OpenRouter swaps free BYOK request quotas for dollar-based fee thresholds
What happened
Between the Jun 29, 2026 and Jul 6, 2026 captures of OpenRouter's pricing page, Pulse recorded one change: BYOK Limits changed from free-request quotas (1M/5M reqs/month) to dollar-based inference thresholds ($25,000 PAYG, $200,000 Enterprise) before a 5% fee; Enterprise no longer shows opaque custom pricing. Pulse files it as a packaging change (metric change) with a neutral direction.
It lands 14 days after OpenRouter's previous change, "OpenRouter expands provider network to 70+ on all paid plans" (Jun 22, 2026). Before that Pulse recorded "OpenRouter rebrands enterprise discounts as fee-only savings" (Jun 17, 2026). OpenRouter has been tracked since 2026-05-16.
In the same window Google, Anthropic, Together AI, Metabase and Mistral AI also changed their AI & Machine Learning pricing pages. Those moves are listed further down, and the Pulse Agent can compare them side by side.
- Enterprise · Pricing modelRemovedopaque custom pricingNo opaque custom pricing
| Plan | Field | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enterprise | Pricing model | opaque custom pricing | No opaque custom pricing | Removed |
Values as written on OpenRouter's public pricing page in the two captures Pulse compared; where the page states no number, the cells give the wording before and after.
Evidence
The two captures Pulse comparedFull-page captures of OpenRouter's pricing page (openrouter.ai) from Jun 29, 2026 and Jul 6, 2026; the change is marked around the middle of the page, where the opaque custom pricing no longer appears.
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The two full-page captures with this change marked up are free with an account.
OpenRouter, the last 90 days
Full history- Sep 21, 2026packagingOpenRouter renames Pay-as-you-go plan to Standard, fee stays 5.5%
- Sep 14, 2026packagingOpenRouter adds Business tier: 8% fee, 1,000-workspace limit, signed DPA
- Aug 17, 2026improvedOpenRouter expands catalog to 500+ models, 80+ providers across pricing tiers
- Jul 6, 2026packagingOpenRouter swaps free BYOK request quotas for dollar-based fee thresholds · this change
- Jun 22, 2026improvedOpenRouter expands provider network to 70+ on all paid plans
- Jun 17, 2026packagingOpenRouter rebrands enterprise discounts as fee-only savings
Across AI & Machine Learning in the same window
All AI & Machine Learning changes- GoogleJul 6Google Vertexai delays Agent Gateway billing to July 13, extends free window
- AnthropicJul 6Anthropic launches Sonnet 5, cuts price to $2/$10 per MTok through Aug 31
- Together AIJul 4Together AI: new flagship models added, Llama 4 Maverick + Kimi K2.5 removed
- MetabaseJul 3Metabase: AI and Transforms add-ons move from flat fees to usage-based pricing
- Mistral AIJun 2Mistral AI adds Task scheduling, Skills, and Workflows in major overhaul
Questions about this change
Did OpenRouter raise prices in July 2026?
No list-price increase was recorded between Jun 29, 2026 and Jul 6, 2026. The change Pulse detected was a packaging change: metric change.
What changed on OpenRouter's pricing page between Jun 29, 2026 and Jul 6, 2026?
Enterprise pricing model: opaque custom pricing → No opaque custom pricing, removed. Pulse compared the captures it took on Jun 29, 2026 and Jul 6, 2026; the before/after table above lists each item as written on the page.
How often does OpenRouter change its pricing?
Pulse recorded 2 other pricing-page changes for OpenRouter in the 90 days before this one; the previous change was "OpenRouter expands provider network to 70+ on all paid plans" on Jun 22, 2026; OpenRouter has been tracked since 2026-05-16.