OpenRouter Deep Dive: 445 Models, Latest Releases, and Auto-Router

OpenRouter now hosts 445 models through a single API. Here’s what’s actually available, what’s new, and how to navigate the chaos.

The Current State

Metric	Value
Total Models	445
Max Context	2M tokens (some models)
Cheapest Input	Free (Ling 3.0 Flash VL)
Most Expensive	$50/1M output (GPT-6 Astra)
Auto-Router	Yes (picks optimal model)

Latest Major Releases (Verified Live)

GPT-6 Astra (OpenAI)

Spec	Value
Context	1,050,000 tokens
Input	$10/1M tokens
Output	$50/1M tokens
Modality	Text + Image + File
Reasoning	Mandatory, 5 effort levels

Key Notes:

• 1M context window standard
• Web search costs $0.01 per request
• Prompt caching available (25% of input price)
• Knowledge cutoff: Not disclosed
• Status: Available now on OpenRouter

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (DeepSeek)

Spec	Value
Context	1,048,576 tokens
Input	$0.15-$0.30/1M tokens (time-based)
Output	$0.60-$1.20/1M tokens
Modality	Text + Image
Architecture	Causal Encoder-Decoder (CED)

Key Notes:

• First DeepSeek model with CED architecture
• Activates 8B params on input, 16B on output
• Time-of-day pricing (cheaper off-peak)
• Free on weekends
• Knowledge cutoff: Not disclosed

DeepSeek V4 Pro (DeepSeek)

Spec	Value
Context	1,048,576 tokens
Input	$0.70/1M tokens
Output	$2.96/1M tokens
Reasoning	Optional, 3 effort levels

Key Notes:

• Latest Pro model (0813 release)
• Higher quality than Flash
• Still extremely cheap vs competitors

Sakana Fugu Ultra v2 (Sakana AI)

Spec	Value
Context	1,000,000 tokens
Input	$5/1M tokens
Output	$30/1M tokens
Reasoning	Mandatory, 3 effort levels

Key Notes:

• Multi-agent orchestration system
• Trained to route tasks between agents
• 1M context window
• Best for complex multi-step tasks

GPT-5.6 Series (OpenAI)

Three variants currently available:

Model	Input	Output	Context	Notes
GPT-5.6 Sol	$2/1M	$10/1M	1.05M	Moderated, reasoning optional
GPT-5.6 Terra	$2/1M	$12/1M	1.05M	Not moderated
GPT-5.6 Luna	$0.20/1M	$1.20/1M	1.05M	Budget option

Key Notes:

• All have 1M context
• Web search costs $0.01/request
• Knowledge cutoff: February 2026
• Reasoning: Optional, 6 effort levels

InclusionAI Ling 3.0 Flash VL

Spec	Value
Context	131,072 tokens
Input	$0.06/1M tokens
Output	$0.18/1M tokens
Modality	Text + Image + Video

Key Notes:

• 124B total / 5.5B active MoE
• Free version available
• Supports video input
• Extremely cheap

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OpenRouter Auto-Router

The Auto Router automatically selects the best model for your prompt based on what the OpenRouter community collectively spends.

How It Works

1. You send a prompt to openrouter/auto
2. OpenRouter analyzes the prompt content
3. Routes to the model that gets the most “bang for buck”
4. You get optimal quality at minimal cost

Example

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    base_url="https://openrouter.ai/api/v1",
    api_key="sk-or-..."
)

response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="openrouter/auto",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Write a Python function to sort a list"}]
)

# Response will come from whatever model Auto-Router picks
print(f"Model used: {response.model}")

When to Use Auto-Router

Use Auto-Router	Don’t Use Auto-Router
General tasks	Need specific model features
Cost optimization	Deterministic output required
Unknown task complexity	Compliance/audit requirements
Prototyping	Production with SLAs

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Cost Comparison: Top Models

Model	Input	Output	Per Task (1K+500)	Context
GPT-6 Astra	$10	$50	$0.035	1M
GPT-5.6 Sol	$2	$10	$0.009	1M
GPT-5.6 Luna	$0.20	$1.20	$0.001	1M
DeepSeek V4 Pro	$0.70	$2.96	$0.0049	1M
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash	$0.15	$0.60	$0.00045	1M
Sakana Fugu Ultra	$5	$30	$0.02	1M
Ling 3.0 Flash VL	$0.06	$0.18	$0.00015	128K
Claude 3 Haiku	$0.25	$1.25	$0.00125	200K
GPT-4o	$2.50	$10	$0.0075	128K

All prices per 1M tokens

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Models by Category

Best Value (Cheap + Capable)

1. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash — $0.15/$0.60, 1M context
2. Ling 3.0 Flash VL — $0.06/$0.18, free version
3. GPT-5.6 Luna — $0.20/$1.20, 1M context

Best Quality (Regardless of Cost)

1. GPT-6 Astra — Best reasoning, 1M context
2. Sakana Fugu Ultra — Multi-agent, complex tasks
3. GPT-5.6 Sol — Strong all-around

Best for Coding

1. DeepSeek V4 Pro — Excellent code generation
2. GPT-5.6 Sol — Strong architecture decisions
3. Claude 3 Haiku — Fast, accurate

Best for Long Documents

1. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash — 1M context, cheap
2. GPT-6 Astra — 1M context, best reasoning
3. Sakana Fugu Ultra — 1M context, multi-agent

Best for Multimodal

1. GPT-6 Astra — Text, image, file
2. Ling 3.0 Flash VL — Text, image, video
3. GPT-5.6 Sol — Text, image, file

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OpenRouter API: Quick Reference

Get All Models

curl https://openrouter.ai/api/v1/models

Get Specific Model Info

curl https://openrouter.ai/api/v1/models/openai/gpt-6-astra

Make a Request

curl https://openrouter.ai/api/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk-or-..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "openrouter/auto",
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}]
  }'

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Key Takeaways

1. 445 models available through one API
2. GPT-6 Astra is OpenAI’s latest (1M context, $10/$50)
3. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash offers the best value (1M context, $0.15/$0.60)
4. Auto-Router picks the optimal model automatically
5. Free models available for testing (Ling 3.0 Flash VL)
6. Time-based pricing from DeepSeek (cheaper off-peak)
7. 1M context becoming standard on premium models

The LLM landscape is moving fast. OpenRouter is the best way to access every model through one endpoint.