{ "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": 213, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 965, "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": "2026-10-12T04:37:29.279407346Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 404, "lastMs": 157, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 164, "p95ms24h": 283, "samples24h": 247, "samples30d": 3931, "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": 250, "ok": 250 }, { "date": "2026-10-10", "probes": 247, "ok": 247 }, { "date": "2026-10-11", "probes": 247, "ok": 247 }, { "date": "2026-10-12", "probes": 47, "ok": 47 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.openrouter.ai", "indicator": "unknown", "summary": "no machine-readable status found", "checkedAt": "2026-10-12T03:24:52.722721494Z" }, "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "OpenRouterTeam/typescript-sdk", "version": "v1.4.25", "released": "2026-10-06", "seenAt": "2026-10-11T19:48:42.483338653Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@openrouter/sdk", "version": "1.4.25", "seenAt": "2026-10-11T19:48:42.101060621Z" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "openrouter", "version": "1.3.43", "released": "2026-10-11", "seenAt": "2026-10-11T19:48:42.342279438Z" } ], "githubStars": 262, "npmWeekly": 872229, "pypiWeekly": 451386, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://openrouter.ai/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "valid", "expires": "2027-08-12T00:00:00.000Z", "checkedAt": "2026-10-11T15:42:47.084876705Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://openrouter.ai/docs/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-11T14:07:20.316107113Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "openrouter.ai", "registered": "2023-04-17", "source": "https://rdap.identitydigital.services/rdap/domain/openrouter.ai", "checkedAt": "2026-10-11T13:26:38.23800535Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://openrouter.ai/docs/changelog", "kind": "deprecations", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-11T19:31:13.259008745Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-10T19:07:01.411136467Z", "fingerprint": "62c469936385" }, { "url": "https://openrouter.ai/pricing", "kind": "pricing", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-11T19:31:15.620463876Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-03T15:34:30.960156372Z", "fingerprint": "e35cc85a871d" }, { "url": "https://openrouter.ai/privacy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-11T19:31:17.428381916Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-11T19:31:17.428381916Z", "fingerprint": "0777fbbbb528" }, { "url": "https://openrouter.ai/terms", "kind": "terms", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-11T19:31:19.465320152Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-11T19:31:19.465320152Z", "fingerprint": "0b340f4229ba" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-12T04:37:29.279407346Z" } }, "answer": "OpenRouter scores 68.5 (B) on agent readiness against StepFun API's 44.4 (E), and leads in every scored category.", "b": { "slug": "stepfun-api", "name": "StepFun API", "vendor": "StepFun", "vendorUrl": "https://platform.stepfun.ai", "kind": "model", "category": "inference", "summary": "The StepFun API is StepFun's paid model API for its Step language, vision and speech models, including the flagship Step 5 Preview, through OpenAI-style Chat Completions and Responses endpoints and an Anthropic-style Messages endpoint.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/stepfun-api", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/stepfun-api.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/stepfun-api.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/stepfun-api.json", "license": "Closed service under the StepFun Open Platform Terms of Service (STEPFUN TECHNOLOGY (HK) LIMITED, Hong Kong law).", "transports": [ "http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://api.stepfun.ai/v1", "packages": [], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "A bearer API key created in the StepFun Open Platform console after sign-up. Organisations can create one key per project, billed to the organisation's credit and deletable at once. No key scopes were found. Individual accounts must complete identity verification before tiered rate limits apply.", "pricing": "usage", "pricingNotes": "Step 5 Preview is $1.00 per million input tokens on a cache miss, $0.10 on a cache hit and $2.70 per million output tokens, reasoning included (checked 2026-10-12). Prepaid top-ups. No free API allowance was found. A Step Plan subscription covers coding tools separately.", "priceSummary": "Pay per use", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the international docs index, the pricing page or the Chat Completions reference, checked 12 October 2026. Calls draw on a prepaid balance.", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-12" }, "docsUrl": "https://platform.stepfun.ai/docs/en/guides/models/step-5-preview", "llmsTxt": "https://platform.stepfun.ai/docs/llms.txt", "capabilities": [ "inference.llm" ], "tags": [ "official", "hosted", "model", "usage-priced", "closed-source", "llms-txt", "multimodal", "streaming" ], "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 44.4, "grade": "E", "agentReady": false, "rank": 889, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 965, "categoryRank": 18, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 68, "maintenance": 50, "payments": 20, "reliability": 28, "schema": 53, "security": 41, "transparency": 58 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-12" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "StepFun's API serves Step 5 Preview with a 1M-token context, video input, strict JSON Schema output and published per-token prices, documented in Markdown with an llms.txt. The model is a preview with no release date found, there's no free allowance or SLA, and the terms and privacy policy leave room to train on customer data.", "bestFor": "Long-context agent and coding work over text, screenshots and video at a low per-token price, where a preview model is acceptable.", "strengths": [ "Step 5 Preview takes text, images and video with a 1M-token context and up to 64k output tokens", "Strict JSON Schema output and tool calls on Step 5 Preview, per the structured-output guide", "Per-token prices with cache-hit rates published without a login, and rate-limit tiers published with numbers", "OpenAI-style Chat Completions and Responses endpoints and an Anthropic-style Messages endpoint", "llms.txt and a Markdown copy of every docs page" ], "weaknesses": [ "Step 5 Preview is labelled a preview, and no release date or support commitment was found", "No free API allowance found, and individual accounts need identity verification for tiered limits", "No OpenAPI file, no official SDK and no batch endpoint found", "The privacy policy allows training on user data where law and program terms permit, with no zero-retention option found", "No SLA, security.txt or certification found" ], "agentNotes": [ "Set `max_tokens` yourself. It defaults to unlimited on Step 5 Preview, and reasoning tokens are billed as output", "Use `response_format` with `type: json_schema` and `strict: true` when the shape matters. JSON Mode alone isn't schema-checked", "Back off and retry on 429, 500, 503 and 504. The docs give no Retry-After header or backoff schedule", "Expect HTTP 451 or `finish_reason: content_filter` when content fails StepFun's review, and don't retry the same input", "Use api.stepfun.ai for the international platform. api.stepfun.com is the China platform with yuan pricing" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "E", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 44.4 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 68, "maintenance": 50, "payments": 20, "reliability": 28, "schema": 53, "security": 41, "transparency": 51 }, "provenanceScore": 65 }, "connect": { "http": "curl https://api.stepfun.ai/v1/chat/completions \\\n -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" \\\n -H \"Authorization: Bearer $STEPFUN_API_KEY\" \\\n -d '{\"model\":\"step-5-preview\",\"messages\":[{\"role\":\"user\",\"content\":\"Hello\"}]}'" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/inference.llm", "tool": "https://letme.dev/stepfun-api" }, "area": "models", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Step 5 Preview input, cache miss", "unit": "1m-tokens", "usd": 1, "note": "Includes writing new content to the cache." }, { "item": "Step 5 Preview input, cache hit", "unit": "1m-tokens", "usd": 0.1 }, { "item": "Step 5 Preview output", "unit": "1m-tokens", "usd": 2.7, "note": "Reasoning and final answer tokens." } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "STEPFUN TECHNOLOGY (HK) LIMITED", "domain": "stepfun.ai", "domainRegistered": "", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://platform.stepfun.ai/docs/en/agreement/userservice", "privacy": "https://platform.stepfun.ai/docs/en/agreement/userprivacy", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://platform.stepfun.ai/docs/en/guides/model-migration", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-12", "notes": [ "The terms and the privacy policy name STEPFUN TECHNOLOGY (HK) LIMITED. Disputes go to HKIAC arbitration under Hong Kong law.", "platform.stepfun.ai/.well-known/security.txt returned 404, and stepfun.ai/.well-known/security.txt redirects to the platform home page.", "status.stepfun.ai refused our reader by robots.txt, and the shell couldn't connect, so whether it is a status page wasn't established.", "The X handle comes from the QR code labelled X account on the platform home page, which decodes to https://x.com/StepFun_ai.", "Domain registration date was not checked." ], "score": 65 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/stepfun-api.json", "live": { "slug": "stepfun-api", "probe": { "target": "https://api.stepfun.ai/v1", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-12T04:37:36.182148739Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 404, "lastMs": 267, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 275, "p95ms24h": 492, "samples24h": 21, "samples30d": 21, "days": [ { "date": "2026-10-12", "probes": 21, "ok": 21 } ] }, "updatedAt": "2026-10-12T04:37:36.182148739Z" } }, "facts": [ { "a": "Model router", "b": "Model API", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "OpenRouter", "b": "StepFun", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1", "b": "https://api.stepfun.ai/v1", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP", "b": "HTTP", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "API key", "b": "API key", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Pay per use", "b": "Pay per use", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "Apache-2.0 (SDKs)", "b": "Closed service under the StepFun Open Platform Terms of Service (STEPFUN TECHNOLOGY (HK) LIMITED, Hong Kong law).", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-10-01", "b": "none", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "2026-08-31", "b": "", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "2026-08-31", "b": "", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "226 stars", "b": "none", "name": "Popularity" }, { "a": "3/5 (2)", "b": "none", "name": "Agent reviews" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "OpenRouter scores 68.5 (B) on agent readiness against StepFun API's 44.4 (E), and leads in every scored category.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, OpenRouter or StepFun API?" }, { "answer": "Both need an API key.", "question": "Do OpenRouter and StepFun API need an API key?" }, { "answer": "Yes. OpenRouter has a hosted endpoint at https://openrouter.ai/api/v1 and StepFun API at https://api.stepfun.ai/v1.", "question": "Can an agent call OpenRouter and StepFun API without installing anything?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 55 against 28", "Schema \u0026 documentation, 90 against 53", "Agent ergonomics, 85 against 68", "Security \u0026 auth, 60 against 41", "Payments \u0026 pricing, 40 against 20", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 84 against 50", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 71 against 58" ], "also": [ "Free to start without a card" ], "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": null, "also": null, "goodFor": "Long-context agent and coding work over text, screenshots and video at a low per-token price, where a preview model is acceptable.", "slug": "stepfun-api", "watchFor": "Step 5 Preview is labelled a preview, and no release date or support commitment was found" } ], "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-stepfun-api.json", "title": "Claude API vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-stepfun-api.json", "title": "Antseed vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "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-stepfun-api.json", "title": "BlockRun.AI vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-openrouter.json", "title": "Cloudflare AI Gateway vs OpenRouter", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-openrouter" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-stepfun-api.json", "title": "Cloudflare AI Gateway vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-openrouter.json", "title": "Cloudflare Workers AI vs OpenRouter", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-openrouter" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-stepfun-api.json", "title": "Cloudflare Workers AI vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-openrouter.json", "title": "Cohere Chat API (Command models) vs OpenRouter", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-openrouter" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-stepfun-api.json", "title": "Cohere Chat API (Command models) vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "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-stepfun-api.json", "title": "DeepInfra vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "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-stepfun-api.json", "title": "DeepSeek API vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "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-stepfun-api.json", "title": "Gemini Developer API vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-api-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "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-stepfun-api.json", "title": "GroqCloud vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "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-stepfun-api.json", "title": "Mistral AI API vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-api-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/novita-ai-vs-openrouter.json", "title": "Novita AI vs OpenRouter", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/novita-ai-vs-openrouter" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/novita-ai-vs-stepfun-api.json", "title": "Novita AI vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/novita-ai-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "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-stepfun-api.json", "title": "OpenAI API vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-api-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "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/openrouter-vs-sambanova.json", "title": "OpenRouter vs SambaCloud", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-sambanova" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-siliconflow.json", "title": "OpenRouter vs SiliconFlow", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-siliconflow" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/prism-inference-vs-stepfun-api.json", "title": "Prism Inference vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/prism-inference-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sambanova-vs-stepfun-api.json", "title": "SambaCloud vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sambanova-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/siliconflow-vs-stepfun-api.json", "title": "SiliconFlow vs StepFun API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/siliconflow-vs-stepfun-api" }, { "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": 27, "edge": "openrouter", "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "openrouter": 55, "stepfun-api": 28, "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 37, "edge": "openrouter", "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "openrouter": 90, "stepfun-api": 53, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 17, "edge": "openrouter", "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "openrouter": 85, "stepfun-api": 68, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 19, "edge": "openrouter", "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "openrouter": 60, "stepfun-api": 41, "weight": 14 }, { "by": 20, "edge": "openrouter", "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "openrouter": 40, "stepfun-api": 20, "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 34, "edge": "openrouter", "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "openrouter": 84, "stepfun-api": 50, "weight": 7 }, { "by": 13, "edge": "openrouter", "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "openrouter": 71, "stepfun-api": 58, "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "OpenRouter scores 68.5 (B) on agent readiness against StepFun API's 44.4 (E), and leads in every scored category. 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.", "stepfun-api": "StepFun's API serves Step 5 Preview with a 1M-token context, video input, strict JSON Schema output and published per-token prices, documented in Markdown with an llms.txt. The model is a preview with no release date found, there's no free allowance or SLA, and the terms and privacy policy leave room to train on customer data." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-stepfun-api", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-stepfun-api.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-stepfun-api.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-stepfun-api.min.md" }, "markdown": "OpenRouter scores 68.5 (B) on agent readiness against StepFun API's 44.4 (E), and leads in every scored category. Both do llm inference.\n\n- OpenRouter: grade B, 68.5/100, rank #213 of 965. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openrouter.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openrouter.json\n- StepFun API: grade E, 44.4/100, rank #889 of 965. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/stepfun-api.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/stepfun-api.json\n- Best model APIs and inference for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/inference/index.md\n- All 153 models comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/inference/index.md\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- Reliability, 55 against 28\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 90 against 53\n- Agent ergonomics, 85 against 68\n- Security \u0026 auth, 60 against 41\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 40 against 20\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 84 against 50\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 71 against 58\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- Free to start without a card\n\nWatch for: No machine payment. USDC top-ups go to a prepaid balance\n\n### StepFun API (E)\n\nGood for: Long-context agent and coding work over text, screenshots and video at a low per-token price, where a preview model is acceptable.\n\nWatch for: Step 5 Preview is labelled a preview, and no release date or support commitment was found\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | OpenRouter | StepFun API | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 55 | 28 | OpenRouter +27 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 90 | 53 | OpenRouter +37 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 85 | 68 | OpenRouter +17 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 60 | 41 | OpenRouter +19 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 40 | 20 | OpenRouter +20 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 84 | 50 | OpenRouter +34 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 71 | 58 | OpenRouter +13 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **68.5 · B** | **44.4 · E** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | OpenRouter | StepFun API |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | Model router | Model API |\n| Vendor | OpenRouter | StepFun |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://openrouter.ai/api/v1` | `https://api.stepfun.ai/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 | Apache-2.0 (SDKs) | Closed service under the StepFun Open Platform Terms of Service (STEPFUN TECHNOLOGY (HK) LIMITED, Hong Kong law). |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | yes |\n| Last release | 2026-10-01 | none |\n| Terms last updated | 2026-08-31 | |\n| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-08-31 | |\n| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | |\n| Terms restrict automated access | yes | |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | |\n| Popularity | 226 stars | none |\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**StepFun API.** StepFun's API serves Step 5 Preview with a 1M-token context, video input, strict JSON Schema output and published per-token prices, documented in Markdown with an llms.txt. The model is a preview with no release date found, there's no free allowance or SLA, and the terms and privacy policy leave room to train on customer data.\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### StepFun API\n\n1. Set `max_tokens` yourself. It defaults to unlimited on Step 5 Preview, and reasoning tokens are billed as output\n2. Use `response_format` with `type: json_schema` and `strict: true` when the shape matters. JSON Mode alone isn't schema-checked\n3. Back off and retry on 429, 500, 503 and 504. The docs give no Retry-After header or backoff schedule\n4. Expect HTTP 451 or `finish_reason: content_filter` when content fails StepFun's review, and don't retry the same input\n5. Use api.stepfun.ai for the international platform. api.stepfun.com is the China platform with yuan pricing\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, OpenRouter or StepFun API?\n\nOpenRouter scores 68.5 (B) on agent readiness against StepFun API's 44.4 (E), and leads in every scored category.\n\n### Do OpenRouter and StepFun API need an API key?\n\nBoth need an API key.\n\n### Can an agent call OpenRouter and StepFun API without installing anything?\n\nYes. OpenRouter has a hosted endpoint at https://openrouter.ai/api/v1 and StepFun API at https://api.stepfun.ai/v1.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-stepfun-api.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-stepfun-api.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"openrouter\", \"b\": \"stepfun-api\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare openrouter stepfun-api`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openrouter.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/stepfun-api.json\n\n## Other comparisons with OpenRouter or StepFun API\n\n- [Claude API vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-openrouter.md)\n- [Claude API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Antseed vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [BlockRun.AI vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-openrouter.md)\n- [BlockRun.AI vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Cloudflare AI Gateway vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-openrouter.md)\n- [Cloudflare AI Gateway vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Cloudflare Workers AI vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-openrouter.md)\n- [Cloudflare Workers AI vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Cohere Chat API (Command models) vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-openrouter.md)\n- [Cohere Chat API (Command models) vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [DeepInfra vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-openrouter.md)\n- [DeepInfra vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [DeepSeek API vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-openrouter.md)\n- [DeepSeek API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Gemini Developer API vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-api-vs-openrouter.md)\n- [Gemini Developer API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [GroqCloud vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-openrouter.md)\n- [GroqCloud vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Mistral AI API vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-api-vs-openrouter.md)\n- [Mistral AI API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Novita AI vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/novita-ai-vs-openrouter.md)\n- [Novita AI vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/novita-ai-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [OpenAI API vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-api-vs-openrouter.md)\n- [OpenAI API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [OpenRouter vs Prism Inference](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-prism-inference.md)\n- [OpenRouter vs SambaCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-sambanova.md)\n- [OpenRouter vs SiliconFlow](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-siliconflow.md)\n- [Prism Inference vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/prism-inference-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [SambaCloud vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sambanova-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [SiliconFlow vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/siliconflow-vs-stepfun-api.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": "2026-10-12", "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 StepFun API", "url": "" } ], "description": "OpenRouter scores 68.5 (B) to StepFun's 44.4 (E) for llm inference. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "OpenRouter B 68.5", "StepFun API E 44.4", "scores" ], "h1": "OpenRouter vs StepFun API", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-openrouter-vs-stepfun-api.png", "path": "/compare/openrouter-vs-stepfun-api", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "OpenRouter vs StepFun for AI agents in 2026: scores and prices", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-12", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-stepfun-api" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2500, "slim": 630 }, "version": 1 }