AnyRouter vs OpenRouter: a sourced comparison and migration guide

Both put one OpenAI-compatible API in front of many providers, so changing models is a string change. OpenRouter says it is a drop-in replacement for OpenAI and offers hundreds of models behind one endpoint. AnyRouter's catalog is live at anyrouter.dev/models, with prices per 1M tokens.

OpenRouter figures on this page were read from the linked pages on October 16, 2026. Where we could not source a claim about OpenRouter, we left it out.

The two fee rows are close in size on a card purchase, so the fee is not a reason to pick either. The difference is who keeps it: on AnyRouter the processor takes it and we take nothing, on OpenRouter it is OpenRouter's fee. The BYOK row only matters if you spend heavily through your own keys.

• You need a model that only one catalog lists. Check both lists for the exact ids you use before moving.
• You are happy buying credits from one vendor and do not use your own provider keys or coding agents.
• You already run on it and nothing in the table above is a problem for you.

When AnyRouter fits better: you want free models without a daily cap, you route through your own keys, or you run Claude Code or Codex and want one command to set it up.

For an OpenAI-compatible client, two values change. Everything else, including streaming and error handling, stays as it is.

import os

from openai import OpenAI

# before: base_url="https://openrouter.ai/api/v1", api_key=OPENROUTER_API_KEY
client = OpenAI(
    base_url="https://anyrouter.dev/api/v1",
    api_key=os.environ["ANYROUTER_API_KEY"],  # sk-ar-...
)

resp = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="anyrouter/free",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Say hello in one sentence."}],
)
print(resp.choices[0].message.content)

curl https://anyrouter.dev/api/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ANYROUTER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "anyrouter/free",
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Say hello in one sentence."}]
  }'

curl -fsSL https://anyrouter.dev/setup.sh | bash
anyr claude --model anyrouter/free

1. Create a key in the dashboard and store it as ANYROUTER_API_KEY.
2. Swap the base URL and key in your client config.
3. List the models you call with GET https://anyrouter.dev/api/v1/models and confirm each id exists. A few ids differ between catalogs, and an unknown id returns 404.
4. Keep your provider preferences (only, ignore, order, sort, max_price, allow_fallbacks) and your HTTP-Referer and X-Title headers. AnyRouter reads them.
5. Send one request and check it in your request logs.

If your app signs users in with OpenRouter's OAuth PKCE flow, the same flow works here. Swap the host in the /auth URL and in the key exchange. The full steps, including price caps and fallbacks, are in the migration guide.