# LLM APIs you can pay for in crypto, compared

> OpenRouter, NanoGPT, Venice, PayPerQ, Kagi, Routstr, AIMLAPI and LLMwithCrypto: coins, fees, markup over list price, account rules, minimums and refunds.

- URL: https://llmwithcrypto.com/compare/llm-api-crypto-payment/
- Last updated: 2026-10-23
- Publisher: LLMwithCrypto (https://llmwithcrypto.com)

Several services sell access to language models for Bitcoin, USDC or Monero. They differ on the coins they take, the fee they add, whether you need an account and whether crypto ever comes back. We run one of them, LLMwithCrypto; every other figure comes from the vendors' own pages.

**Quick answer — Which LLM APIs can you pay for in crypto?**

On their pages read on 22–23 October 2026, OpenRouter takes USDC with a 5% fee, NanoGPT takes 29 coins with no account, PayPerQ takes Lightning and Monero without registration, Venice takes USDC over x402, and Kagi takes Bitcoin. Most resell Claude and GPT at or near list price. **LLMwithCrypto** serves open-weight models only, at 5% below the median host price, paid in BTC, USDT, USDC, ETH, SOL, LTC with no KYC.

## How do the crypto terms compare?

One row per service, as each describes itself. “n/s” means not stated on the pages read.

| Service | Crypto accepted | Fee or markup | Claude and GPT | Account | Minimum top-up | Crypto refunded? |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LLMwithCrypto (ours) | BTC, USDT, USDC, ETH, SOL, LTC | None on top; 5% below the median host price | Not sold | Account number, email optional | $25 | Part added to reach the minimum, within 30 days |
| OpenRouter | USDC through Coinbase | 5% on crypto purchases (its pricing page says 5.5%) | At list price | Account required | $5 | “Never” |
| NanoGPT | 29 options incl. Monero, Bitcoin, Nano, USDC, USDT | No deposit fee; 3% crypto bonus | At list price | Not needed | $0.10 in crypto | No fixed rule |
| Venice.ai | USDC on Base or Solana (x402) | +25% on some models | At list price | Most features need one; x402 by wallet | $5 (x402) | No partial-credit refunds |
| PayPerQ | Lightning, BTC, Liquid, LTC, Monero | +5.5% on the API, +65% in the web app | +5.5% | Not needed | $0.10 (Lightning) | Non-withdrawable |
| Kagi Assistant | BTC, Lightning (OpenNode) | 20% margin in token costs | Inside the $25 plan | Password; pseudonymous email allowed | n/s | OpenNode payments not refundable |
| Routstr | BTC over Lightning or Cashu | +10.55% over upstream by default | Depends on the node | Not needed | 1 sat per request | Unused balance back as a Cashu token |
| AIMLAPI | Contradictory: homepage says yes, terms name Stripe only | +30% to +37.5% | +30% to +37.5% | n/s | n/s | No refunds |

*Prices checked on October 23, 2026.*

Vendors' pages contradict themselves in places (OpenRouter's crypto fee, NanoGPT's bonus scope, AIMLAPI's crypto); both versions are given where they occur.

## What does DeepSeek V4 Pro cost at each?

One open model sold almost everywhere, per 1M input / output tokens. DeepSeek's own API charges $1.32 / $3.96 at peak hours and half that off-peak.

| Service | DeepSeek V4 Pro (input / output) | Compared with DeepSeek's peak price |
| --- | --- | --- |
| LLMwithCrypto | $1.254 / $3.762 | 5% below the median of 7 hosts |
| DeepSeek API (peak) | $1.32 / $3.96 | List price |
| NanoGPT | $1.10 / $2.20 | Lower |
| Venice.ai | $1.65 / $3.301 | +25% on input, lower on output |
| PayPerQ | $0.6963 / $2.0889 | +5.5% on DeepSeek's off-peak price |
| OpenRouter | No DeepSeek endpoint; 15 hosts from $0.441 / $0.882 to $1.91 / $3.83 | Depends on the host picked |

*Prices checked on October 23, 2026.*

NanoGPT and PayPerQ sell DeepSeek V4 Pro below our price for input or output tokens on the dates read.

## Which ones need no account at all?

NanoGPT, PayPerQ and Routstr can be used with no email and no account: the balance is tied to a browser session, a credit ID or a Cashu token. Venice's x402 route authenticates with a wallet.

**LLMwithCrypto** asks for no email either, but it does open an account: Sign in with an account number; an email address is optional. That account holds your API keys and your credit, and it lets support trace a payment.

## Why do some resellers sell Claude and GPT far below list price?

Their pages do not say. On 23 October 2026, TeamoRouter listed Claude Sonnet 5.5 at 71% and gpt-6.1-sol at 86% below the makers' prices, and CometAPI says every model is “at least 20% below” the official rate. Neither page explains where the capacity comes from.

Press reports describe below-list “transfer stations” in general as running on shared subscriptions, farmed credits, stolen cards and prompt logging; one report says “harvesting those logs is the actual business”. Anthropic's terms forbid resale without its approval. The [guide on cheap API keys](https://llmwithcrypto.com/guides/cheap-ai-api-keys-risks/) goes through the risks.

## Where does LLMwithCrypto differ from the others?

- **Open models only.** 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. The others resell Claude and GPT; we do not, so our catalogue is smaller.
- **A price rule you can check.** Each model costs 5% less than the median price of the public hosts that list it, for input and output tokens, read on 2026-10-23. The [price index](https://llmwithcrypto.com/data/open-model-api-price-index-2026/) lists every host price behind it.
- **Prompts not stored.** We do not store your prompts or the model’s answers: once a response is sent, its text is gone. Each call leaves one log line with the time, the account, the model and the token counts, deleted after 30 days.
- **Credit that stays.** Credit has no expiry date: what you do not spend this month is still there next year. OpenRouter reserves the right to expire unused credit after a year.
- **Refunds stated in advance.** A credit pack bought in the last 72 hours goes back to your balance if less than 20% of it was spent. If the API does not work for you and support cannot fix it within 24 hours, the unspent credit goes back to your balance. Top-ups stay on the balance and are not paid out unless the law requires it; whatever you added only to reach the minimum top-up comes back on request within 30 days, in USDT or USDC, as long as it is unspent.

## When is another service the better choice?

- **You need Claude, GPT or Gemini.** OpenRouter, NanoGPT and Venice sell them at list price, NanoGPT with no account. We do not sell them at all.
- **You pay in Monero or over Lightning.** NanoGPT and PayPerQ take Monero; NanoGPT, PayPerQ and Routstr take Lightning. We take BTC, USDT, USDC, ETH, SOL, LTC.
- **You top up a few cents at a time.** NanoGPT and PayPerQ start at $0.10. Our minimum top-up is $25.
- **You want the lowest DeepSeek price of the day.** Compare the table above on the day you buy: prices move.

## Paying for LLM APIs in crypto: common questions

### Does OpenRouter take Bitcoin?

Not on the pages read on 22 October 2026: its FAQ names USDC only, through Coinbase, with a 5% fee, and says crypto payments are never refundable.

### Which LLM APIs take Monero?

NanoGPT and PayPerQ, on the pages read on 23 October 2026. NanoGPT reported that Monero made up 44% of its crypto payments by value in September 2026. LLMwithCrypto does not take Monero today.

### Is a cheaper Claude API from a reseller safe?

A price far below Anthropic's list price has to come from somewhere, and the sellers do not say where. Anthropic's terms forbid resale without its approval, so the account behind your key can be shut down.

### Can I get crypto back from these services?

Rarely. OpenRouter, Chutes and Kagi's OpenNode route say crypto is not refundable; Routstr returns unused balance as a Cashu token. A credit pack bought in the last 72 hours goes back to your balance if less than 20% of it was spent. If the API does not work for you and support cannot fix it within 24 hours, the unspent credit goes back to your balance. Top-ups stay on the balance and are not paid out unless the law requires it; whatever you added only to reach the minimum top-up comes back on request within 30 days, in USDT or USDC, as long as it is unspent.

## 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](https://openrouter.ai/terms) — OpenRouter (read 2026-10-23)
4. [NanoGPT pricing](https://nano-gpt.com/pricing) — NanoGPT (read 2026-10-23)
5. [NanoGPT payment stats, September 2026](https://nano-gpt.com/blog/september-2026-payment-stats) — NanoGPT (read 2026-10-23)
6. [Venice API pricing](https://docs.venice.ai/overview/pricing) — Venice.ai (read 2026-10-23)
7. [PayPerQ pricing](https://ppq.ai/pricing) — PayPerQ (read 2026-10-23)
8. [Kagi payment methods](https://help.kagi.com/kagi/plans/payment-methods.html) — Kagi (read 2026-10-23)
9. [Routstr provider pricing](https://docs.routstr.com/provider/pricing/) — Routstr (read 2026-10-23)
10. [AIMLAPI pricing](https://aimlapi.com/ai-ml-api-pricing) — AIMLAPI (read 2026-10-22)
11. [DeepSeek API pricing](https://api-docs.deepseek.com/quick_start/pricing/) — DeepSeek (read 2026-10-22)
12. [Chinese grey market sells Claude API access at 90 percent off](https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intelligence/chinese-grey-market-sells-claude-api-access-at-90-percent-off-through-proxy-networks-that-harvest-user-data) — Tom's Hardware (read 2026-10-23)
13. [Commercial Terms of Service](https://www.anthropic.com/legal/commercial-terms) — Anthropic (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.