OpenRouter vs OpenCode Zen vs DevPass vs Nano-GPT
Four aggregators, four business models: a purchase fee, a curated catalogue, a 3x flat-rate multiplier, and no deposit fee at all.
Updated August 28, 2026 · Independent comparison — OpenRouter, OpenCode Zen, DevPass, Nano-GPT are separate products.
OpenRouter
One key, hundreds of models, pay-per-token
OpenRouter is a credit-based router in front of hundreds of models from every major lab, open and closed. It does not mark up tokens — you pay the underlying provider's list rate — and takes its cut as a 5.5% fee on credit purchases (5% for USDC, which is never refundable). It adds routing you cannot get from a single lab: :floor for the cheapest provider, :nitro for the fastest, automatic fallback when a provider errors, and BYOK at a 5% surcharge. Free-tier models are capped at 50 requests/day, or 1,000/day once you have bought $10 of credits.
OpenCode Zen
OpenCode's pay-as-you-go model gateway
OpenCode Zen is OpenCode's pay-as-you-go gateway: a curated, benchmarked catalogue that spans both frontier models (Claude Fable 5, Opus 5, the GPT-5.6 family, Gemini 3.x, Grok) and open weights (GLM, Kimi, Qwen, DeepSeek, MiniMax). You prepay a balance, it draws down per token, and it auto-reloads $20 when the balance drops below $5 unless you turn that off. There is no monthly fee and no quota window — your only limit is your balance plus any workspace or per-member monthly spend cap you set. All models are US-hosted.
DevPass
LLM Gateway's 3x-value flat-rate pass
DevPass, from LLM Gateway, is a flat-rate pass with an unusually explicit exchange rate: every dollar you pay becomes three dollars of model usage metered at provider list rates. Lite is $29/month for $87 of usage, Pro $79 for $237, and Max $179 for $537, across a 200+ model catalogue that includes frontier models rather than only open weights. Premium models are governed by a weekly fair-use percentage of your credits (12/15/18% by tier), and 'Reset Passes' let you clear that allowance early. It also ships a genuinely self-serve 14-day refund if you have used under 20%.
Nano-GPT
600+ models, crypto-friendly, optional $12 pass
Nano-GPT is a pay-as-you-go multi-model API with an optional $12/month Pro pass layered on top. The pass grants 60M input-token units per week plus 100 images/day, resetting Mondays at 00:00 UTC; the pay-as-you-go side takes card top-ups from $1 and crypto from $0.10 with no deposit percentage. Its catalogue runs past 600 models including LongCat-2.0, and 'Use balance after limits' lets the subscription spill into pay-as-you-go instead of stopping. BYOK is supported at 5% of the normal model cost.
Bottom line
All four give you one key across many labs, and they monetise in four different ways. OpenRouter passes tokens through at provider list rates and charges 5.5% on card and Alipay top-ups (5% for USDC, never refundable), with the deepest routing features — cheapest-provider, fastest-provider and automatic fallback across 400+ models. OpenCode Zen curates roughly 40 models actually tested for coding, all US-hosted, and can act as the overflow balance for an OpenCode Go subscription. DevPass is the only flat-rate option here, turning every dollar into three dollars of usage at provider list rates, with a genuine 14-day self-serve refund. Nano-GPT charges no deposit fee at all, takes crypto from $0.10, and layers an optional $12/month weekly token bucket on top.
Pricing
| Feature | OpenRouter | OpenCode Zen | DevPass | Nano-GPT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price/mo | No monthly fee — credit top-ups | No monthly fee — prepaid balance | Lite $29 · Pro $79 · Max $179/mo | Pay-per-token, or $12/mo Pro |
| Intro promo | Small signup allowance; free models 50/day, 1,000/day after $10 of credits | Several models free for a limited time; GPT-5.6 Sol 50% off to 2026-09-18 | 14-day self-serve refund if under 20% of the allowance is used | None published |
| Billing shape | Credits at provider list rates + 5.5% purchase fee | Credits (per-token draw-down) | Subscription allowance metered at provider list rates (3x value) | Credits at list price, or a weekly token bucket |
Models & Context
| Feature | OpenRouter | OpenCode Zen | DevPass | Nano-GPT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Models included | Hundreds — every major lab, open and closed | Claude Fable 5/Opus 5/Sonnet 5/Haiku 4.5, GPT-5.6 family, Gemini 3.x, Grok 4.x, GLM, Kimi, Qwen, DeepSeek, MiniMax | 200+ including Claude Opus, GPT-5.x, Gemini 3.1 Pro, GLM, Qwen, Kimi | 600+ including LongCat-2.0, DeepSeek, Qwen, Kimi, GLM and frontier models |
| Catalogue size | 400+ models | 40+ models, frontier and open | 200+ models, frontier and open | 600+ models |
| Context window | Per model; up to the model's own max | Per model; up to the model's own max | Per model; up to the model's own max | Per model; up to the model's own max |
Limits & Overage
| Feature | OpenRouter | OpenCode Zen | DevPass | Nano-GPT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Limits (5h / weekly / monthly) | Your balance; free-tier models capped per day | Your balance, plus optional workspace/member monthly caps | $87 / $237 / $537 of usage; weekly premium fair-use 12% / 15% / 18% | Pro: 60M input-token units/week + 100 images/day, resetting Monday 00:00 UTC |
| What happens past the cap | Requests fail at zero unless auto top-up is on | Requests stop at zero; $20 auto-reload below $5 unless disabled | Optional pay-as-you-go overflow at provider rates, or stop | Pauses until the weekly reset unless 'Use balance after limits' is on |
| Parallel-agent friendly | Yes — no concurrency policy on paid credits | Unrestricted — balance is the only ceiling | Max tier is marketed for all-day multi-agent use | Personal subscription — not pooled across a team |
Access & Friction
| Feature | OpenRouter | OpenCode Zen | DevPass | Nano-GPT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Host agents & IDEs supported | Any OpenAI-compatible client — Cline, OpenCode, Cursor, Aider, Roo | OpenCode, plus any OpenAI/Anthropic-compatible agent | DevPass Code, Claude Code, OpenCode, any OpenAI/Anthropic-compatible agent | Web chat and API; documented for OpenCode, Cursor, Cline, Codex CLI, Claude Code |
| Gives you an API key | OpenRouter key; BYOK at 5% (free to $25k/mo at list price) | Zen API key; BYOK OpenAI/Anthropic supported | DevPass key across tools; BYOK free on the pay-as-you-go path | Nano-GPT key; BYOK at 5% of normal model cost |
| BYOK-able elsewhere | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Payment / region friction | Visa/Mastercard, Alipay, USDC; 5.5% card fee (min $0.80), 5% USDC, non-refundable | Card; processing fee passed through; all models US-hosted | Cards; explicit refund path; US-registered company | Card from $1 or crypto from $0.10, no deposit percentage |
Verdict at a glance
| Feature | OpenRouter | OpenCode Zen | DevPass | Nano-GPT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | One key across every lab, with routing and fallback | Frontier + open in one key with no quota window | Frontier models at 3x list value without picking a lab | List-price access with tiny top-ups and crypto payment |
The Verdict
Choose OpenRouter if...
- ✓You want the deepest routing: cheapest provider, fastest provider, automatic fallback
- ✓You want the largest catalogue at 400+ models
- ✓You want provider pinning and per-provider transparency
- ✓You want BYOK at list price up to $25k/month before the 5% surcharge
Choose OpenCode Zen if...
- ✓You want a catalogue actually curated and benchmarked for coding
- ✓You want US-hosted inference with per-model retention documented
- ✓You want it to double as overflow for an OpenCode Go subscription
- ✓You want free models to test against before spending
Choose DevPass if...
- ✓You want a flat monthly rate rather than a draining balance
- ✓You want the exchange rate in writing — $29 buys $87, $79 buys $237, $179 buys $537
- ✓You want frontier models without paying frontier list prices
- ✓You want a real refund path: 14 days, self-serve, under 20% used
Choose Nano-GPT if...
- ✓You do not want to pay any deposit fee
- ✓You want tiny top-ups — $1 by card, $0.10 by crypto
- ✓The optional $12/month bucket (60M input-token units weekly) fits you
- ✓You want crypto payment and a more private account
- ✓You want 'use balance after limits' so a subscription never hard-stops you
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between OpenRouter, OpenCode Zen, DevPass and Nano-GPT?
OpenRouter is a credit-based router in front of hundreds of models from every major lab, open and closed. OpenCode Zen is OpenCode's pay-as-you-go gateway: a curated, benchmarked catalogue that spans both frontier models (Claude Fable 5, Opus 5, the GPT-5.6 family, Gemini 3.x, Grok) and open weights (GLM, Kimi, Qwen, DeepSeek, MiniMax). DevPass, from LLM Gateway, is a flat-rate pass with an unusually explicit exchange rate: every dollar you pay becomes three dollars of model usage metered at provider list rates. Nano-GPT is a pay-as-you-go multi-model API with an optional $12/month Pro pass layered on top.
How much do OpenRouter, OpenCode Zen, DevPass and Nano-GPT cost?
OpenRouter: No monthly fee — credit top-ups. OpenCode Zen: No monthly fee — prepaid balance. DevPass: Lite $29 · Pro $79 · Max $179/mo. Nano-GPT: Pay-per-token, or $12/mo Pro. See the pricing table above for full plan details.
Which of OpenRouter, OpenCode Zen, DevPass and Nano-GPT should I pick?
Choose OpenRouter if you want the deepest routing: cheapest provider, fastest provider, automatic fallback. Choose OpenCode Zen if you want a catalogue actually curated and benchmarked for coding. Choose DevPass if you want a flat monthly rate rather than a draining balance. Choose Nano-GPT if you do not want to pay any deposit fee.
1DevToolStop renting one agent's model pool
Every pass on this page locks a model pool to a particular agent or gateway, and each one meters you differently. 1DevTool runs Cline, OpenCode, Claude Code, Codex CLI and Gemini CLI side by side in persistent terminals — point each at whichever pass is cheapest this month, keep your own keys, and get an HTTP client, a 13-engine database client and an embedded browser in the same window. One-time $29, no subscription.