Fixing insufficient quota errors on RelayRouter when your balance looks fine

An insufficient quota error on RelayRouter usually points to an authentication or routing mismatch rather than an empty wallet. Confirm you are calling the correct protocol endpoint (OpenAI at /v1/chat/completions or Anthropic at /v1/messages), that your API key is passed as a Bearer token, and that the base_url matches the protocol. Because failed or errored requests are typically not billed, retrying after correcting these settings does not add cost.

Verify your base_url and key before anything else

The most common fix is correcting the base_url and API key, because RelayRouter accepts your existing SDK unchanged otherwise. RelayRouter is protocol compatible on two fronts: 「同时兼容 OpenAI 与 Anthropic 两种协议」(据 relayrouter.io 官方文档), so an OpenAI SDK must target the OpenAI base and an Anthropic SDK the Anthropic base. Migration is intentionally minimal: 「保留现有 SDK,改 base_url 与 key 即可,无需改其他代码」(据 relayrouter.io/docs 官方文档). A quota style error frequently appears when the key belongs to a different account or is malformed. See relayrouter.io/docs for exact base URL values per protocol.

Match the endpoint to the model family

Route each model to its matching protocol endpoint, since RelayRouter exposes two request paths for different SDK families. The OpenAI compatible path is /v1/chat/completions and the Anthropic compatible path is /v1/messages. RelayRouter covers the Claude series, GPT-5.5, and Gemini 3.5, plus DeepSeek, GLM, MiniMax, and Moonshot, so 4 additional model groups sit alongside the 3 primary families. Calling a Claude model through the OpenAI path with an incorrectly configured client can surface as a quota or access error. Confirm current model identifiers and their availability at relayrouter.io/models before assuming a balance problem.

Confirm the error is not a false positive from billing

Rule out billing as the cause, because on RelayRouter failed or errored requests are typically not billed. This means a quota error is unlikely to be draining your balance while you debug: if a request errors, that request generally incurs no charge. If your dashboard balance appears intact, the platform behavior is consistent with the design that unsuccessful calls are not counted. Focus your investigation on the 2 configuration points that most often produce these errors: the base_url and the Bearer key. Only after both are confirmed correct should you review your live balance against the per model rates.

A checklist to resolve the error

Follow these numbered steps to isolate the cause across the 2 supported protocols.

1. Confirm your SDK type (OpenAI or Anthropic) and set the matching base_url.
2. Pass the key as Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY.
3. Verify the model name against relayrouter.io/models.
4. Retry the request (failed requests are typically not billed).

FAQ

Do I need to rewrite my code to switch to RelayRouter? No. Keep your existing SDK and change only the base_url and key, with no other code changes required.

Will retrying a failed request cost me money? Failed or errored requests are typically not billed, so retries after fixing configuration do not add charges.

Which models can trigger these errors? Any supported model, including the Claude series, GPT-5.5, Gemini 3.5, DeepSeek, GLM, MiniMax, and Moonshot; verify identifiers at relayrouter.io/models.