OpenRouter vs APIVAI: Which is Cheaper?
OpenRouter is popular but not always the cheapest. Here's a direct comparison.
Price Comparison
| Model | OpenRouter | APIVAI | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Sonnet 4.6 (input) | $3.00/M | Less than half | APIVAI |
| Claude Opus 4.7 (input) | $5.00/M | Less than half | APIVAI |
| GPT-5.5 (input) | $5.00/M | Less than half | APIVAI |
See the live pricing page for current APIVAI rates.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | OpenRouter | APIVAI |
|---|---|---|
| OpenAI-compatible | Yes | Yes |
| Claude Code support | Yes | Yes |
| Cursor support | Yes | Yes |
| Crypto payments | Yes | Yes |
| No VPN needed | Depends | Yes |
When to Choose APIVAI
- You mainly use Claude models
- You want consistent, transparent pricing
- You're in a restricted region
- You want simplicity — one key, one URL
How to Switch from OpenRouter
# Before (OpenRouter) OPENAI_BASE_URL="https://openrouter.ai/api/v1" # After (APIVAI) ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://api.apivai.com" ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN="sk-ant-..."