OpenAI API vs OpenRouter
OpenAI API is listed under Frontier labs, OpenRouter under Gateways & routers. Each name links to the product's own site.
| Category | Frontier labs | Gateways & routers |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Freemium |
| Public code | No | No |
| Tags | gpt, llm-api, reasoning, embeddings | openrouter, router, unified-api, fallback |
| Website | openai.com | openrouter.ai |
What OpenAI API does
OpenAI's developer platform. It serves the GPT family of text and reasoning models, plus image, speech and embeddings endpoints. Billing is per token, with a Responses API for building agents.
What OpenRouter does
OpenRouter routes requests to models from many labs and hosts through a single OpenAI-compatible endpoint. It handles provider fallback and shows price and latency per provider.
Other options
See all Frontier labs, or alternatives to OpenAI API and OpenRouter.