Side by side
OpenRouter vs Orq.ai
Both stand on llm gateways. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan APIWeb
OpenRouter brings model access, routing and integrations together behind a single endpoint. The Free plan has a daily request cap, while pay-as-you-go plans apply platform fees to credit purchases.
Visit OpenRouter
Free plan APISelf-hostedWeb
Choose Orq.ai if your team needs a gateway to route and govern model requests while tracking costs and usage. Pay-as-you-go provides a free allowance, but teams that exceed its span or data limits pay extra; Enterprise pricing is custom.
Visit Orq.aiThe facts
| OpenRouter | Orq.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | API, Web | API, Self-hosted, Web |
| Lowest paid plan | Free or on request | Free or on request |
| Plans published | 4 | 2 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | openrouter.ai | orq.ai |
| On llm gateways | #16 of 33 | #12 of 33 |
OpenRouter: what it does well
- Access to hundreds of models through one endpoint.
- Default load balancing and backup providers.
- OpenAI SDK compatibility is supported.
- EU and US regional endpoints are available.
- Provider settings include Zero Data Retention restrictions.
What to know first
- Free plan is limited to 50 requests daily.
- Free plan lacks auto-routing and budget controls.
- Standard and Business charge platform fees on credit purchases.
- Enterprise pricing is custom and requires a sales contract.
Orq.ai: what it does well
- Routes requests across 500+ models from 30+ providers.
- Smart Router offers fallbacks, retries, and load balancing.
- Gateway controls include budgets, guardrails, and PII redaction.
- Tracks traces, costs, and tokens, with dashboard views.
- Lists EU SaaS, VPC, and on-premises deployment.
What to know first
- Pay-as-you-go includes 100,000 spans per month before extra charges.
- Pay-as-you-go includes 1 GB of processed data per month before extra charges.
- The Enterprise price is custom and not listed.
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