OpenRouter vs Together AI: Token Pricing, Speed & Intelligence
Full comparison of OpenRouter and Together AI — live token pricing, latency, throughput, context window, strengths, weaknesses, and best use cases. Rates sourced from public APIs — verify before use.
OpenRouter
One API for every major LLM — 300+ models, route to the cheapest or fastest provider automatically
OpenRouter is a unified LLM API that routes requests to the cheapest or fastest available provider for any given model. With a single API key you can access GPT-5.6 Sol, Claude 5, Llama 4, Gemini 3.x, DeepSeek V4 Pro, and 300+ other models, with automatic fallback and cost optimisation. The catalog has grown significantly in 2026 with the addition of Chinese frontier models.
Together AI
MiniMax M3, Kimi K3, GLM-5.3, DeepSeek V4 Pro, gpt-oss-120B — plus GB200/B200 GPU clusters
Together AI offers hosted inference for open-weight models, GPU clusters, provisioned throughput and fine-tuning. Compare listed rates and check the provider for current models, availability and terms.
Key metric comparison
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Live token pricing
Strengths and weaknesses
OpenRouter
Together AI
Key differentiators
A unified API for accessing major LLMs — including Chinese frontier models — with a single key and automatic routing to the cheapest or fastest available provider.
An open-weight model catalog — MiniMax M3, Kimi K3, GLM-5.3, DeepSeek V4 Pro, gpt-oss-120B — with GPU clusters (GB200/B200), Provisioned Throughput, and a Serverless Training API.
Frequently asked questions
OpenRouter FAQs
How does OpenRouter pricing work?
OpenRouter charges the underlying provider rate plus a small routing fee (typically a few percent). For many models, the effective price is very close to or equal to the direct provider rate. Some models are available for free with rate limits.
What models are available on OpenRouter?
OpenRouter provides access to 300+ models including GPT-5.6 Sol, Claude 5 Sonnet, Llama 4, Gemini 3.x, DeepSeek V4 Pro, Kimi K3, GLM-5.3, MiniMax M3, Qwen3, Mistral Large 3, and many others.
Can I use OpenRouter with the OpenAI SDK?
Yes. OpenRouter is fully OpenAI-compatible. Point the OpenAI SDK at the OpenRouter endpoint and use your OpenRouter API key — no other code changes needed.
Together AI FAQs
What new models did Together AI add in 2026?
Together AI expanded its catalog with MiniMax M3, Kimi K3, GLM-5.3, DeepSeek V4 Pro 0813, gpt-oss-120B, Muse Glimmer 30B, and the full Qwen3.x family. Check api.together.ai/models for current pricing.
How much does Together AI cost?
Together AI uses per-token pricing across its model catalog. Check api.together.ai/models for current rates on MiniMax M3, DeepSeek V4 Pro, GLM-5.3, Llama 3.3 70B, and other models.
Does Together AI offer GPU compute?
Yes. Together AI offers GPU clusters with H100, H200, B200, and GB200/GB300 NVL72 (contact sales). Check together.ai/pricing for current GPU compute rates.
Provider resources
OpenRouter — One API for every major LLM — 300+ models, route to the cheapest or fastest provider automatically
OpenRouter is a unified LLM API that routes requests to the cheapest or fastest available provider for any given model. With a single API key you can access GPT-5.6 Sol, Claude 5, Llama 4, Gemini 3.x, DeepSeek V4 Pro, and 300+ other models, with automatic fallback and cost optimisation. The catalog has grown significantly in 2026 with the addition of Chinese frontier models.
A unified API for accessing major LLMs — including Chinese frontier models — with a single key and automatic routing to the cheapest or fastest available provider.
Together AI — MiniMax M3, Kimi K3, GLM-5.3, DeepSeek V4 Pro, gpt-oss-120B — plus GB200/B200 GPU clusters
Together AI offers hosted inference for open-weight models, GPU clusters, provisioned throughput and fine-tuning. Compare listed rates and check the provider for current models, availability and terms.
An open-weight model catalog — MiniMax M3, Kimi K3, GLM-5.3, DeepSeek V4 Pro, gpt-oss-120B — with GPU clusters (GB200/B200), Provisioned Throughput, and a Serverless Training API.
Key strengths compared
OpenRouter
- Single API for 300+ models across all major providers
- Automatic routing to cheapest or fastest provider
- Fallback and load balancing built in
- Adds a small latency overhead vs direct provider APIs
- Pricing is slightly above direct provider rates (routing fee)
Together AI
- Open-model catalog — MiniMax M3, Kimi K3, GLM-5.3, DeepSeek V4 Pro, gpt-oss-120B, Qwen3.x, Llama 4
- GB200/B200/H200/H100 GPU clusters with preemptible and reserved pricing
- Provisioned Throughput (PTUs) for SLA-backed capacity
- No proprietary frontier models
- Throughput lower than Groq/Cerebras for speed-critical apps
Key weaknesses compared
OpenRouter
- Adds a small latency overhead vs direct provider APIs
- Pricing is slightly above direct provider rates (routing fee)
- Less control over which specific provider handles your request
Together AI
- No proprietary frontier models
- Throughput lower than Groq/Cerebras for speed-critical apps
- Fine-tuning adds complexity vs. pure inference providers
Provider category context
OpenRouter is a inference api, founded in 2023. Together AI is a inference api, founded in 2022. Both are inference api providers — the comparison is primarily about pricing, model selection, and feature differentiation within the same tier.
How to choose between them
Both OpenRouter and Together AI host open-weight models. The key differentiators are latency, throughput, and which specific model versions each provider offers. Check the speed metrics above — inference API providers often differ significantly on tokens-per-second for the same model. Pricing is typically competitive between them; availability of specific model versions (e.g., Llama 3.1 405B, DeepSeek V3) may be the deciding factor.