Groq vs OpenRouter
A side-by-side comparison of capabilities, autonomy, integrations, and pricing to help you choose.
Short answer: choose Groq if you want fast, low-cost llm inference on custom lpu silicon via groqcloud (Assistant, usage); choose OpenRouter if you want one openai-compatible api for 400+ llms across 70+ providers, with routing and fallbacks (Assistant, usage).
| Groq | OpenRouter | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Fast, low-cost LLM inference on custom LPU silicon via GroqCloud | One OpenAI-compatible API for 400+ LLMs across 70+ providers, with routing and fallbacks |
| Type | platform | platform |
| Autonomy | Assistant | Assistant |
| Pricing | usage · $0.05 / 1M input tokens (Llama 3.1 8B) | usage · Free tier; pay-as-you-go with ~5.5% fee on credit purchases |
| Best for | developers, enterprise | developers, smb, mid-market, enterprise |
| Deployment | api, saas, on-prem | api, saas |
| Modalities | text, voice, code, image, api | api, text, code, image |
| Models | llama, open-source, model-agnostic | model-agnostic, gpt, claude, gemini, llama, open-source |
| Protocols | mcp, function-calling, rest-api | rest-api, mcp, function-calling |
| Integrations | OpenAI SDK, LangChain, Vercel AI SDK, Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive | OpenAI SDK, LangChain, Vercel AI SDK, OpenWebUI, Cline, Aider |
| Capabilities | 6 documented | 5 documented |
Groq
- +Marketed for very fast inference at low, linear per-token pricing
- +OpenAI-compatible API makes migration nearly drop-in
- +Free tier plus on-demand, batch, and on-prem (GroqRack/LPX) options
- -Serves open models only; no proprietary frontier models of its own
- -It is an inference layer, not an end-to-end agent: orchestration is on you
OpenRouter
- +One OpenAI-compatible API and key for 400+ models across 70+ providers, with trivial model switching
- +Provider routing and automatic fallback pool uptime across providers for higher availability
- +States it does not mark up inference (provider pass-through pricing); free models and BYOK available
- -Adds a fee on credit purchases (around 5.5% pay-as-you-go) on top of provider rates
- -It is a routing layer, not an agent: it provides model access, not autonomous task execution
Which should you choose?
Groq is fast, low-cost llm inference on custom lpu silicon via groqcloud, best for developers, enterprise. OpenRouter is one openai-compatible api for 400+ llms across 70+ providers, with routing and fallbacks, best for developers, smb, mid-market, enterprise. The right choice depends on the autonomy level you want, your existing integrations, and your budget, all compared above.