OpenRouter vs Requesty

A fair comparison of OpenRouter and Requesty, using each company's own pricing pages.

Quick answer

OpenRouter is best for developers who want fast access to many models. Requesty is best for developers who want one key for many models, with routing built in.

At a glance

	OpenRouter	Requesty
What it is	A model marketplace and router: one API key for 600+ models.	An LLM router: one API for 600+ models from 20+ providers.
Pricing	Provider list prices with no markup, plus a 5.5% platform fee on credit purchases on its Standard plan. Bring-your-own-key usage is free up to $25,000 of list-price inference a month, then 5%.	A 5% markup on model usage. A free tier with 200 requests a day, and custom enterprise pricing.
Setup	Instant self-serve signup.	Instant self-serve signup.
Models	600+ models.	600+ models from 20+ providers.
Best for	Developers who want fast access to many models.	Developers who want one key for many models, with routing built in.

2026 context

In August 2026 Stripe agreed to acquire OpenRouter (announcement). Terms were not disclosed.

Choose OpenRouter if

A very large catalog behind one key.
Pay-as-you-go credits.
Enterprise plans with SSO and contractual SLAs.

Choose Requesty if

Routing, caching and spend limits.
Bring your own keys.
Enterprise SSO, RBAC and audit logs.

If your goal is a smaller bill

Neither OpenRouter nor Requesty guarantees that your bill goes down. apicuts does: we switch on caching, routing, batching, and prompt and output fixes for you, and if your all-in cost isn't at least 20% lower after our 10% fee, you pay nothing. It uses the OpenAI API format, so it can also sit behind either of them.

APIcuts vs OpenRouter · APIcuts vs Requesty

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between OpenRouter and Requesty?

OpenRouter: A model marketplace and router: one API key for 600+ models. Requesty: An LLM router: one API for 600+ models from 20+ providers.

Is OpenRouter cheaper than Requesty?

OpenRouter: Provider list prices with no markup, plus a 5.5% platform fee on credit purchases on its Standard plan. Bring-your-own-key usage is free up to $25,000 of list-price inference a month, then 5%. Requesty: A 5% markup on model usage. A free tier with 200 requests a day, and custom enterprise pricing.

Is there an alternative to both OpenRouter and Requesty?

If cost is the priority, apicuts guarantees at least 20% lower all-in LLM costs after its fee, live in one day.

Sources: OpenRouter's pricing page, Requesty's pricing page. Checked October 30, 2026.

Want us to find your 20%?

Book a free 15-minute API cost teardown. Bring last month's provider usage and we'll show you your biggest waste and the first fix we'd ship.

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