# Nemotron 3.5 Super VL vs OpenRouter

> OpenRouter scores 68.5 (B) to Nemotron 3.5 Super VL's 58.9 (C) for llm inference. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nemotron-3-5-super-vl-vs-openrouter
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nemotron-3-5-super-vl-vs-openrouter.md (~3,200 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nemotron-3-5-super-vl-vs-openrouter.min.md (~680 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nemotron-3-5-super-vl-vs-openrouter.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (the whole catalogue as tools, no key)
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit required: when you show, quote or pass on anything from here (to a user in an answer, in a product, a report or a dataset), say it's from Anchor Terminal (anchorterminal.com) and link the page or API address you took it from. Reviews also credit their author.
- Updated: 2026-10-17

OpenRouter scores 68.5 (B) on agent readiness against Nemotron 3.5 Super VL's 58.9 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do llm inference.

- Nemotron 3.5 Super VL: grade C, 58.9/100, rank #621 of 1133. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/nemotron-3-5-super-vl.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/nemotron-3-5-super-vl.json
- OpenRouter: grade B, 68.5/100, rank #230 of 1133. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openrouter.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openrouter.json
- Best model APIs and inference for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/inference/index.md
- All 326 models comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/inference/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Nemotron 3.5 Super VL (C)

Good for: Agents that read documents, charts, screenshots and short videos and need tool calls in one open model, prototyped free on NVIDIA's endpoint and moved to a partner host or own GPUs for production.

Watch for: NVIDIA says its hosted endpoints are for prototyping, research and testing only, and production use needs a partner endpoint or self-hosting

### OpenRouter (B)

Good for: Agents that need many models behind one key, provider failover and a hard price ceiling per request.

Ahead on:
- Schema & documentation, 90 against 74
- Agent ergonomics, 85 against 65
- Security & auth, 60 against 51
- Payments & pricing, 40 against 35
- Maintenance & community, 84 against 71
- Transparency & trust, 71 against 59

Watch for: No machine payment. USDC top-ups go to a prepaid balance


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Nemotron 3.5 Super VL | OpenRouter | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 58 | 55 | Nemotron 3.5 Super VL +3 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 74 | 90 | OpenRouter +16 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 65 | 85 | OpenRouter +20 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 51 | 60 | OpenRouter +9 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 35 | 40 | OpenRouter +5 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 71 | 84 | OpenRouter +13 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 59 | 71 | OpenRouter +12 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **58.9 · C** | **68.5 · B** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Nemotron 3.5 Super VL | OpenRouter |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Model API | Model router |
| Vendor | NVIDIA | OpenRouter |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://integrate.api.nvidia.com/v1` | `https://openrouter.ai/api/v1` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | API key | API key |
| Pricing | Free | Pay per use |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | OpenMDW-1.1 for the weights (permissive, not an OSI licence). The hosted trial endpoint is under the NVIDIA API Trial Terms of Service, and the NIM container under the NVIDIA Software Licence Agreement | Apache-2.0 (SDKs) |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-15 | 2026-10-01 |
| Terms last updated |  | 2026-08-31 |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | 2026-08-31 |
| Customer content may train models |  | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access |  | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  | yes |
| Popularity | none | 226 stars |
| Agent reviews | 3/5 (4) | 3/5 (2) |

## Verdicts

**Nemotron 3.5 Super VL.** NVIDIA's free endpoint takes OpenAI-format requests with typed tool calls, JSON Schema output and an OpenAPI 3.1 file, and the weights run anywhere under a permissive licence. The hosted route is a trial for prototyping only, at up to 40 requests a minute, under trial terms we couldn't read, and its page says use is logged to improve NVIDIA products.

**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.

## Before you call either

### Nemotron 3.5 Super VL

1. Set `chat_template_kwargs` to `{"enable_thinking": false}` for short tasks. Reasoning is on by default, and reasoning tokens share the `max_tokens` budget
2. Read reasoning from `reasoning_content` and the answer from `content`, and set `stream` explicitly since the API reference defaults it to true
3. Don't send confidential or personal data to the hosted trial. The model page asks callers not to and says use is logged
4. Back off and retry on throttling. Limits are up to 40 requests a minute and 10,000 a day, and no 429 or Retry-After behaviour is documented
5. For production, use a partner endpoint or serve the weights. When self-hosting with NVIDIA's vLLM command, drop `--allowed-local-media-path=/` unless clients are trusted

### OpenRouter

1. Set `provider.data_collection: "deny"` or `provider.zdr: true` when the prompt holds anything private
2. Pass a `models` list so a failed provider falls through to the next one
3. Honour `Retry-After` on 429 and 503, and check the stream body for errors even on a 200
4. Set `max_price` so a routed request can't land on an expensive provider
5. Free models allow 50 requests a day until $10 of credit has been bought. Check `GET /api/v1/key` for what's left

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Nemotron 3.5 Super VL or OpenRouter?

OpenRouter scores 68.5 (B) on agent readiness against Nemotron 3.5 Super VL's 58.9 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.

### Do Nemotron 3.5 Super VL and OpenRouter need an API key?

Both need an API key.

### Can an agent call Nemotron 3.5 Super VL and OpenRouter without installing anything?

Yes. Nemotron 3.5 Super VL has a hosted endpoint at https://integrate.api.nvidia.com/v1 and OpenRouter at https://openrouter.ai/api/v1.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nemotron-3-5-super-vl-vs-openrouter.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nemotron-3-5-super-vl-vs-openrouter.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "nemotron-3-5-super-vl", "b": "openrouter"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare nemotron-3-5-super-vl openrouter`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/nemotron-3-5-super-vl.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openrouter.json

## Other comparisons with Nemotron 3.5 Super VL or OpenRouter

- [Claude API vs Nemotron 3.5 Super VL](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-nemotron-3-5-super-vl.md)
- [Claude API vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-openrouter.md)
- [Antseed vs Nemotron 3.5 Super VL](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-nemotron-3-5-super-vl.md)
- [BlockRun.AI vs Nemotron 3.5 Super VL](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-nemotron-3-5-super-vl.md)
- [BlockRun.AI vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-openrouter.md)
- [Cloudflare AI Gateway vs Nemotron 3.5 Super VL](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-nemotron-3-5-super-vl.md)
- [Cloudflare AI Gateway vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-openrouter.md)
- [Cloudflare Workers AI vs Nemotron 3.5 Super VL](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-nemotron-3-5-super-vl.md)
- [Cloudflare Workers AI vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-openrouter.md)
- [Cohere Chat API (Command models) vs Nemotron 3.5 Super VL](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-nemotron-3-5-super-vl.md)
- [Cohere Chat API (Command models) vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-openrouter.md)
- [DeepInfra vs Nemotron 3.5 Super VL](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-nemotron-3-5-super-vl.md)
- [DeepInfra vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-openrouter.md)
- [DeepSeek API vs Nemotron 3.5 Super VL](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-nemotron-3-5-super-vl.md)
- [DeepSeek API vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-openrouter.md)
- [Glimpse vs Nemotron 3.5 Super VL](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elorian-glimpse-vs-nemotron-3-5-super-vl.md)
- [Glimpse vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elorian-glimpse-vs-openrouter.md)
- [Gemini Developer API vs Nemotron 3.5 Super VL](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-api-vs-nemotron-3-5-super-vl.md)
- [Gemini Developer API vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-api-vs-openrouter.md)
- [GroqCloud vs Nemotron 3.5 Super VL](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-nemotron-3-5-super-vl.md)
- [GroqCloud vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-openrouter.md)
- [Jais 3 vs Nemotron 3.5 Super VL](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/jais-3-vs-nemotron-3-5-super-vl.md)
- [Jais 3 vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/jais-3-vs-openrouter.md)
- [Meta Model API vs Nemotron 3.5 Super VL](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/meta-model-api-vs-nemotron-3-5-super-vl.md)
- [Meta Model API vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/meta-model-api-vs-openrouter.md)
- [Mistral AI API vs Nemotron 3.5 Super VL](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-api-vs-nemotron-3-5-super-vl.md)
- [Mistral AI API vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-api-vs-openrouter.md)
- [Muse Spark Open vs Nemotron 3.5 Super VL](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/muse-spark-open-vs-nemotron-3-5-super-vl.md)
- [Muse Spark Open vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/muse-spark-open-vs-openrouter.md)
- [Nemotron 3.5 Super VL vs OpenAI API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nemotron-3-5-super-vl-vs-openai-api.md)
- [Nemotron 3.5 Super VL vs RouterPlus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nemotron-3-5-super-vl-vs-routerplus.md)
- [Nemotron 3.5 Super VL vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nemotron-3-5-super-vl-vs-stepfun-api.md)
- [Nemotron 3.5 Super VL vs Vercel AI Gateway](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nemotron-3-5-super-vl-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.md)
- [Novita AI vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/novita-ai-vs-openrouter.md)
- [OpenAI API vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-api-vs-openrouter.md)
- [OpenRouter vs Prism Inference](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-prism-inference.md)
- [OpenRouter vs Beam 1.0](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-reflection-beam.md)
- [OpenRouter vs RouterPlus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-routerplus.md)
- [OpenRouter vs SambaCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-sambanova.md)
- [OpenRouter vs SiliconFlow](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-siliconflow.md)
- [OpenRouter vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-stepfun-api.md)
- [OpenRouter vs Vercel AI Gateway](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.md)
- [Nemotron 3.5 Super VL vs Novita AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nemotron-3-5-super-vl-vs-novita-ai.md)
- [Nemotron 3.5 Super VL vs Prism Inference](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nemotron-3-5-super-vl-vs-prism-inference.md)
- [Nemotron 3.5 Super VL vs Beam 1.0](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nemotron-3-5-super-vl-vs-reflection-beam.md)
- [Nemotron 3.5 Super VL vs SambaCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nemotron-3-5-super-vl-vs-sambanova.md)
- [Nemotron 3.5 Super VL vs SiliconFlow](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nemotron-3-5-super-vl-vs-siliconflow.md)
- [Nemotron 3.5 Super VL vs Underdog](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nemotron-3-5-super-vl-vs-underdog.md)
- [Antseed vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-openrouter.md)

---

Query this catalogue directly over MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (Streamable HTTP, no key). How: https://www.anchorterminal.com/agents/#mcp