Head to head
zcloud vs OpenRouter
Both zcloud and OpenRouter give you many models behind one API key. The real differences are price, predictability and payments. Here is the honest comparison.
zcloud vs OpenRouter, side by side
| zcloud | OpenRouter | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Up to ~95% below official list, live per-model rates. | Passes provider rates through with no inference markup; charges a fee on credit purchases. |
| Model access | Curated frontier models (GPT, Claude, Gemini). | Hundreds of models, including niche open-source ones. |
| Compatibility | OpenAI-compatible and Anthropic-compatible. | OpenAI-compatible. |
| Payments | Crypto (USDC/USDT on Solana) and QRIS. | Cards and crypto. |
| Credentials | One API key, prepaid plans from $1. | One API key, pay-per-token. |
Example prices: official vs zcloud
| Model | Official · input | zrouter · input | Official · output | zrouter · output | % savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qwen 3.8 Max qwen3.8-max | $2.00 | $0.08 | $6.00 | $0.24 | 96% |
| GPT 6.1 Sol gpt-6.1-sol | $2.00 | $0.10 | $10.00 | $0.50 | 95% |
| Grok 4.6 grok-4.6 | $2.00 | $0.10 | $6.00 | $0.30 | 95% |
Qwen 3.8 Max96%
qwen3.8-max
- Official · input
- $2.00
- zrouter · input
- $0.08
- Official · output
- $6.00
- zrouter · output
- $0.24
GPT 6.1 Sol95%
gpt-6.1-sol
- Official · input
- $2.00
- zrouter · input
- $0.10
- Official · output
- $10.00
- zrouter · output
- $0.50
Grok 4.695%
grok-4.6
- Official · input
- $2.00
- zrouter · input
- $0.10
- Official · output
- $6.00
- zrouter · output
- $0.30
per 1M tokens
Frequently asked questions
Which is cheaper, zcloud or OpenRouter?
For OpenAI and Anthropic models, zcloud is cheaper — it resells at up to ~95% below official list, while OpenRouter passes through provider rates.
Do both support Anthropic models?
Yes, but zcloud exposes a native Anthropic-compatible messages endpoint, whereas OpenRouter is OpenAI-compatible.
Can I prepay to cap my spend?
On zcloud you can buy prepaid token plans from $1 per model. OpenRouter is pure pay-per-token.