WorldRouter vs OpenRouter
WorldRouter (by WorldClaw) and OpenRouter both give you one API key for many LLMs. They make different trade-offs:
- OpenRouter passes through provider list prices, charges a 5.5% credit purchase fee on Standard, and offers hundreds of models, including free models. OpenRouter pricing
- WorldRouter offers 50+ models, charges below list price on most Claude and GPT models, and adds no fee when you top up by card, Alipay, WeChat Pay or stablecoin.
If you need a very wide model catalogue or free models, use OpenRouter. If most of your spend goes to Claude or GPT, for example in Claude Code, Codex or OpenCode, WorldRouter is usually cheaper.
At a glance
| WorldRouter | OpenRouter | |
|---|---|---|
| Models | 50+ (catalogue) | 400+ in the public API catalogue |
| Pricing model | Own per-token rates, often below list price | Provider list price |
| Fee on top-ups | No platform fee. Network fees apply to stablecoin top-ups. | 5.5% on Standard and 8% on Business |
| Payment | Cards, Alipay, WeChat Pay, USD1 / USDC / USDT on BNB Chain | Cards, Alipay, USDC |
| Credits expire | No | Can expire after one year |
| Refunds | Purchases are final; contact support for technical issues | Unused card credits within 24 hours. Crypto purchases are final. OpenRouter terms |
| OpenAI-compatible API | Yes (/v1/chat/completions) | Yes |
| Anthropic Messages API | Yes (/v1/messages), works with Claude Code | Yes |
| Video generation | Seedance 2.0 / 2.5, PixVerse V6 / C1 | Asynchronous video API with supported models |
| Web search tool | Yes, from $0.007 per search | Yes |
| Prompt logging | API usage metadata for billing and analytics | Optional prompt logging |
| Free models or signup credit | No, pay-as-you-go only | Free models with low rate limits |
| Provider fallback / routing controls | Basic | Advanced (provider sorting, :nitro, :floor, BYOK) |
| Availability | US restrictions apply. See WorldRouter terms. | See OpenRouter terms. |
Price comparison
USD per 1M tokens, input / output. WorldRouter prices are converted from credits (100 credits = $1). OpenRouter prices are the published base rates before the 5.5% Standard credit purchase fee.
| Model | WorldRouter | OpenRouter | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Opus 4.6 | $3.50 / $17.50 | $5.00 / $25.00 | 30% lower |
| Claude Opus 4.7 | $3.50 / $17.50 | $5.00 / $25.00 | 30% lower |
| Claude Sonnet 4.6 | $2.10 / $10.50 | $3.00 / $15.00 | 30% lower |
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | $0.70 / $3.50 | $1.00 / $5.00 | 30% lower |
| GPT-5.5 (up to 272K context) | $3.50 / $21.00 | $5.00 / $30.00 | 30% lower |
| GPT-5.4 (up to 272K context) | $1.75 / $10.50 | $2.50 / $15.00 | 30% lower |
| GPT-5.4 Mini | $0.525 / $3.15 | $0.75 / $4.50 | 30% lower |
| GLM-5.1 | $0.77 / $2.42 | $1.33 / $4.18 | About 42% lower |
| GLM-5 | $0.55 / $1.76 | $1.00 / $3.20 | 45% lower |
| MiniMax M2.5 | $0.21 / $0.84 | $0.30 / $1.20 | 30% lower |
| MiniMax M2.7 | $0.21 / $0.84 | $0.21 / $0.84 | Same |
| Kimi K2.6 | $0.665 / $2.80 | $0.65 / $3.41 | Lower output price on WorldRouter |
| DeepSeek V4 Pro | $0.46 / $1.39 off-peak, $0.92 / $2.77 peak | $0.96 / $1.91 | Cheaper off-peak, dearer output at peak |
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | $0.154 / $0.462 off-peak, $0.308 / $0.924 peak | $0.09 / $0.18 | OpenRouter cheaper |
| DeepSeek V3.2 | $0.35 / $1.05 | $0.26 / $0.38 | OpenRouter cheaper |
Prices were checked on 11 November 2026. DeepSeek peak and off-peak windows are in UTC. For current rates, see the WorldRouter model catalogue and the OpenRouter model catalogue.
Example: a Claude Code session that uses 20M input tokens and 2M output tokens on Claude Sonnet 4.6 costs about $63 on WorldRouter. On OpenRouter it costs $90, or about $95 including the 5.5% top-up fee. This ignores prompt caching, which lowers both.
Where WorldRouter is the better fit
- You mostly use Claude or GPT. These models are about 30% below list price, and that is where most coding-agent spend goes.
- You run Claude Code, Codex or OpenCode. WorldRouter serves the Anthropic Messages API and the OpenAI API directly, and has step-by-step setup guides for Claude Code, Codex and OpenCode.
- You use Chinese models. GLM, Kimi, MiniMax, DeepSeek and ERNIE 5.0 are available through the same key.
- You want video generation through the same account. Seedance and PixVerse use async task APIs with the same credits.
- You want to pay with WeChat Pay or stablecoins, with no top-up fee and credits that do not expire.
Where OpenRouter is the better fit
- You need a model WorldRouter does not have. OpenRouter lists 400+ models in its public API catalogue, including Llama, Mistral, Qwen and free models. WorldRouter offers 50+.
- You want to try models for free. OpenRouter has free models; WorldRouter has no free tier or signup credit.
- You need advanced routing controls. These include provider selection, price or throughput sorting, BYOK, EU in-region routing and enterprise SSO.
- Your use is restricted under the WorldRouter User Terms. Check OpenRouter's terms for eligibility.
Switching from OpenRouter
Both services use the OpenAI request format. Change the base URL, the API key and the model ID.
from openai import OpenAI
client = OpenAI(
api_key="your_worldrouter_api_key",
base_url="https://inference-api.worldrouter.ai/v1", # was https://openrouter.ai/api/v1
)
response = client.chat.completions.create(
model="claude-sonnet-4-6", # was anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}],
)
print(response.choices[0].message.content)
Model IDs differ. WorldRouter IDs have no provider prefix, for example claude-sonnet-4-6, gpt-5.4 and glm-5.1. Copy the exact ID from the models page; IDs are case-sensitive.
For Claude Code, set these environment variables (no /v1 suffix):
export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://inference-api.worldrouter.ai"
export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN="your_worldrouter_api_key"
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=""
export ANTHROPIC_MODEL="claude-sonnet-4-6"
FAQ
Is WorldRouter a drop-in replacement for OpenRouter?
For chat completions, yes: change the base URL, key and model ID. OpenRouter-specific features such as provider routing objects, :nitro / :floor variants and BYOK have no WorldRouter equivalent.
Why is WorldRouter cheaper on Claude and GPT? WorldRouter buys capacity from upstream providers under volume agreements and sets its own per-token rates instead of passing through list prices. Rates can change; the models page always shows the current price.
Does WorldRouter charge a fee on top-ups? WorldRouter adds no platform fee on top-ups. Stablecoin transfers incur blockchain network fees.
How can I pay for WorldRouter? By credit or debit card, Alipay, WeChat Pay, or USD1, USDC or USDT on BNB Chain.
Does WorldRouter store my prompts? Our FAQ describes how WorldRouter logs usage metadata such as token counts, model IDs and timestamps for billing and analytics. See the Privacy Policy for how we handle inputs.
Who can use WorldRouter? Eligibility and territory restrictions are set out in the User Terms.
Who runs WorldRouter? WorldRouter is a product of WorldClaw. Support: support@worldclaw.ai.