Deepgram vs OpenRouter Pricing (2026)
How do these two stack up on price? Here's what each one costs, what you get, and where the value sits.
| Deepgram | OpenRouter | |
|---|---|---|
| Starts at | Custom | Custom |
| Number of plans | 3 | 3 |
| Free plan | ||
| Free trial | — | |
| Pricing model | usage-based | usage-based |
Pay As You Go
- No minimums. No expiration.
- No credit card required.
- Free $200 Credit
- All endpoint in public models
- Up to 50 for the REST API (Speech-to-Text)
- Up to 150 for the WSS API (Speech-to-Text)
- Up to 5 for Deepgram Whisper Cloud
- Up to 45 for the REST API + WSS API (Text-to-Speech)
- Up to 45 for the WSS API (Voice Agent API)
- Up to 10 for the REST API (Audio Intelligence)
- Community & Discord
- Standard Uptime
Growth
- With pre-paid credits for the year.
- Credits are redeemed against actual usage.
- Free $200 Credit
- All endpoints in public models
- Up to 50 for the REST API (Speech-to-Text)
- Up to 225 for the WSS API (Speech-to-Text)
- Up to 5 for Deepgram Whisper Cloud
- Up to 60 for the REST API + WSS API (Text-to-Speech)
- Up to 60 for the WSS API (Voice Agent API)
- Up to 10 for the REST API (Audio Intelligence)
- Community & Discord
- Standard Uptime
Enterprise
- For businesses with large volumes, data or deployment requirements, or support needs.
Free
- Chat and API Access
- Activity Logs & Export
Pay-as-you-go
Popular- Chat and API Access
- Activity Logs & Export
- Auto-routing, preferred vendor selections
- Budgets & Spend Controls
- Prompt Caching
- Management API key
Enterprise
- Chat and API Access
- Activity Logs & Export
- Auto-routing, preferred vendor selections
- Budgets & Spend Controls
- Prompt Caching
- Management API key
Deepgram vs OpenRouter FAQ
- Which one is cheaper?
- One or both use custom pricing, so it depends on your specific needs.
- Can I use either one for free?
- Both offer free plans, so you can try each without paying. Start with whichever fits your workflow better and upgrade when you hit the limits.
- How do they charge?
- Both use a usage-based model, so the comparison is straightforward — it comes down to features and limits at each price point.
- Which one is a better deal?
- Depends on what you need. Deepgram: Deepgram positions as the developer-friendly, cost-efficient alternative to Google and AWS in the speech AI space — not the cheapest, but meaningfully cheaper than hyperscaler STT at scale. The no-credit-card free tier is a direct shot at winning developers before they default to an incumbent. OpenRouter: OpenRouter isn't competing on being cheaper than OpenAI or Anthropic directly — it's selling convenience (one API, many models) and charging a toll for that abstraction. In the LLM-gateway space they're positioned as the accessible, no-commitment default, while Enterprise deals are where they compete with direct vendor relationships on price.
Still deciding? See the best Deepgram alternatives or the best OpenRouter alternatives, ranked with verified pricing.
Keep tabs on both.
We'll monitor pricing changes for Deepgram and OpenRouter and let you know when something moves.