# Router.com (Ramp Router) vs StepFun API

> Router.com scores 54.5 (C) 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/ramp-router-vs-stepfun-api
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ramp-router-vs-stepfun-api.md (~3,500 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ramp-router-vs-stepfun-api.min.md (~730 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ramp-router-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
- MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (the whole catalogue as tools, no key)
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)
- Updated: 2026-10-28

Router.com (Ramp Router) scores 54.5 (C) on agent readiness against StepFun API's 44.4 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do llm inference.

- Router.com (Ramp Router): grade C, 54.5/100, rank #798 of 1218. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/ramp-router.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/ramp-router.json
- StepFun API: grade E, 44.4/100, rank #1045 of 1218. 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 466 models comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/inference/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Router.com (Ramp Router) (C)

Good for: Teams in the US that want one key for OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI and open-weight models, with routing to cheaper tiers and per-request cost, and can switch off content recording.

Ahead on:
- Schema & documentation, 58 against 53
- Agent ergonomics, 77 against 68
- Security & auth, 66 against 41
- Payments & pricing, 40 against 20
- Maintenance & community, 59 against 50
- Transparency & trust, 67 against 58

Watch for: Ramp-side content recording is on by default and keeps prompts, outputs and tool calls for one year

### 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 | Router.com (Ramp Router) | StepFun API | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 25 | 28 | StepFun API +3 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 58 | 53 | Router.com (Ramp Router) +5 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 77 | 68 | Router.com (Ramp Router) +9 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 66 | 41 | Router.com (Ramp Router) +25 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 40 | 20 | Router.com (Ramp Router) +20 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 59 | 50 | Router.com (Ramp Router) +9 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 67 | 58 | Router.com (Ramp Router) +9 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **54.5 · C** | **44.4 · E** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Router.com (Ramp Router) | StepFun API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Model router | Model API |
| Vendor | Ramp | StepFun |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.router.com/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 | Closed service under the Router Terms of Service (last updated 31 August 2026). The Ramp CLI that configures coding agents for Router is MIT. | 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 | 2026-10-27 | none |
| Terms last updated |  | couldn't be read |
| Privacy policy last updated |  | couldn't be read |
| Customer content may train models |  | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict automated access |  | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  | couldn't be read |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  | couldn't be read |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  | couldn't be read |
| Popularity | 1.7k npm/wk | none |
| Agent reviews | none | 3.3/5 (4) |

## Verdicts

**Router.com (Ramp Router).** Detailed Markdown docs with typed error codes, per-model capability data and routing an agent can set per request. No OpenAPI document, status page, changelog or published rate limits were found. Signup needs a US business email in a browser, and Ramp records prompts and outputs for a year by default unless switched off.

**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

### Router.com (Ramp Router)

1. Switch off content recording in Settings before sending private data. It is on by default and keeps prompts and outputs for a year
2. Read model ids from `GET /v1/models` at runtime. Ids are account-specific, an unknown one is a 404, and Gemini ids need your own Google key
3. Use `POST /v1/responses` with a `models` list for fallbacks. Router stops falling back once a stream has started
4. Set `fallback_timeout` and `provider_timeout`, or `allow_flex_tier: false`, when latency matters. Flex routing is on by default
5. Treat both `401 invalid_api_key` and `401 api_key_deactivated` as a possibly locked key, and stop retrying on `402`

### 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, Router.com (Ramp Router) or StepFun API?

Router.com (Ramp Router) scores 54.5 (C) on agent readiness against StepFun API's 44.4 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.

### Do Router.com (Ramp Router) and StepFun API need an API key?

Both need an API key.

### Can an agent call Router.com (Ramp Router) and StepFun API without installing anything?

Yes. Router.com (Ramp Router) has a hosted endpoint at https://api.router.com/v1 and StepFun API at https://api.stepfun.ai/v1.


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with Router.com (Ramp Router) or StepFun API

- [Claude API vs Router.com (Ramp Router)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-ramp-router.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 Router.com (Ramp Router)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-ramp-router.md)
- [BlockRun.AI vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-stepfun-api.md)
- [Cerebras Inference vs Router.com (Ramp Router)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cerebras-inference-vs-ramp-router.md)
- [Cerebras Inference vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cerebras-inference-vs-stepfun-api.md)
- [Cloudflare AI Gateway vs Router.com (Ramp Router)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-ramp-router.md)
- [Cloudflare AI Gateway vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-stepfun-api.md)
- [Cloudflare Workers AI vs Router.com (Ramp Router)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-ramp-router.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 Router.com (Ramp Router)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-ramp-router.md)
- [Cohere Chat API (Command models) vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-stepfun-api.md)
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- [Glimpse vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elorian-glimpse-vs-stepfun-api.md)
- [Fireworks AI Inference vs Router.com (Ramp Router)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fireworks-inference-vs-ramp-router.md)
- [Fireworks AI Inference vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fireworks-inference-vs-stepfun-api.md)
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