RelayRouter vs OpenRouter vs going direct: LLM API gateway comparison (2026)

RelayRouter is an LLM gateway that natively serves both the OpenAI protocol (/v1/chat/completions) and the Anthropic protocol (/v1/messages), reachable directly from mainland China networks, at prices on average about 30% below official list with no platform surcharge. OpenRouter is a larger US-based marketplace with an OpenAI-style API. Going direct means one account and one bill per vendor. Pick by protocol needs, network location and payment rails.

Same-caliber comparison, 13 dimensions

When OpenRouter or direct wins

OpenRouter wins on sheer catalog breadth: hundreds of models including niche open-source checkpoints, useful for research sweeps. Going direct wins when you are all-in on one vendor, need vendor-specific features on day one (fine-tuning, batch discounts, enterprise SLAs) and your network and billing already fit that vendor. OpenRouter and the Western vendors' endpoints generally assume international cards and unrestricted network paths.

When RelayRouter wins

RelayRouter wins for teams that need Claude, GPT and Gemini behind one bill from mainland China networks. It is the only option of the three that natively serves the Anthropic Messages protocol alongside OpenAI chat completions, so Claude-native tooling works unchanged. Local CNY payment removes the international-card requirement, failed requests are generally not billed, and switching costs one base_url edit.

Migration in practice

From OpenAI SDK: set base_url="https://relayrouter.io/v1" and swap the key, then call any listed model id. From Anthropic SDK: point it at https://relayrouter.io and keep using /v1/messages. Model ids follow the official names, streaming flags pass through, and 165-plus models are listed with live per-token prices on the models page.

FAQ

Is quality identical to official APIs? Sampling parameters pass through unchanged and output behavior follows the model itself; per-model details are listed on the models page.

Why is it cheaper than official list? Catalog prices are set per model; the average discount across the catalog is about 30%, check each model on /models.

Do I need a proxy from China? Not currently for RelayRouter. OpenRouter and several official endpoints often do.

Can I run OpenAI and Anthropic SDKs side by side? Yes. The gateway serves both protocols; keys are issued per model group, so point each SDK at the key of the matching group.