This graph is misleading. It shows the number of tokens processed by OpenRouter per day and per model, not consumer usage. Students usually wouldn't be using OpenRouter, they'd be using the LLM provider's website directly and the telemetry would not be captured by OpenRouter.
see openrouter.ai
see openrouter.ai
August 8, 2025 at 8:40 PM
This graph is misleading. It shows the number of tokens processed by OpenRouter per day and per model, not consumer usage. Students usually wouldn't be using OpenRouter, they'd be using the LLM provider's website directly and the telemetry would not be captured by OpenRouter.
see openrouter.ai
see openrouter.ai
New release of my llm-openrouter plugin adds support for reasoning options and tool usage, which means you can now execute tools against 179 models made available via OpenRouter
simonwillison.net/2025/Sep/21/...
simonwillison.net/2025/Sep/21/...
llm-openrouter 0.5
New release of my LLM plugin for accessing models made available via OpenRouter. The release notes in full: Support for tool calling. Thanks, James Sanford. #43 Support for reasoning options, …
simonwillison.net
September 21, 2025 at 12:25 AM
New release of my llm-openrouter plugin adds support for reasoning options and tool usage, which means you can now execute tools against 179 models made available via OpenRouter
simonwillison.net/2025/Sep/21/...
simonwillison.net/2025/Sep/21/...
dawg even openrouter is giving money to omarchy
September 13, 2026 at 2:10 AM
dawg even openrouter is giving money to omarchy
is this not openrouter/free? lol
come on down to Big Jim’s Value LLMs where we’ll get you the brains to fit your budget
September 24, 2026 at 5:25 PM
is this not openrouter/free? lol
It's FREE on OpenRouter.
October 25, 2025 at 1:57 PM
It's FREE on OpenRouter.
all my tokens gone
my agents are sendings hearts at each other
$1000 on openrouter credits spent
my agents are sendings hearts at each other
$1000 on openrouter credits spent
June 6, 2026 at 7:11 AM
all my tokens gone
my agents are sendings hearts at each other
$1000 on openrouter credits spent
my agents are sendings hearts at each other
$1000 on openrouter credits spent
Substantial upgrade to my llm-openrouter plugin, adding schema support and a bunch of better ways of listing and introspecting their models. They offer 38 "free" models that work with an API key and no billing, great for teaching workshops simonwillison.net/2025/Mar/10/...
llm-openrouter 0.4
I found out this morning that [OpenRouter](https://openrouter.ai/) include support for a number of (rate-limited) [free API models](https://openrouter.ai/models?max_price=0). I occasionally workshops ...
simonwillison.net
March 10, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Substantial upgrade to my llm-openrouter plugin, adding schema support and a bunch of better ways of listing and introspecting their models. They offer 38 "free" models that work with an API key and no billing, great for teaching workshops simonwillison.net/2025/Mar/10/...
Cheaping out on their OpenRouter configuration, clearly.
July 11, 2026 at 10:34 PM
Cheaping out on their OpenRouter configuration, clearly.
they just added jev to openrouter
September 17, 2026 at 7:03 PM
they just added jev to openrouter
So seeing as Anthropic/OpenAI/OpenRouter are giving support to omarchy that 1Password and DigitalOcean is, everyone is going to give them the same treatment and move away from them, right? right?
September 13, 2026 at 2:51 PM
So seeing as Anthropic/OpenAI/OpenRouter are giving support to omarchy that 1Password and DigitalOcean is, everyone is going to give them the same treatment and move away from them, right? right?
OpenRouter
GLM 5.2 $1.40 / $4.40per 1M
Opus 4.8 $5 / $25per 1M
🫤
GLM 5.2 $1.40 / $4.40per 1M
Opus 4.8 $5 / $25per 1M
🫤
June 16, 2026 at 6:53 PM
OpenRouter
GLM 5.2 $1.40 / $4.40per 1M
Opus 4.8 $5 / $25per 1M
🫤
GLM 5.2 $1.40 / $4.40per 1M
Opus 4.8 $5 / $25per 1M
🫤
1. this
2. why would you use openrouter to judge demand for openAI/anthropic models when it's literally the worst deal possible and you'd be orders of magnitude better off just bulk-buying subscriptions instead
2. why would you use openrouter to judge demand for openAI/anthropic models when it's literally the worst deal possible and you'd be orders of magnitude better off just bulk-buying subscriptions instead
people are struggling to understand that "token middlemen have seen growth primarily from open weight model demand" isn't the same thing as "frontier token demand is dying"
September 21, 2026 at 11:19 AM
1. this
2. why would you use openrouter to judge demand for openAI/anthropic models when it's literally the worst deal possible and you'd be orders of magnitude better off just bulk-buying subscriptions instead
2. why would you use openrouter to judge demand for openAI/anthropic models when it's literally the worst deal possible and you'd be orders of magnitude better off just bulk-buying subscriptions instead
There is a new LLM called Quasar Alpha ( openrouter.ai/openrouter/q... )on OpenRouter with 1M context length, specializes in coding, and free.
It performs as well as DeepSeek-V3 on coding.
It performs as well as DeepSeek-V3 on coding.
April 4, 2025 at 5:16 AM
There is a new LLM called Quasar Alpha ( openrouter.ai/openrouter/q... )on OpenRouter with 1M context length, specializes in coding, and free.
It performs as well as DeepSeek-V3 on coding.
It performs as well as DeepSeek-V3 on coding.
Have you seen the new model? It's on Antigravity. It's literally in Opencode. It's on ChatGPT with ads. It's literally in Claude Code. You can probably use it on Cursor. Dude it's on Hugging Face. It's a Z.AI original. It's on Thinking Machines. You can use it on OpenRouter. Log onto OpenRouter ri-
May 20, 2026 at 3:24 PM
Have you seen the new model? It's on Antigravity. It's literally in Opencode. It's on ChatGPT with ads. It's literally in Claude Code. You can probably use it on Cursor. Dude it's on Hugging Face. It's a Z.AI original. It's on Thinking Machines. You can use it on OpenRouter. Log onto OpenRouter ri-
These new models are interesting because of 2 million context window.
OpenRouter is hosting Sonoma Alpha, two new stealth models:
- Context Window: 2 million tokens
- Price: Free
- Maybe xAI models
openrouter.ai/openrouter/s...
openrouter.ai/openrouter/s...
OpenRouter is hosting Sonoma Alpha, two new stealth models:
- Context Window: 2 million tokens
- Price: Free
- Maybe xAI models
openrouter.ai/openrouter/s...
openrouter.ai/openrouter/s...
September 6, 2025 at 7:56 AM
These new models are interesting because of 2 million context window.
OpenRouter is hosting Sonoma Alpha, two new stealth models:
- Context Window: 2 million tokens
- Price: Free
- Maybe xAI models
openrouter.ai/openrouter/s...
openrouter.ai/openrouter/s...
OpenRouter is hosting Sonoma Alpha, two new stealth models:
- Context Window: 2 million tokens
- Price: Free
- Maybe xAI models
openrouter.ai/openrouter/s...
openrouter.ai/openrouter/s...
This is OpenRouter stats, not usage via ChatGPT.
I'm sure there are students out there using AI via OpenRouter, but to attribute this to students is to fail to understand the context of this data entirely.
I'm sure there are students out there using AI via OpenRouter, but to attribute this to students is to fail to understand the context of this data entirely.
August 7, 2025 at 12:50 PM
This is OpenRouter stats, not usage via ChatGPT.
I'm sure there are students out there using AI via OpenRouter, but to attribute this to students is to fail to understand the context of this data entirely.
I'm sure there are students out there using AI via OpenRouter, but to attribute this to students is to fail to understand the context of this data entirely.
This doesn't look like good news for the Silicon Valley AO boys
cryptobriefing.com/american-ai-...
cryptobriefing.com/american-ai-...
OpenRouter data shows American AI startups quietly shifting traffic to Chinese LLMs
Chinese LLMs now dominate OpenRouter traffic, accounting for 61% of top model token consumption as American startups shift from US to Chinese AI models.
cryptobriefing.com
June 9, 2026 at 8:45 PM
This doesn't look like good news for the Silicon Valley AO boys
cryptobriefing.com/american-ai-...
cryptobriefing.com/american-ai-...
A.I. should save money for companies, but token costs for American models from OpenAI and Anthropic are a growing expense for many firms.
That's why two thirds of developers on OpenRouter switched to open-weight Chinese models that are free to use.
My @morningjoe-msnow.bsky.social Chart:
That's why two thirds of developers on OpenRouter switched to open-weight Chinese models that are free to use.
My @morningjoe-msnow.bsky.social Chart:
September 24, 2026 at 8:36 PM
A.I. should save money for companies, but token costs for American models from OpenAI and Anthropic are a growing expense for many firms.
That's why two thirds of developers on OpenRouter switched to open-weight Chinese models that are free to use.
My @morningjoe-msnow.bsky.social Chart:
That's why two thirds of developers on OpenRouter switched to open-weight Chinese models that are free to use.
My @morningjoe-msnow.bsky.social Chart:
a big chunk of traffic to openrouter is erp and software development, idk what kind of students would pay for tokens via openrouter
August 7, 2025 at 1:05 PM
a big chunk of traffic to openrouter is erp and software development, idk what kind of students would pay for tokens via openrouter
Excited to partner with OpenRouter ⚡
Products like OpenRouter Fusion and Sakana Fugu have sparked a serious conversation about dependency and resilience in AI.
I believe this is just the start of a massive architectural shift to come in AI development.
Products like OpenRouter Fusion and Sakana Fugu have sparked a serious conversation about dependency and resilience in AI.
I believe this is just the start of a massive architectural shift to come in AI development.
Fugu-Ultra is now live on OpenRouter! ⚡
We share a core vision with the OpenRouter team: the future of AI isn’t a single monolithic model, but the collective intelligence of the world’s best models working together.
Try it: openrouter.ai/sakana/fugu-... 🐡
We share a core vision with the OpenRouter team: the future of AI isn’t a single monolithic model, but the collective intelligence of the world’s best models working together.
Try it: openrouter.ai/sakana/fugu-... 🐡
June 24, 2026 at 4:05 PM
Excited to partner with OpenRouter ⚡
Products like OpenRouter Fusion and Sakana Fugu have sparked a serious conversation about dependency and resilience in AI.
I believe this is just the start of a massive architectural shift to come in AI development.
Products like OpenRouter Fusion and Sakana Fugu have sparked a serious conversation about dependency and resilience in AI.
I believe this is just the start of a massive architectural shift to come in AI development.
mfw the inference provider you're using turns out to be an openrouter wrapper
September 14, 2026 at 11:13 PM
mfw the inference provider you're using turns out to be an openrouter wrapper
OpenRouter ( openrouter.ai )'s LLM Ranking ( openrouter.ai/rankings ) is becoming the most relevant source for tracking the popularity of large language models.
LLM Rankings | OpenRouter
Language models ranked and analyzed by usage across apps
openrouter.ai
May 23, 2025 at 6:56 AM
OpenRouter ( openrouter.ai )'s LLM Ranking ( openrouter.ai/rankings ) is becoming the most relevant source for tracking the popularity of large language models.
FWIW I found Muse Spark to be a pretty intelligent model when I tried it on OpenRouter. Haven't tried using it for agentic coding though.
September 25, 2026 at 5:31 PM
FWIW I found Muse Spark to be a pretty intelligent model when I tried it on OpenRouter. Haven't tried using it for agentic coding though.
DeepSeek R1 API is free on OpenRouter via both Azure and Chutes.
February 1, 2025 at 5:26 PM
DeepSeek R1 API is free on OpenRouter via both Azure and Chutes.
I literally do not have the option to chat using my configured OpenRouter models anymore
July 8, 2025 at 12:53 AM
I literally do not have the option to chat using my configured OpenRouter models anymore