What is the difference between Cerebras and OpenRouter?

Cerebras and OpenRouter are both cloud GPU providers offering different pricing models, features, and GPU availability. Use our comparison tool to see real-time pricing and feature differences.

Which is cheaper: Cerebras or OpenRouter?

Pricing varies by GPU model and usage requirements. Check our real-time comparison table to find the best deals for your specific needs.

Can I switch between Cerebras and OpenRouter?

Yes, both providers offer flexible cloud GPU services. However, consider factors like data transfer costs, setup time, and specific features when switching between providers.

Cerebras vs OpenRouter

Compare LLM inference API pricing between Cerebras and OpenRouter. Find the best rates for AI training, inference, and ML workloads.

Cerebras

Provider 1

Models Available

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OpenRouter

Provider 2

218

Models Available

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Comparison Overview

218

Total LLM Models

Cerebras Models

218

OpenRouter Models

Direct Comparisons

LLM API Pricing Comparison

Total models: 218Both available: 2Cerebras: 2OpenRouter: 218

Showing 15 of 218 models

Prices per 1M tokens · Last updated: 10/3/2026, 11:07:30 PM

Model ↑	Cerebras	OpenRouter	Input Diff ↕
Claude 4 Sonnet Anthropic	Not available	$3.00 in $15.00 out	—
Claude Fable 5 Anthropic	Not available	$10.00 in $50.00 out	—
Claude Fable 5.1 Anthropic	Not available	$10.00 in $50.00 out	—
Claude Haiku 4.5 Anthropic	Not available	$1.00 in $5.00 out	—
Claude Opus 4.1 Anthropic	Not available	$15.00 in $75.00 out	—
Claude Opus 4.5 Anthropic	Not available	$5.00 in $25.00 out	—
Claude Opus 4.6 Anthropic	Not available	$5.00 in $25.00 out	—
Claude Opus 4.7 Anthropic	Not available	$5.00 in $25.00 out	—
Claude Opus 4.8 Anthropic	Not available	$5.00 in $25.00 out	—
Claude Opus 5 Anthropic	Not available	$5.00 in $25.00 out	—
Claude Opus 5.5 Anthropic	Not available	$4.00 in $20.00 out	—
Claude Sonnet 4.5 Anthropic	Not available	$3.00 in $15.00 out	—
Claude Sonnet 4.6 Anthropic	Not available	$3.00 in $15.00 out	—
Claude Sonnet 5 Anthropic	Not available	$2.00 in $10.00 out	—
Claude Sonnet 5.5 Anthropic	Not available	$2.00 in $10.00 out	—

Features Comparison

Cerebras

Wafer-Scale Inference
Models run on the Cerebras Wafer-Scale Engine, which keeps model weights in on-chip SRAM to reach published speeds in the thousands of tokens per second
OpenAI-Compatible API
Chat Completions and Completions endpoints at api.cerebras.ai/v1, usable from the OpenAI SDKs or the Cerebras Python and TypeScript SDKs
Open-Weight Model Catalog
Public endpoints serve unmodified open-weight models such as OpenAI GPT OSS and Qwen, with a documented policy of no pruning on hosted models
Reasoning and Tool Calling
Configurable reasoning effort, streaming, structured outputs, parallel tool calling, and prompt caching across the catalog
Image Inputs
Vision-capable models accept PNG and JPEG images alongside text
Dedicated Endpoints
Private, provisioned endpoints on reserved capacity with fine-tuning, weight management, and additional model families, arranged through sales

OpenRouter

Unified Model Access
Single API endpoint for 500+ models from 80+ providers across text, image, video, and audio
Automatic Fallback Routing
Requests automatically route to the best available provider for each model
OpenAI-Compatible API
Drop-in replacement using the OpenAI SDK format
Provider Optimization
Routes to the fastest or cheapest provider based on your preference
Usage-Based Pricing
Pay per token with no minimum commitments or subscriptions
Prompt Caching
Reduced pricing for cached input tokens on supported models

Pros & Cons

Cerebras

Advantages

Published throughput in the thousands of tokens per second on public models
Drop-in OpenAI-compatible API with first-party Python and TypeScript SDKs
Serves original, unpruned open-weight models with a stated no-modification policy
Free trial credits on signup, then self-serve pay-as-you-go

Considerations

Very small public model catalog compared with GPU-based inference providers
Free-tier context windows are roughly half the paid-tier limits
Preview models can be withdrawn and are not intended for production use

OpenRouter

Advantages

Largest selection of models through a single API
Transparent per-token pricing with per-provider comparison for each model
Automatic failover across multiple providers
No vendor lock-in — switch models with a single parameter change

Considerations

Platform fee on pay-as-you-go usage (5.5% Standard, 8% Business)
Latency may be slightly higher due to routing layer
No fine-tuning or custom model training

Compute Services

Cerebras

OpenRouter

Pricing Options

Cerebras

Free Trial

Time-limited credits granted on signup, with lower rate limits and context windows than paid tiers

Developer (Pay as You Go)

Prepaid credits billed per million input and output tokens at published per-model rates

Enterprise and Dedicated Endpoints

Reserved capacity, higher rate limits, and additional models on custom terms through sales

OpenRouter

Free

25+ free models from a small set of providers, rate limited, with community support

Standard (pay-as-you-go)

Per-token model pricing plus a 5.5% platform fee, with no subscription

Business (pay-as-you-go)

8% platform fee; adds EU/US in-region routing, workload identity federation, and higher workspace limits

Enterprise

Custom agreements with fee discounts, SSO/SAML, contractual SLAs, invoicing options, and a dedicated support team

Prompt caching

Discounted rates for cached input tokens on supported models (paid plans)

Getting Started

Cerebras

Get Started

1
Create an account
Sign up at cloud.cerebras.ai and add a payment method to activate the free trial
2
Get an API key
Generate a key from the Cloud Console
3
Install an SDK
pip install cerebras_cloud_sdk or npm install @cerebras/cerebras_cloud_sdk, or use the OpenAI SDK pointed at api.cerebras.ai/v1
4
Make a request
Call chat completions with a model ID from the catalog, such as gpt-oss-120b

OpenRouter

Get Started

1
Create an account
Sign up at openrouter.ai; an organization for your team can be set up later
2
Buy credits
Purchase credits usable with any model or provider (credit card, crypto, and more)
3
Get API key
Create an API key from your dashboard
4
Make API calls
Use OpenAI-compatible endpoints or the OpenRouter Client and Agent SDKs with your key

Support & Global Availability

Cerebras

Global Regions

Cerebras-operated data centers in North America, with expansion into Europe; no region selection on the public API

Support

Documentation and API reference, model-specific guides, Cloud Console usage monitoring, Discord community, and enterprise support for dedicated customers

OpenRouter

Global Regions

Global — routes to providers across multiple regions for optimal latency

Support

Community support on the Free plan, email support on Standard and Business, dedicated support team on Enterprise; documentation and Discord community