An AI API gateway sits between your code and the model providers: one endpoint, one key and one balance instead of a separate integration per provider. Here is exactly what TokenRoute does, so you can compare it against whatever else you are evaluating.
| API surface | OpenAI-compatible /v1/chat/completions, including SSE streaming |
|---|---|
| Integration change | Base URL and API key only. The OpenAI SDKs work unmodified |
| Switching models | Change the model string; one key and one balance for every provider |
| Billing | Pay-as-you-go per token. No subscription, seat fee or minimum spend |
| Spend control | Per-key spend limits, instant revocation, per-request cost analytics |
| Top-up methods | Card (Visa / Mastercard), PayPal, and cryptocurrency |
| Playground | Built-in chat playground with live token and cost readouts |
| Catalog size | 446 models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, Mistral, DeepSeek, Qwen, xAI and others |
| Price level | Every model is billed at 70% of the provider's own per-token list price, 30% below calling that provider directly. See the table. |
TokenRoute answers: yes, no change beyond the model string, no subscription, yes, yes, and card / PayPal / crypto.