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- 1OpenRouter's 5.5% fee prompts cost comparison with self-hosting●OpenRouter's fee is 5.5% at the credit door, not per-token markup. Honest math on gateway vs direct vs self-hosted LiteL
Developers are debating OpenRouter's pricing model, noting the service charges a 5.5% fee when users add credits rather than a per-token markup on API calls. A breakdown compares the total cost of routing AI requests through OpenRouter versus paying providers directly or self-hosting an open-source proxy like LiteLLM, offering a decision rule for choosing between the three approaches.