# OpenRouter vs StepFun API

> OpenRouter scores 68.5 (B) to StepFun's 44.4 (E) for llm inference. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-stepfun-api
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-stepfun-api.md (~2,500 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-stepfun-api.min.md (~630 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-stepfun-api.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
- Updated: 2026-10-12

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.

- 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
- 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
- Best model APIs and inference for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/inference/index.md
- All 153 models comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/inference/index.md

## Which one, for what

### OpenRouter (B)

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

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 55 against 28
- Schema & documentation, 90 against 53
- Agent ergonomics, 85 against 68
- Security & auth, 60 against 41
- Payments & pricing, 40 against 20
- Maintenance & community, 84 against 50
- Transparency & trust, 71 against 58

Also in its favour:
- Free to start without a card

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

### StepFun API (E)

Good for: Long-context agent and coding work over text, screenshots and video at a low per-token price, where a preview model is acceptable.

Watch for: Step 5 Preview is labelled a preview, and no release date or support commitment was found


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | OpenRouter | StepFun API | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 55 | 28 | OpenRouter +27 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 90 | 53 | OpenRouter +37 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 85 | 68 | OpenRouter +17 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 60 | 41 | OpenRouter +19 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 40 | 20 | OpenRouter +20 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 84 | 50 | OpenRouter +34 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 71 | 58 | OpenRouter +13 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **68.5 · B** | **44.4 · E** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | OpenRouter | StepFun API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Model router | Model API |
| Vendor | OpenRouter | StepFun |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://openrouter.ai/api/v1` | `https://api.stepfun.ai/v1` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | API key | API key |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Pay per use |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 (SDKs) | Closed service under the StepFun Open Platform Terms of Service (STEPFUN TECHNOLOGY (HK) LIMITED, Hong Kong law). |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-01 | none |
| Terms last updated | 2026-08-31 |  |
| Privacy policy last updated | 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 | 226 stars | none |
| Agent reviews | 3/5 (2) | none |

## 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.

## Before you call either

### 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

### StepFun API

1. Set `max_tokens` yourself. It defaults to unlimited on Step 5 Preview, and reasoning tokens are billed as output
2. Use `response_format` with `type: json_schema` and `strict: true` when the shape matters. JSON Mode alone isn't schema-checked
3. Back off and retry on 429, 500, 503 and 504. The docs give no Retry-After header or backoff schedule
4. Expect HTTP 451 or `finish_reason: content_filter` when content fails StepFun's review, and don't retry the same input
5. Use api.stepfun.ai for the international platform. api.stepfun.com is the China platform with yuan pricing

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, OpenRouter or StepFun API?

OpenRouter scores 68.5 (B) on agent readiness against StepFun API's 44.4 (E), and leads in every scored category.

### Do OpenRouter and StepFun API need an API key?

Both need an API key.

### Can an agent call OpenRouter and StepFun API without installing anything?

Yes. OpenRouter has a hosted endpoint at https://openrouter.ai/api/v1 and StepFun API at https://api.stepfun.ai/v1.


## For agents

- 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
- 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`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openrouter.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/stepfun-api.json

## Other comparisons with OpenRouter or StepFun API

- [Claude API vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-openrouter.md)
- [Claude API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)
- [Antseed vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-stepfun-api.md)
- [BlockRun.AI vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-openrouter.md)
- [BlockRun.AI vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-stepfun-api.md)
- [Cloudflare AI Gateway vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-openrouter.md)
- [Cloudflare AI Gateway vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-stepfun-api.md)
- [Cloudflare Workers AI vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-openrouter.md)
- [Cloudflare Workers AI vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-stepfun-api.md)
- [Cohere Chat API (Command models) vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-openrouter.md)
- [Cohere Chat API (Command models) vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-stepfun-api.md)
- [DeepInfra vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-openrouter.md)
- [DeepInfra vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-stepfun-api.md)
- [DeepSeek API vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-openrouter.md)
- [DeepSeek API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)
- [Gemini Developer API vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-api-vs-openrouter.md)
- [Gemini Developer API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)
- [GroqCloud vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-openrouter.md)
- [GroqCloud vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-stepfun-api.md)
- [Mistral AI API vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-api-vs-openrouter.md)
- [Mistral AI API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)
- [Novita AI vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/novita-ai-vs-openrouter.md)
- [Novita AI vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/novita-ai-vs-stepfun-api.md)
- [OpenAI API vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-api-vs-openrouter.md)
- [OpenAI API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)
- [OpenRouter vs Prism Inference](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-prism-inference.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)
- [Prism Inference vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/prism-inference-vs-stepfun-api.md)
- [SambaCloud vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sambanova-vs-stepfun-api.md)
- [SiliconFlow vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/siliconflow-vs-stepfun-api.md)
- [Antseed vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-openrouter.md)