OpenRouter renames Pay-as-you-go plan to Standard, fee stays 5.5%
What happened
Between the Sep 14, 2026 and Sep 21, 2026 captures of OpenRouter's pricing page, Pulse recorded one change: The 'Pay-as-you-go' plan was renamed to 'Standard' across the page (nav tabs, table headers, meta description, FAQ copy). Billing model and Platform Fee (5.5%) are unchanged. Pulse files it as a packaging change (plan renamed) with a neutral direction.
It lands 7 days after OpenRouter's previous change, "OpenRouter adds Business tier: 8% fee, 1,000-workspace limit, signed DPA" (Sep 14, 2026). Before that Pulse recorded "OpenRouter expands catalog to 500+ models, 80+ providers across pricing tiers" (Aug 17, 2026) and "OpenRouter swaps free BYOK request quotas for dollar-based fee thresholds" (Jul 6, 2026). OpenRouter has been tracked since 2026-05-16.
In the same window Together AI, Anthropic, OpenAI, Google and Metabase also changed their AI & Machine Learning pricing pages. Those moves are listed further down, and the Pulse Agent can compare them side by side.
- Standard · PlanRenamedThe 'Pay-as-you-go' plan'Standard'
| Plan | Field | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | Plan | The 'Pay-as-you-go' plan | 'Standard' | Renamed |
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 Sep 14, 2026 and Sep 21, 2026; the change is marked near the top of the page, where "The 'Pay-as-you-go' plan" becomes "'Standard'".
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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- Oct 12, 2026packagingOpenRouter launches 50% off every ElevenLabs model through October 19
- Oct 5, 2026packagingOpenRouter moves Enterprise BYOK limit to custom, adds advanced spend alerts
- Sep 28, 2026improvedOpenRouter adds Workload Identity Federation to Business, Enterprise plans
- Sep 21, 2026packagingOpenRouter renames Pay-as-you-go plan to Standard, fee stays 5.5% · this change
- 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
Across AI & Machine Learning in the same window
All AI & Machine Learning changes- Together AISep 21Together AI: Qwen3.7-Max inference price increased 25% ($2.00→$2.50)
- AnthropicSep 21Anthropic boosts context window to 1M across all Claude plans
- OpenAISep 20OpenAI refreshes ChatGPT plan taglines across Free, Go, Plus, Pro
- GoogleSep 7Google Workspace: promo discount cut from 50% to 30%/20% off
- MetabaseAug 24Metabase quietly reveals Enterprise-only paid air-gapped deployment option
Questions about this change
Did OpenRouter raise prices in September 2026?
No list-price increase was recorded between Sep 14, 2026 and Sep 21, 2026. The change Pulse detected was a packaging change: plan renamed.
What changed on OpenRouter's pricing page between Sep 14, 2026 and Sep 21, 2026?
Standard plan: The 'Pay-as-you-go' plan → 'Standard', renamed. Pulse compared the captures it took on Sep 14, 2026 and Sep 21, 2026; the before/after table above lists each item as written on the page.
How often does OpenRouter change its pricing?
Pulse recorded 3 other pricing-page changes for OpenRouter in the 90 days before this one; the previous change was "OpenRouter adds Business tier: 8% fee, 1,000-workspace limit, signed DPA" on Sep 14, 2026; OpenRouter has been tracked since 2026-05-16.