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Groq vs OpenRouter

Two sides of the LLM API decision: open models, hosted and gateway (many providers, one API). When each fits, what it costs, who moves from one to the other, and what makers who chose it say.

GroqOpen models, hosted
OpenRouterGateway (many providers, one API)llms.txtIn Replit
Ask your AI about this, with this page as the source:ChatGPT ↗Claude ↗Perplexity ↗

Which fits you

Choose Groq if
  • Token cost dominates your budget, for example high-volume batch or agent workloads

Use it whenResponse speed matters more than having the most capable model, as in voice or autocomplete.

Trade-offOnly the open models it chooses to host, and no frontier closed models.

Choose OpenRouter if
  • You want to try or mix many models with one key and one bill, and fall back when a provider is down

Use it whenYou want to compare models quickly or offer users a model picker.

Trade-offA fee on top of provider prices, and your traffic and data pass through a third party.

At a glance

GroqOpenRouter
Used by39 makers' products · 62 open-source projects61 makers' products · 31 open-source projects
Cost at default usageinput tokens 50 million tokens, output tokens 10 million tokens$6.75/mo GPT OSS 20B—
Downloads1.8M/wk3.9× vs npm2.1M/wk4.8× vs npm
PricingFree tier with rate limits; pay per token. · paid from Pay per tokenPay per token at provider prices plus a 5.5% fee on credits; 25+ free models with daily rate limits. · paid from Pay per token + 5.5% fee on credits
Free tierYesYes
Open sourceNoNo

What makers say

Makers on using it for LLM API, from Product Hunt and Starter Story interviews, each linked to the source. Products with a page of their own and fuller notes first.

On Groq
Shoutout to Groq — the lightning fast inference engine running Voicr's AI under the hood. Without Groq's speed, that under 3 seconds promise wouldn't be possible.
Voicr for Mac, the makerSep 2026 ↗
We love using Groq hosting and models. They are a core part of our chat and widget agents. The models are lightning fast and the Groq team is fantastic.
Vectorize, the makerSep 2026 ↗
Groq powers our RAG sandbox with their lightning fast inference APIs and the team there is helpful and amazing to work with.
Vectorize, the makerSep 2026 ↗
14 more on the Groq page →
On OpenRouter
Talespinner uses OpenRouter to allow for switching between different language models. They make it super easy to do this, because they offer one API format for all language models.
Talespinner, the makerSep 2026 ↗
OpenRouter made it seamless to integrate multiple LLMs with unified APIs. It played a key role in enabling flexible model orchestration and reliable responses in Codentis.
Codentis, the makerSep 2026 ↗
Big thanks to OpenRouter — it lets us route every AI generation to the right model effortlessly, which is what makes our AI email builder feel instant and smart.
EmailFlow.AI Agentic Newsletter Platform, the makerSep 2026 ↗
33 more on the OpenRouter page →

Loved and watch-outs

Themes that recur in makers' words and Hacker News comments, each linked to what it summarises.

Groq
Most loved
  • Inference is extremely fast, enabling real-time voice and agent workflows. PHPH 2PH 3PH 4
  • The free tier is generous, with many models to choose from. PHPH 2HN
  • Its hosted Whisper gives near-instant transcription. PHPH 2HNPH 3
On Product Hunt: 4.8★, 5 reviews
OpenRouter
Most loved
  • One API key and OpenAI-compatible endpoint reach hundreds of models from many providers. PH
  • Switching and comparing models is easy, which speeds up testing cost and quality. PH
  • Automatic fallbacks across providers improve uptime and route around rate limits. PH
Watch-outs
  • Quality varies by underlying provider, so users pin trusted providers to avoid degraded output. HNHN 2HN 3
  • Caching is less effective because requests can switch providers mid-session. HNHN 2HN 3
On Product Hunt: 5.0★, 48 reviews · mentioned most: multi-model AI access, quick model switching, seamless integration

Who uses each

Groq39 makers' products
AntispaceAutomaticallBebop.aiClarityUXExtra ThursdayFriends & Fablesgraph8KushoAILagrange by OrangeCatMagineMentaraMindPal+27 more
OpenRouter61 makers' products
Actx0AI EmailyBreadcrumbChikitAICladoCodentisCrbonFreeEmailFlow.AI Agentic Newsletter PlatformFuserGuseImage Mateinvolve.me+49 more
Used by both — often one replacing the other, or each for a different part of the product
inbox-zeroSlashspace AISlashySuperBrain

What makers pair each with

With Groq
Frontend Framework
Transactional Email
Hosting
Payments
With OpenRouter
Transactional Email
Hosting
Frontend Framework
Payments

Neither quite right?

See the whole LLM API decision →
OpenAI APIModel providerThe broadest model lineup — text, images, speech, embeddings — and the largest ecosystem.vs Groq →
ClaudeModel providerCoding, long documents and agent-style tool use.vs Groq →vs OpenRouter →
Gemini APIModel providerVery long context and multimodal input, with a free tier to start.vs Groq →
Mistral AIModel providerA European provider whose API covers chat, coding, OCR and speech models.
DeepSeekModel providerLow per-token prices on strong reasoning and coding models, with OpenAI- and Anthropic-format endpoints.
LiteLLMGateway (many providers, one API)Running your own OpenAI-compatible proxy in front of your own provider keys, with retries, routing and per-key budgets.vs OpenRouter →