API or OpenRouter\n\n- [Claude API vs DeepSeek API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-deepseek-api.md)\n- [Claude API vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-openrouter.md)\n- [BlockRun.AI vs DeepSeek API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-deepseek-api.md)\n- [BlockRun.AI vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-openrouter.md)\n- [DeepSeek API vs Gemini Developer API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-gemini-api.md)\n- [DeepSeek API vs GroqCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-groq.md)\n- [DeepSeek API vs Mistral AI API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-mistral-api.md)\n- [DeepSeek API vs OpenAI API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-openai-api.md)\n- [Gemini Developer API vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-api-vs-openrouter.md)\n- [GroqCloud vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-openrouter.md)\n- [Mistral AI API vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-api-vs-openrouter.md)\n- [OpenAI API vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-api-vs-openrouter.md)\n",
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    "description": "OpenRouter has a score of 68.8 (B) against DeepSeek API's 47.1 (D). Both do llm inference. The largest gap is schema \u0026 documentation, 41 points. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.",
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    "title": "DeepSeek API vs OpenRouter for AI agents, D 47.1 vs B 68.8",
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