The OpenRouter alternative. Below list price.

OpenRouter gives you hundreds of models at each provider’s own price, and adds 5.5% when you buy credits. Zurelay carries the models most teams spend on, Claude, GPT, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek and more, at up to 75% below the labs’ list prices, with no fee on top.

Below list on closed models
46–75%
Fee to add credit
None
Models on one key
55
Get your API keyCompare prices

At a glance

Zurelay and OpenRouter. Side by side.

Zurelay and OpenRouter compared
ComparedOpenRouterZurelay
Claude, GPT, Gemini and GrokThe lab's own list price, passed through46–75% below list price
Fee to add credit5.5% by card ($0.80 minimum), 5% in cryptoNone
ModelsHundreds, from many providers55 text, image, video and speech models
API formatsOpenAI-compatibleOpenAI-compatible, and Anthropic’s Messages API for Claude
Who serves requestsThe labs and the cloud providers that host their modelsIndependent sellers’ routes, tested before they serve and every day after
Your own provider keysFirst 1M requests a month free, then 5% of the usual costNot offered
When a model is downOther providers of the same modelIts other routes, then the closest alternative model if you allow it

OpenRouter’s prices and fees are from its FAQ, checked October 5, 2026. OpenRouter is a trademark of its owner; Zurelay isn’t affiliated with it.

Prices

Same tokens. Smaller bill.

OpenRouter passes these labs’ list prices through, so the struck-through price is what the same tokens cost there, before its fee on credit.

Claude Opus 5.5
Tokens that cost $1,000 at list
On OpenRouter
$1,055
On Zurelay
$350.00
GPT-6 Astra
Tokens that cost $1,000 at list
On OpenRouter
$1,055
On Zurelay
$250.00
Gemini 3.1 Pro
Tokens that cost $1,000 at list
On OpenRouter
$1,055
On Zurelay
$400.00

With credit bought by card, and input and output in the mix of the table below: 2,000 tokens in for every 500 out.

Claude, GPT, Gemini and Grok prices on Zurelay and at each lab's list price
ModelContextInput / 1MOutput / 1M10K requestsYou save
Claude Opus 5.5Anthropic · claude-opus-5-51M
$1.40
$4.00
$7.00
$20.00
$63.00
$180.00
65%off
GPT-6 AstraOpenAI · gpt-6-astra1.05M
$2.50
$10.00
$12.50
$50.00
$112.50
$450.00
75%off
Claude Sonnet 5.5Anthropic · claude-sonnet-5-51M
$0.80
$2.00
$4.00
$10.00
$36.00
$90.00
60%off
GPT-6.1 SolOpenAI · gpt-6.1-sol1.05M
$0.50
$2.00
$2.50
$10.00
$22.50
$90.00
75%off
GPT-6 SolOpenAI · gpt-6-sol1.05M
$0.50
$2.00
$2.50
$10.00
$22.50
$90.00
75%off
GPT-6 LunaOpenAI · gpt-6-luna1.05M
$0.025
$0.10
$0.125
$0.50
$1.125
$4.50
75%off
Grok 4.7xAI · grok-4.7500K
$0.70
$2.00
$2.10
$6.00
$24.50
$70.00
65%off
Claude Fable 5.1Anthropic · claude-fable-5-11M
$3.50
$10.00
$17.50
$50.00
$157.50
$450.00
65%off
Claude Fable 5Anthropic · claude-fable-51M
$3.50
$10.00
$17.50
$50.00
$157.50
$450.00
65%off
Claude Opus 5Anthropic · claude-opus-51M
$1.75
$5.00
$8.75
$25.00
$78.75
$225.00
65%off
Claude Opus 4.8Anthropic · claude-opus-4-81M
$1.75
$5.00
$8.75
$25.00
$78.75
$225.00
65%off
Claude Opus 4.7Anthropic · claude-opus-4-71M
$1.78
$5.00
$8.93
$25.00
$80.25
$225.00
64%off
Claude Opus 4.6Anthropic · claude-opus-4-61M
$1.75
$5.00
$8.75
$25.00
$78.75
$225.00
65%off
Claude Haiku 4.5Anthropic · claude-haiku-4-5200K
$0.54
$1.00
$2.70
$5.00
$24.30
$45.00
46%off
GPT-5.6 SolOpenAI · gpt-5.6-sol1.05M
$1.14
$4.00
$5.70
$20.00
$51.30
$180.00
72%off
GPT-5.6 TerraOpenAI · gpt-5.6-terra1.05M
$0.54
$2.00
$3.26
$12.00
$27.10
$100.00
73%off
GPT-5.6 LunaOpenAI · gpt-5.6-luna1.05M
$0.08
$0.20
$0.49
$1.20
$4.05
$10.00
59%off
Gemini 3.1 ProGoogle · gemini-3.1-pro1M
$0.80
$2.00
$4.80
$12.00
$40.00
$100.00
60%off
Gemini 3.8 FlashGoogle · gemini-3.8-flash1M
$0.32
$0.75
$1.59
$3.75
$14.35
$33.75
58%off
Gemini 3.7 FlashGoogle · gemini-3.7-flash1M
$0.32
$0.75
$1.59
$3.75
$14.35
$33.75
58%off
Gemini 3.5 Flash-LiteGoogle · gemini-3.5-flash-lite1M
$0.12
$0.30
$1.04
$2.50
$7.60
$18.50
58%off
Gemini 3.1 Flash-LiteGoogle · gemini-3.1-flash-lite1M
$0.10
$0.25
$0.59
$1.50
$4.95
$12.50
61%off

Prices in US dollars per 1M tokens, live from the catalog, with each lab's list price struck through. 10K requests is 10,000 requests of 2,000 tokens in and 500 out, at each price. You save is on output tokens.

Choosing

When OpenRouter fits better.

  • You need a model Zurelay doesn’t carry. OpenRouter lists hundreds.
  • Your requests must be served by the lab or a named cloud provider, under their terms. Zurelay’s routes are run by independent sellers.
  • You want to bring your own provider keys.

Choosing

When Zurelay fits better.

  • Most of your spend is on Claude, GPT, Gemini, Grok or DeepSeek, and list price is the bill you want to cut.
  • You use Claude Code or the Anthropic SDK: Zurelay speaks Anthropic’s Messages API as well as OpenAI’s.
  • You want budgets, rate limits, allowed models and allowed IP addresses on each key.

Switching

Three lines change. The rest stays.

Code that calls OpenRouter through an OpenAI SDK moves over with a new base URL, a Zurelay key and Zurelay’s model names. Streaming, tool calling and structured output work as before.

Model IDs are on the models page, and the integration guides cover Cursor, Cline, n8n and more.

main.py
from openai import OpenAI
client = OpenAI(
    base_url="https://api.zurelay.com/v1",  # was https://openrouter.ai/api/v1
    api_key="YOUR_ZURELAY_KEY",
)
reply = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="claude-opus-5-5",  # Zurelay IDs have no lab prefix
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}],
)
print(reply.choices[0].message.content)

FAQ

OpenRouter alternative questions.

Anything else? Ask our team and we’ll answer by email.

Is Zurelay cheaper than OpenRouter?

For Claude, GPT, Gemini and Grok, yes. OpenRouter passes each lab's list price through and adds a 5.5% fee when you buy credits by card. Zurelay charges 46–75% below list, with no fee on credit. For open-weight models such as DeepSeek, OpenRouter's hosts set their own prices, so compare those model by model.

Does Zurelay charge a fee to add credit?

No. Credit costs what it says, from $10, and it doesn't expire while your account is open. Requests that fail aren't billed.

Will my OpenRouter code work with Zurelay?

If it uses an OpenAI SDK or OpenAI's request format, yes: change the base URL to https://api.zurelay.com/v1, the API key, and the model names. Zurelay's model IDs have no lab prefix, so anthropic/claude-opus-5.5 style names become claude-opus-5-5. Claude models also answer on Anthropic's Messages API, for Claude Code and the Anthropic SDKs.

Who serves the requests?

On OpenRouter, the labs and the cloud providers that host their models. On Zurelay, routes run by independent sellers with capacity bought ahead. Every route is tested before it serves requests and every day after, with identity, dated-knowledge and reasoning checks, and requests aren't served under a lab's own terms for its customers.

What happens when a model is down?

Zurelay retries the model's other routes first. With smart routing on, the closest alternative model answers instead of an error, billed at its own price. You can turn that off, or set your own rules per key or per request.

More pricing

Stop paying list price.
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