Summary
OpenRouter: a unified API for 100+ models across providers. Single billing, single client, competitive routing. The right choice when you need provider-agnostic infrastructure, model comparison at scale, or an easy way to try new models.
Objectives
- 01State what OpenRouter routes across.
- 02Explain the fallback and routing features.
- 03Recognize when a direct provider is better.
The Lesson
The value
One API key, one client library, one bill. Switch between GPT-4o, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek, Llama, and dozens more by changing a model string. Automatic failover between providers on a single model.
The tradeoff
Small margin per token (OpenRouter takes a cut). No provider-specific features (Anthropic prompt caching, OpenAI Assistants). For high-volume production on one model, direct provider is usually cheaper. For experimentation and multi-model production, OpenRouter is the pragmatic default.
Key Ideas
- OpenRouter unifies routing at a small margin.
- Direct provider for high volume on one model; OpenRouter for portability.