A OpenRouter API alternative with one key for 50+ models

What is OpenRouter?

OpenRouter is a unified API that routes requests to many models from many providers through an OpenAI-compatible endpoint, using prepaid credits.

What developers use it for

• Trying many models behind one endpoint
• Routing between providers
• Prepaid, pay-as-you-go access

Things to consider

• Per-model prices and any platform fees are listed on OpenRouter's site — compare them for your own workload.
• It is API-only; there is no bundled desktop agent.

Where Somnus fits

Somnus is also one key for many models, but every top-up is credited at 2× or more, and it ships with a desktop agent and terminal that use the same balance.

Every Somnus top-up is credited at 2× or more, and usage is billed at each model's list price, so a dollar of credit buys at least two dollars of usage.

Switching from OpenRouter: change two settings

from openai import OpenAI
import os

client = OpenAI(
    api_key=os.environ["SOMNUS_API_KEY"],
    base_url="https://gateway-production-c837.up.railway.app/v1",
)

resp = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="claude-sonnet-5",
    messages=[
      {"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}
    ],
)
print(resp.choices[0].message.content)

If you already use OpenRouter's OpenAI-compatible endpoint, only base_url, the key and the model name change.

Questions

Related