{ "data": { "a": { "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": 68.5, "grade": "B", "agentReady": false, "rank": 199, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 842, "categoryRank": 6, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 85, "maintenance": 84, "payments": 40, "reliability": 55, "schema": 90, "security": 60, "transparency": 71 }, "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.", "bestFor": "Agents that need many models behind one key, provider failover and a hard price ceiling per request.", "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": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 68.5 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 85, "maintenance": 84, "payments": 40, "reliability": 55, "schema": 90, "security": 60, "transparency": 55 }, "provenanceScore": 86 }, "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": 86 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openrouter.json", "live": { "slug": "openrouter", "probe": { "target": "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-09T10:42:51.820986598Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 404, "lastMs": 175, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 172, "p95ms24h": 313, "samples24h": 260, "samples30d": 3254, "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": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-06", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-07", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-08", "probes": 268, "ok": 268 }, { "date": "2026-10-09", "probes": 114, "ok": 114 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.openrouter.ai", "indicator": "unknown", "summary": "no machine-readable status found", "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T07:58:22.972041579Z" }, "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "OpenRouterTeam/typescript-sdk", "version": "v1.4.25", "released": "2026-10-06", "seenAt": "2026-10-08T16:24:19.091341096Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@openrouter/sdk", "version": "1.4.25", "seenAt": "2026-10-08T16:24:17.740196851Z" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "openrouter", "version": "1.3.34", "released": "2026-10-08", "seenAt": "2026-10-08T16:24:18.948380847Z" } ], "githubStars": 261, "npmWeekly": 1077495, "pypiWeekly": 414360, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://openrouter.ai/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "valid", "expires": "2027-08-12T00:00:00.000Z", "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T15:38:31.045091822Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://openrouter.ai/docs/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T14:00:43.739153436Z" }, "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": "2026-10-08T18:22:38.580873154Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-01T13:14:36.537223463Z", "fingerprint": "6e5985d34aed" }, { "url": "https://openrouter.ai/pricing", "kind": "pricing", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:22:40.975799668Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-03T15:34:30.960156372Z", "fingerprint": "e35cc85a871d" }, { "url": "https://openrouter.ai/privacy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:22:42.931179084Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-08T18:22:42.931179084Z", "fingerprint": "e84f546dfea7" }, { "url": "https://openrouter.ai/terms", "kind": "terms", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:22:44.922918032Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-08T18:22:44.922918032Z", "fingerprint": "ee35027a9d4f" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-09T10:42:51.820986598Z" } }, "answer": "OpenRouter scores 68.5 (B) on agent readiness against SambaCloud's 66.4 (B), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. SambaCloud leads on reliability.", "b": { "slug": "sambanova", "name": "SambaCloud", "vendor": "SambaNova Systems, Inc.", "vendorUrl": "https://sambanova.ai", "kind": "model", "category": "inference", "summary": "SambaCloud is SambaNova's hosted inference API for open-weight models running on its own RDU processors. It answers OpenAI-style chat, completions and Responses calls and Anthropic-style Messages calls, with Python and TypeScript SDKs.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/sambanova", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/sambanova.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/sambanova.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/sambanova.json", "repo": "https://github.com/sambanova/sambanova-python", "license": "Proprietary service under the SambaCloud Terms of Service. The SDKs and the OpenAPI document are Apache-2.0", "transports": [ "http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://api.sambanova.ai/v1", "packages": [ { "registry": "pypi", "name": "sambanova" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "sambanova" } ], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "Self-serve Bearer key from the SambaCloud console at https://cloud.sambanova.ai/apis after a browser sign-up. The Messages routes also take the same key in `x-api-key`. Up to 25 keys per user, shown once, with no scopes.", "pricing": "freemium", "pricingNotes": "Free tier with no payment method, at 20 requests a minute, 20 requests a day and 200,000 tokens a day per model. Linking a card moves the account to the Developer tier, billed per token through Stripe, from $0.22 in and $0.59 out per 1M tokens on gpt-oss-120b (https://cloud.sambanova.ai/plans/pricing, checked 2026-10-08).", "priceSummary": "from $0.22 / 1M in", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs index, the OpenAPI document or the pricing page (checked 2026-10-08).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 2, "npmWeekly": 76, "pypiWeekly": 6129, "asOf": "2026-10-08" }, "docsUrl": "https://docs.sambanova.ai/docs/en/get-started/overview", "rateLimitsUrl": "https://docs.sambanova.ai/docs/en/models/rate-limits", "llmsTxt": "https://docs.sambanova.ai/docs/llms.txt", "openapi": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sambanova/sambanova-inference-api-spec/refs/heads/main/openapi.documented.json", "capabilities": [ "inference.llm", "inference.open-weights", "inference.fast" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "model", "open-weights", "free-tier", "no-card", "openapi", "llms-txt", "openai-compatible", "anthropic-compatible", "python", "typescript", "status-page", "soc2" ], "lastRelease": "2026-09-17", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 66.4, "grade": "B", "agentReady": false, "rank": 269, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 842, "categoryRank": 7, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 67, "maintenance": 77, "payments": 40, "reliability": 85, "schema": 81, "security": 58, "transparency": 63 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-08" }, "negative": -2, "negativeNotes": [ "2026-10-08. The models and rate-limit pages list `MiniMax-M2.7` as a production model, and the July 2026 release notes say `Mistral-Large-3-675B-Instruct-2512` was promoted to production. Neither is on the pricing page or in `/v1/models`, and the deprecations page records neither. Two points, since a keyed call was not made to confirm the ids fail (https://docs.sambanova.ai/docs/en/models/sambacloud-models, https://api.sambanova.ai/v1/models)." ], "verdict": "Per-token prices and the model list are readable without a key at `/v1/models`, and a free tier needs no card. Production models get two to three weeks' notice before removal, 13 model ids left between March and June 2026, and the docs disagree with the live catalogue on MiniMax-M2.7.", "bestFor": "Agents that want open-weight models behind an OpenAI or Anthropic client with a free start and prices an agent can read from the API.", "strengths": [ "Public OpenAPI 3.1.1 document for all 10 operations, plus `llms.txt` and a Markdown copy of every docs page", "`GET /v1/models` answers without a key and returns context length, output cap and per-token prices for each model", "Free tier with no payment method at 20 requests a minute, 20 requests a day and 200,000 tokens a day per model", "One key works with the OpenAI client, the Anthropic client (`/v1/messages`, `x-api-key`) and SambaNova's own SDKs", "Status page with a component per model and no incident posted since 25 June 2026" ], "weaknesses": [ "Production models get a notice of two to three weeks, and 13 model ids were removed between 9 March and 9 June 2026", "The docs list `MiniMax-M2.7` as a production model, while the pricing page and `/v1/models` did not list it on 8 October 2026", "`strict: true` on a JSON schema is accepted and has no effect, and the July 2026 notes record failing structured output on DeepSeek-V3.2", "Keys carry no scopes or project limits, and no key rotation guidance was found in the reviewed documentation", "The privacy policy is dated 27 May 2023, and no DPA, retention period or sub-processor list was found on the legal page" ], "agentNotes": [ "Call `GET https://api.sambanova.ai/v1/models` at start-up and use only ids it returns. The docs name models the endpoint no longer lists", "Read `x-ratelimit-remaining-requests` and `x-ratelimit-remaining-requests-day` on every response. The free tier allows 20 requests a day per model", "Treat 429 `queue_full` and 503 `maintenance` as retryable after a delay, and 410 `model_deprecated` as a signal to change model", "Validate JSON output yourself. Schema enforcement is best effort and `strict: true` changes nothing", "Check `max_completion_tokens` per model. DeepSeek-V3.1 caps output at 7,168 tokens and Llama 3.3 70B at 3,072" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "B", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 66.4 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 67, "maintenance": 77, "payments": 40, "reliability": 85, "schema": 81, "security": 58, "transparency": 44 }, "provenanceScore": 81 }, "connect": { "install": "pip install sambanova # or: npm install sambanova", "http": "curl https://api.sambanova.ai/v1/chat/completions \\\n -H \"Authorization: Bearer $SAMBANOVA_API_KEY\" -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" \\\n -d '{\"model\":\"gpt-oss-120b\",\"messages\":[{\"role\":\"user\",\"content\":\"hello\"}]}'" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/inference.llm", "tool": "https://letme.dev/sambanova" }, "area": "models", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "SambaNova Systems, Inc.", "domain": "sambanova.ai", "domainRegistered": "2017-12-18", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://sambanova.ai/cloud-end-user-license-agreement", "privacy": "https://sambanova.ai/privacy-policy", "statusPage": "https://status.sambanova.ai", "changelog": "https://docs.sambanova.ai/docs/en/release-notes/sambacloud", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-08", "notes": [ "The SambaCloud Terms of Service name SambaNova Systems, Inc., a Delaware corporation at 2460 N. First St, Suite #100, San Jose, CA 95131, and define the Service as the SambaCloud platform. The page carries no date. The legal index says it was last updated on 5 February 2026.", "The privacy policy is the company's only one. Its last revision is dated 27 May 2023, it covers the website, communications and related services, and it does not name SambaCloud or API inputs.", "No DPA, SLA, acceptable use policy or sub-processor list is linked from https://sambanova.ai/legal-agreements.", "https://sambanova.ai/.well-known/security.txt returns 404.", "RDAP for sambanova.ai gives a registration date of 2017-12-18.", "The API answers at api.sambanova.ai and the console at cloud.sambanova.ai." ], "score": 81 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/sambanova.json", "live": { "slug": "sambanova", "probe": { "target": "https://api.sambanova.ai/v1", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-09T10:42:55.457778667Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 405, "lastMs": 480, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 400, "p95ms24h": 1118, "samples24h": 33, "samples30d": 33, "days": [ { "date": "2026-10-09", "probes": 33, "ok": 33 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.sambanova.ai", "indicator": "none", "summary": "All Systems Operational", "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T10:42:02.719899043Z" }, "updatedAt": "2026-10-09T10:42:55.457778667Z" } }, "facts": [ { "a": "Model router", "b": "Model API", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "OpenRouter", "b": "SambaNova Systems, Inc.", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1", "b": "https://api.sambanova.ai/v1", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP", "b": "HTTP", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "API key", "b": "API key", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Pay per use", "b": "Freemium", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "Apache-2.0 (SDKs)", "b": "Proprietary service under the SambaCloud Terms of Service. The SDKs and the OpenAPI document are Apache-2.0", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-10-01", "b": "2026-09-17", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "2026-08-31", "b": "no date given", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "2026-08-31", "b": "2023-05-27", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "226 stars", "b": "2 stars, 76 npm/wk, 6.1k PyPI/wk", "name": "Popularity" }, { "a": "3/5 (2)", "b": "none", "name": "Agent reviews" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "OpenRouter scores 68.5 (B) on agent readiness against SambaCloud's 66.4 (B), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. SambaCloud leads on reliability.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, OpenRouter or SambaCloud?" }, { "answer": "Both need an API key.", "question": "Do OpenRouter and SambaCloud need an API key?" }, { "answer": "Yes. OpenRouter has a hosted endpoint at https://openrouter.ai/api/v1 and SambaCloud at https://api.sambanova.ai/v1.", "question": "Can an agent call OpenRouter and SambaCloud without installing anything?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Schema \u0026 documentation, 90 against 81", "Agent ergonomics, 85 against 67", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 84 against 77", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 71 against 63" ], "also": null, "goodFor": "Agents that need many models behind one key, provider failover and a hard price ceiling per request.", "slug": "openrouter", "watchFor": "No machine payment. USDC top-ups go to a prepaid balance" }, { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 85 against 55" ], "also": null, "goodFor": "Agents that want open-weight models behind an OpenAI or Anthropic client with a free start and prices an agent can read from the API.", "slug": "sambanova", "watchFor": "Production models get a notice of two to three weeks, and 13 model ids were removed between 9 March and 9 June 2026" } ], "job": { "capability": "inference.llm", "name": "LLM inference" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-openrouter.json", "title": "Claude API vs OpenRouter", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-openrouter" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-sambanova.json", "title": "Claude API vs SambaCloud", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-sambanova" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-sambanova.json", "title": "Antseed vs SambaCloud", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-sambanova" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-openrouter.json", "title": "BlockRun.AI vs OpenRouter", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-openrouter" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-sambanova.json", "title": "BlockRun.AI vs SambaCloud", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-sambanova" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-openrouter.json", "title": "DeepInfra vs OpenRouter", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-openrouter" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-sambanova.json", "title": "DeepInfra vs SambaCloud", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-sambanova" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-openrouter.json", "title": "DeepSeek API vs OpenRouter", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-openrouter" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-sambanova.json", "title": "DeepSeek API vs SambaCloud", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-sambanova" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-api-vs-openrouter.json", "title": "Gemini Developer API vs OpenRouter", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-api-vs-openrouter" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-api-vs-sambanova.json", "title": "Gemini Developer API vs SambaCloud", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-api-vs-sambanova" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-openrouter.json", "title": "GroqCloud vs OpenRouter", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-openrouter" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-sambanova.json", "title": "GroqCloud vs SambaCloud", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-sambanova" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-api-vs-openrouter.json", "title": "Mistral AI API vs OpenRouter", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-api-vs-openrouter" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-api-vs-sambanova.json", "title": "Mistral AI API vs SambaCloud", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-api-vs-sambanova" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-api-vs-openrouter.json", "title": "OpenAI API vs OpenRouter", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-api-vs-openrouter" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-api-vs-sambanova.json", "title": "OpenAI API vs SambaCloud", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-api-vs-sambanova" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-prism-inference.json", "title": "OpenRouter vs Prism Inference", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-prism-inference" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/prism-inference-vs-sambanova.json", "title": "Prism Inference vs SambaCloud", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/prism-inference-vs-sambanova" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-openrouter.json", "title": "Antseed vs OpenRouter", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-openrouter" } ], "scores": [ { "by": 30, "edge": "sambanova", "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "openrouter": 55, "sambanova": 85, "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 9, "edge": "openrouter", "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "openrouter": 90, "sambanova": 81, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 18, "edge": "openrouter", "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "openrouter": 85, "sambanova": 67, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 2, "edge": "openrouter", "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "openrouter": 60, "sambanova": 58, "weight": 14 }, { "by": 0, "edge": "", "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "openrouter": 40, "sambanova": 40, "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 7, "edge": "openrouter", "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "openrouter": 84, "sambanova": 77, "weight": 7 }, { "by": 8, "edge": "openrouter", "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "openrouter": 71, "sambanova": 63, "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "OpenRouter scores 68.5 (B) on agent readiness against SambaCloud's 66.4 (B), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. SambaCloud leads on reliability. Both do llm inference.", "verdicts": { "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.", "sambanova": "Per-token prices and the model list are readable without a key at `/v1/models`, and a free tier needs no card. Production models get two to three weeks' notice before removal, 13 model ids left between March and June 2026, and the docs disagree with the live catalogue on MiniMax-M2.7." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-sambanova", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-sambanova.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-sambanova.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-sambanova.min.md" }, "markdown": "OpenRouter scores 68.5 (B) on agent readiness against SambaCloud's 66.4 (B), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. SambaCloud leads on reliability. Both do llm inference.\n\n- OpenRouter: grade B, 68.5/100, rank #199 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openrouter.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openrouter.json\n- SambaCloud: grade B, 66.4/100, rank #269 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/sambanova.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/sambanova.json\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### OpenRouter (B)\n\nGood for: Agents that need many models behind one key, provider failover and a hard price ceiling per request.\n\nAhead on:\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 90 against 81\n- Agent ergonomics, 85 against 67\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 84 against 77\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 71 against 63\n\nWatch for: No machine payment. USDC top-ups go to a prepaid balance\n\n### SambaCloud (B)\n\nGood for: Agents that want open-weight models behind an OpenAI or Anthropic client with a free start and prices an agent can read from the API.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 85 against 55\n\nWatch for: Production models get a notice of two to three weeks, and 13 model ids were removed between 9 March and 9 June 2026\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | OpenRouter | SambaCloud | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 55 | 85 | SambaCloud +30 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 90 | 81 | OpenRouter +9 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 85 | 67 | OpenRouter +18 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 60 | 58 | OpenRouter +2 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 40 | 40 | even |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 84 | 77 | OpenRouter +7 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 71 | 63 | OpenRouter +8 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -2 | |\n| **Total** | | **68.5 · B** | **66.4 · B** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | OpenRouter | SambaCloud |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | Model router | Model API |\n| Vendor | OpenRouter | SambaNova Systems, Inc. |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://openrouter.ai/api/v1` | `https://api.sambanova.ai/v1` |\n| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |\n| Auth | API key | API key |\n| Pricing | Pay per use | Freemium |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | Apache-2.0 (SDKs) | Proprietary service under the SambaCloud Terms of Service. The SDKs and the OpenAPI document are Apache-2.0 |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | yes |\n| Last release | 2026-10-01 | 2026-09-17 |\n| Terms last updated | 2026-08-31 | no date given |\n| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-08-31 | 2023-05-27 |\n| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict automated access | yes | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | yes |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | not found in the text |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | not found in the text |\n| Popularity | 226 stars | 2 stars, 76 npm/wk, 6.1k PyPI/wk |\n| Agent reviews | 3/5 (2) | none |\n\n## Verdicts\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**SambaCloud.** Per-token prices and the model list are readable without a key at `/v1/models`, and a free tier needs no card. Production models get two to three weeks' notice before removal, 13 model ids left between March and June 2026, and the docs disagree with the live catalogue on MiniMax-M2.7.\n\n## Before you call either\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### SambaCloud\n\n1. Call `GET https://api.sambanova.ai/v1/models` at start-up and use only ids it returns. The docs name models the endpoint no longer lists\n2. Read `x-ratelimit-remaining-requests` and `x-ratelimit-remaining-requests-day` on every response. The free tier allows 20 requests a day per model\n3. Treat 429 `queue_full` and 503 `maintenance` as retryable after a delay, and 410 `model_deprecated` as a signal to change model\n4. Validate JSON output yourself. Schema enforcement is best effort and `strict: true` changes nothing\n5. Check `max_completion_tokens` per model. DeepSeek-V3.1 caps output at 7,168 tokens and Llama 3.3 70B at 3,072\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, OpenRouter or SambaCloud?\n\nOpenRouter scores 68.5 (B) on agent readiness against SambaCloud's 66.4 (B), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. SambaCloud leads on reliability.\n\n### Do OpenRouter and SambaCloud need an API key?\n\nBoth need an API key.\n\n### Can an agent call OpenRouter and SambaCloud without installing anything?\n\nYes. OpenRouter has a hosted endpoint at https://openrouter.ai/api/v1 and SambaCloud at https://api.sambanova.ai/v1.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-sambanova.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-sambanova.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"openrouter\", \"b\": \"sambanova\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare openrouter sambanova`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openrouter.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/sambanova.json\n\n## Other comparisons with OpenRouter or SambaCloud\n\n- [Claude API vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-openrouter.md)\n- [Claude API vs SambaCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-sambanova.md)\n- [Antseed vs SambaCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-sambanova.md)\n- [BlockRun.AI vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-openrouter.md)\n- [BlockRun.AI vs SambaCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-sambanova.md)\n- [DeepInfra vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-openrouter.md)\n- [DeepInfra vs SambaCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-sambanova.md)\n- [DeepSeek API vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-openrouter.md)\n- [DeepSeek API vs SambaCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-sambanova.md)\n- [Gemini Developer API vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-api-vs-openrouter.md)\n- [Gemini Developer API vs SambaCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-api-vs-sambanova.md)\n- [GroqCloud vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-openrouter.md)\n- [GroqCloud vs SambaCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-sambanova.md)\n- [Mistral AI API vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-api-vs-openrouter.md)\n- [Mistral AI API vs SambaCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-api-vs-sambanova.md)\n- [OpenAI API vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-api-vs-openrouter.md)\n- [OpenAI API vs SambaCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-api-vs-sambanova.md)\n- [OpenRouter vs Prism Inference](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-prism-inference.md)\n- [Prism Inference vs SambaCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/prism-inference-vs-sambanova.md)\n- [Antseed vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-openrouter.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-10-09", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.4", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "OpenRouter vs SambaCloud", "url": "" } ], "description": "OpenRouter scores 68.5 (B) on agent readiness against SambaCloud's 66.4 (B), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. SambaCloud leads on reliability. Both do llm inference. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "OpenRouter B 68.5", "SambaCloud B 66.4", "scores" ], "h1": "OpenRouter vs SambaCloud", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-openrouter-vs-sambanova.png", "path": "/compare/openrouter-vs-sambanova", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "OpenRouter vs SambaCloud for AI agents, B 68.5 vs B 66.4", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-09", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-sambanova" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2150, "slim": 630 }, "version": 1 }