# OpenRouter alternative: open models, paid in more than USDC

> An OpenRouter alternative for open-weight models: pay in USDT, BTC or ETH with no KYC, no purchase fee, and credit that never expires. Facts dated October 2026.

- URL: https://llmwithcrypto.com/alternatives/openrouter/
- Last updated: 2026-10-23
- Publisher: LLMwithCrypto (https://llmwithcrypto.com)

OpenRouter is the router most developers try first, and it does take crypto: USDC through Coinbase. This page sets its terms next to ours, says plainly where OpenRouter is the better pick, and shows how to move code over.

**Quick answer — What is an OpenRouter alternative you can pay in crypto?**

**LLMwithCrypto** is one for open-weight models. It takes BTC, USDT, USDC, ETH, SOL, LTC with no KYC and no purchase fee, and its credit never expires. OpenRouter, on its pages read on 22–23 October 2026, takes USDC only, charges a 5% crypto fee and never refunds crypto. As of 23 October 2026 we charge $1.254 per million input tokens for DeepSeek V4 Pro. We do not sell Claude or GPT.

## OpenRouter and LLMwithCrypto at a glance

|  | LLMwithCrypto (ours) | OpenRouter |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Models | 12 open-weight models we run ourselves | “500+ models” from “80+ providers”, including Claude, GPT and Gemini |
| Crypto | BTC, USDT, USDC, ETH, SOL, LTC | USDC through Coinbase Business Checkouts |
| Fee on a credit purchase | None | 5% on crypto (its pricing page says 5.5%); 5.5% on cards |
| Token prices | 5% below the median public host price | The underlying providers' prices, with no markup |
| Account | Account number, email optional | Account required |
| Minimum purchase | $25 top-up | $5 (maximum $25,000 per transaction) |
| Crypto refunds | Part added only to reach the minimum, within 30 days, in USDT or USDC | “cryptocurrency payments are never refundable” |
| Credit expiry | Never | May expire unused credit after one year |
| Prompts | Not stored; one log line per call, deleted after 30 days | Not compared here |

*Prices checked on October 23, 2026.*

OpenRouter facts from its FAQ (read 2026-10-22), pricing page and terms (read 2026-10-23).

## Why do developers look for an OpenRouter alternative?

Mostly for payment reasons, going by the questions people ask:

- **Only one coin.** OpenRouter's FAQ names USDC as its only cryptocurrency. People holding USDT, Bitcoin or Solana must convert first.
- **A fee on every purchase.** 5% on crypto in the FAQ, 5.5% on the pricing page.
- **No crypto refunds.** The FAQ says: “Note that cryptocurrency payments are never refundable.”
- **An account.** OpenRouter requires one; some buyers prefer to leave no email.

OpenRouter's ownership is also changing: Stripe announced that it has agreed to acquire OpenRouter.

## When is OpenRouter the better choice?

- **You need closed models.** OpenRouter sells Claude, GPT and Gemini at the providers' list prices. We do not sell access to GPT, Claude, Gemini or Grok: their makers forbid reselling API access without their approval, and we do not have it.
- **You want hundreds of models behind one key**, including niche ones and free models. We serve 12.
- **You pay by card or Alipay.** We take crypto only.

If your app runs on open models such as DeepSeek, Qwen or gpt-oss, the switch costs a few lines of code.

## How do I move code from OpenRouter to LLMwithCrypto?

Both speak the OpenAI chat completions format. Three values change; the rest of your code stays.

| Setting | OpenRouter | LLMwithCrypto |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Base URL | `https://openrouter.ai/api/v1` | `https://llmwithcrypto.com/api/v1` |
| API key | Your OpenRouter key | A key from your dashboard, read from `LLMWITHCRYPTO_API_KEY` |
| Model id | Vendor prefix, e.g. `deepseek/deepseek-v4-pro` | No prefix: `deepseek-v4-pro` (full list at `GET https://llmwithcrypto.com/api/v1/models`) |

## What does DeepSeek V4 Pro cost on each?

OpenRouter has no endpoint from DeepSeek itself for V4 Pro; on 23 October 2026 it listed 15 hosts, from $0.441 / $0.882 to $1.91 / $3.83 per million input / output tokens, and you pay the host you are routed to plus the purchase fee. DeepSeek's own API charges $1.32 / $3.96 at peak hours.

As of 23 October 2026, **LLMwithCrypto** charges $1.254 / $3.762, with no fee on top. The [price index](https://llmwithcrypto.com/data/open-model-api-price-index-2026/) shows the host prices behind that figure.

## How much credit should I buy to try it?

Credit pays for every model and never expires. Packs are sold at face value.

| Plan | Quantity | Price | Price per unit |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Start | $25 of API credit | $25 | — |
| Builder | $50 of API credit | $50 | — |
| Production | $100 of API credit | $100 | — |
| Team | $250 of API credit | $250 | — |
| Scale | $1,000 of API credit | $1,000 | — |

In every plan: Every model on one key · Streaming and tool calling · Failed calls not charged · Credit never expires

**Before you pay**

- Minimum top-up $25. Top up once in crypto, then buy any plan from your balance.
- Credit on your balance does not expire and pays for tokens on any model, whenever you call the API. When a pack costs less than the minimum top-up, the part you paid only to reach that minimum comes back on request within 30 days of payment, in USDT or USDC, provided it is still unspent. The rest of a balance is not paid out unless the law requires it.
- Credited once your payment is checked on the blockchain. Typical network confirmation time: BTC ≈ 20 min · USDT TRC-20 ≈ 1 min · USDT ERC-20 ≈ 5 min · USDC ERC-20 ≈ 5 min · ETH ≈ 5 min · SOL ≈ 1 min · LTC ≈ 15 min

## Questions about switching from OpenRouter

### Does OpenRouter accept Bitcoin or USDT?

Its FAQ, read on 22 October 2026, names USDC only, paid through Coinbase. LLMwithCrypto takes BTC, USDT, USDC, ETH, SOL, LTC.

### Can I keep using the OpenAI SDK?

Yes. The API speaks the OpenAI chat completions format: point the OpenAI SDK, LangChain or any OpenAI-compatible tool at our base URL with your key, and change the model name.

### Are my OpenRouter credits transferable?

No. Credit stays with the service that sold it; OpenRouter refunds unused credit only on request within 24 hours, and never for crypto.

### Do you sell Claude like OpenRouter does?

No. We do not sell access to GPT, Claude, Gemini or Grok: their makers forbid reselling API access without their approval, and we do not have it.

## Sources

1. [OpenRouter FAQ](https://openrouter.ai/docs/faq) — OpenRouter (read 2026-10-22)
2. [OpenRouter pricing](https://openrouter.ai/pricing) — OpenRouter (read 2026-10-23)
3. [OpenRouter terms of service](https://openrouter.ai/terms) — OpenRouter (read 2026-10-23)
4. [Crypto API (Coinbase Business Checkouts)](https://openrouter.ai/docs/use-cases/crypto-api) — OpenRouter (read 2026-10-22)
5. [DeepSeek V4 Pro endpoints](https://openrouter.ai/api/v1/models/deepseek/deepseek-v4-pro/endpoints) — OpenRouter (read 2026-10-23)
6. [Stripe agrees to acquire OpenRouter](https://stripe.com/newsroom/news/stripe-agrees-to-acquire-openrouter) — Stripe (read 2026-10-23)
7. [DeepSeek API pricing](https://api-docs.deepseek.com/quick_start/pricing/) — DeepSeek (read 2026-10-22)

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LLMwithCrypto: LLMwithCrypto is an OpenAI-compatible LLM API for open-weight models — DeepSeek V4 Pro, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, DeepSeek R1, Qwen3.5 397B A17B, Qwen3 235B A22B Instruct, gpt-oss-120b, gpt-oss-20b, GLM-4.7, Llama 3.3 70B Instruct, Gemma 4 31B, Mistral Large 3, Mistral Small 4 — paid per token from a prepaid crypto balance, at 5% below the median price of the public hosts. No KYC: no ID, no selfie, no documents. Prompts and outputs are not stored.