What an OpenRouter chatbot gives you, and what it adds
OpenRouter is a gateway. You buy credits once, create a key, and then name a model such as an Anthropic, OpenAI, Google or DeepSeek one. OpenRouter forwards the request to an upstream provider and bills the usage against your balance. For a website chat that has three practical effects:
- Easy comparison. You can try several labs’ models in the playground without opening an account with each.
- Wider choice. It reaches models from providers that SiteTrellis does not integrate with directly.
- A convenient second step. One funded OpenRouter key can be the different-provider fallback behind a direct key.
What it adds is a middle layer. Messages travel from SiteTrellis to OpenRouter and then to the upstream provider, so two sets of terms apply and two systems can fail. If you only want one lab’s models and have an account there, a direct key is simpler; see the Claude or OpenAI pages.
OpenRouter models and estimated costs
All OpenRouter prices in our catalog are unverified list prices passed through from each lab. OpenRouter’s own models page is authoritative, and it may charge a fee on credit purchases or on usage in addition to model prices.
| Model | Input, per 1M tokens | Output, per 1M tokens | Estimate per 1,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Sonnet 5.5 * | $2.00 | $10.00 | $35.88 |
| Claude Opus 5.5 * | $4.00 | $20.00 | $71.76 |
| GPT-6.1 Sol * | $2.00 | $10.00 | $35.88 |
| Gemini 3.8 Flash * | $0.75 | $3.75 | $13.46 |
| DeepSeek V4.1 Flash * | $0.30 | $1.20 | $5.06 |
Estimates, not quotes: list prices from our model catalog in US dollars per million tokens, for 6 visitor messages per conversation, 1,500 tokens of prompt and knowledge sent every turn, and 180-token replies, with no prompt caching. Your provider's bill is authoritative. * Not yet confirmed against the provider's own pricing page.
The same underlying model can therefore appear at the same list price as a direct key: Claude Sonnet 5.5 is estimated at about $35.88 per 1,000 conversations, Gemini 3.8 Flash at about $13.46 and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash at about $5.06. Remember that a fee, if any, comes on top. Your own mix is easier to price in the calculator.
OpenRouter model names combine a lab and a model. Pick from the dashboard list rather than typing one, and check its tool-support marker: not every model supports tool calling, which lead capture, escalation and HTTP tools depend on. Free models exist, but they are heavily rate limited and unsuitable for a live website.
Set up an OpenRouter chatbot with a credit-limited key
Create an account and buy credits
Sign up at openrouter.ai and buy credits with a card. OpenRouter is prepaid: at zero balance, paid models stop working.
Create a key with a credit limit
Open the keys page, create a key named “SiteTrellis production” and set a credit limit on it. Once the key has spent that amount it stops, even if your balance is larger. Copy it right away; it starts with
sk-or-.Check your privacy settings
In your account settings, review prompt logging and whether requests may go to providers that retain or train on data. Set these before real conversations arrive.
Add the key in SiteTrellis
Under AI providers choose OpenRouter, paste the key and wait for the status to show ok.
Choose a model
In the agent’s model section select the key and pick a model that supports tools if you need them.
Test and publish
Compare two or three models on the same questions in the playground, then publish.
More detail is in the Connect OpenRouter guide and the AI keys overview. Avoid automatic top-ups unless the key also has its own limit.
Routing and privacy: the OpenRouter-specific part
A single model can be served by several upstream providers with different prices, speeds and policies, and OpenRouter picks among them according to its routing rules and your account preferences. Two consequences follow.
- Variable behaviour. Speed and availability for the same model name can differ from one day to the next.
- Your privacy settings can leave no route. If no upstream provider that matches your restrictions serves the model, you get a 404 “no endpoints found”. Relax the restriction or choose another model.
Read OpenRouter’s privacy policy and the data policy of the models you select, and describe the chain in your own privacy policy. Our security page covers the SiteTrellis side.
OpenRouter as the second step in a fallback chain
| Step | Key and model | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anthropic key, Claude Haiku 5.5 | A direct key: the fewest moving parts for everyday traffic. |
| 2 | OpenRouter key, Gemini 3.8 Flash | A different lab reached through one prepaid balance, with a per-key credit limit. |
| 3 | OpenRouter key, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash | Optional on plans with enough steps; a third lab if step two is rate limited. Mind its data-location terms. |
Do not put every step on OpenRouter. It is itself one dependency, and a 429, 402 or 502 from it affects all steps that use it. The chain moves on after errors like these, but a direct key first and OpenRouter second spreads the risk. Step limits: Free 2, Starter 3, Pro 5. See the fallback guide.
OpenRouter errors and honest limits
- 401: invalid or disabled key; create a new one.
- 402: the balance or the key’s credit limit is used up; add credits or raise the limit, then press Test.
- 403: the model rejected the content, or your account may not use it.
- 429: rate limited by OpenRouter or the upstream provider, especially on free models.
- 502 or 503: the upstream provider failed; a fallback step covers it.
The usual limits apply: pasted-text knowledge, whole replies instead of streaming, and answers that can be wrong. Not sure which provider to start with? Read how to choose an LLM for website chat, or the BYOK overview.