OpenAI API alternatives
At 12M tokens a month on its top model, OpenAI API costs $200 a month. 1 LLM API costs less, from $40 (Gemini API). The closest match, Gemini API, covers 85% of what OpenAI API does. Each one shows how much of it it covers, capability by capability, next to the price.
What OpenAI API does
Core: Frontier-grade models, OpenAI-compatible endpoint, Hosted agent tools.
Important: Image and PDF input, 1M-token context, Voice and realtime audio, Image and video generation, Prompt caching discounts, Batch and flex pricing, Managed fine-tuning, No-training, zero retention (partly), Compliance and data residency (partly).
Also has: Open-weight models (partly), Embeddings and reranking (partly), Dedicated model endpoints (partly), Flat-rate coding plan (partly).
Alternatives to OpenAI API at 12M tokens a month on its top model, best match first
- Gemini API: $40/mo Rises to $80/mo on Dec 1, 2026 (announced) (Pay-as-you-go Standard paid tier, text only, list prices as of 2026-10-17). It covers 85% of OpenAI API; missing or partial: OpenAI-compatible endpoint (partly), Managed fine-tuning, Dedicated model endpoints. Free plan: Free of charge on most models, but content is used to improve Google's products; Gemini 4 Argon and 3.1 Pro Preview have no free tier.. Last price hike: Sep 2026.
- OpenRouter: $211/mo Top = Claude Fable 5, LMArena unverified; incl. 5.5% fee (Standard plan: cheapest route list price per 1M tokens for each point, on 10M input and 2M output tokens a month, plus t). It covers 71% of OpenAI API; missing or partial: Voice and realtime audio (partly), Image and video generation (partly), Batch and flex pricing (partly), Managed fine-tuning, Compliance and data residency. Free plan: Free models: 50 requests/day (20/min), or 1,000/day after buying $10+ of credits; production-use terms not stated..
- Anthropic API: $200/mo Ref: Fable 5.1 (LMArena rank not checked) (Fable 5.1 pay-as-you-go at standard rates: 10M input and 2M output tokens a month.). It covers 69% of OpenAI API; missing or partial: OpenAI-compatible endpoint (partly), Voice and realtime audio, Image and video generation, Managed fine-tuning, Open-weight models. Free plan: none.
Other kinds of products that cover part of OpenAI API
- Hugging Face (GPU cloud & model hosting): covers 50% of OpenAI API; missing or partial: Frontier-grade models (partly), Hosted agent tools, Image and PDF input (partly), 1M-token context (partly), Voice and realtime audio (partly)
- Perplexity (AI assistants): covers 47% of OpenAI API; missing or partial: OpenAI-compatible endpoint (partly), Image and PDF input, 1M-token context (partly), Voice and realtime audio, Image and video generation
Prices at every size
- OpenAI API: 12M tokens a month on its top model $200/mo, 12M tokens a month on its cheapest model $2/mo, 12M tokens a month of gpt-oss-120b not offered (Top = flagship proxy; LMArena rank not checked)
- Gemini API: 12M tokens a month on its top model $40/mo, 12M tokens a month on its cheapest model $5.50/mo, 12M tokens a month of gpt-oss-120b not offered (Rises to $80/mo on Dec 1, 2026 (announced))
- OpenRouter: 12M tokens a month on its top model $211/mo, 12M tokens a month on its cheapest model $0.22/mo, 12M tokens a month of gpt-oss-120b $0.63/mo (Top = Claude Fable 5, LMArena unverified; incl. 5.5% fee)
- Anthropic API: 12M tokens a month on its top model $200/mo, 12M tokens a month on its cheapest model $2/mo, 12M tokens a month of gpt-oss-120b not offered (Ref: Fable 5.1 (LMArena rank not checked))
Monthly USD cost of one reference workload: 10,000 requests a month, totaling 10M input and 2M output tokens, at standard pay-as-you-go rates with no caching or batch discounts. Top model is the product's highest-ranked model on the LMArena Text leaderboard. Cheapest model is its lowest-cost model with tool calling and a 128K context. gpt-oss-120b compares hosts on the same open model.
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Everything about OpenAI API's own prices and price hikes: OpenAI API.