OpenRouter Chat vs Poe (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Poe grades higher than OpenRouter Chat: 3.4 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Poe grades higher on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
OpenRouter Chat
Compare answers from hundreds of AI models in one chat
Poe
One app for chatting with AI models from many different labs
Which one is for you
Pick OpenRouter Chat if
- Fits if you want to see how several models answer the same prompt
- Works for developers who want one API in front of many providers
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want an assistant with memory and file tools, as the chat page has neither
- Tight if you stay free, with 50 requests a day on free models only
- Watch out: a 5.5% fee on credit purchases on Standard, and 8% on Business
- Watch out: a negative credit balance blocks the free models until you add credits
Pick Poe if
- Fits if you want to compare models from many labs without paying each one
- Works for developers who want one API key for models from many labs
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you dislike meters, as everything is counted in compute points and extra points are sold on top
- Skip it if you want to know the free limits first, because Poe doesn't publish them
- Tight if you chat in bursts, as the entry plan's 10 thousand points come by the day, not as a monthly pool
- Pricey if you need a monthly pool: 660 thousand points are $19.99 a month, and the top plan is $249.99, before regional taxes
- Too light for voice or agents, as the listing shows no voice mode and no tool use
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAOpenRouter ChatFair | 3.4GPAPoeVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CThere is no subscription: you buy credits at each provider's list price plus a 5.5% fee on Standard. That does not map onto the $12 monthly category middle, so it sits mid-pack. | AThe entry plan is $4.99 a month, or $49.99 for the year, on the US App Store — about a third of this category's middle price, and it opens models from many labs. The catch is that a real monthly pool, 660 thousand points, is $19.99. |
| Free plan and trial | C25+ free models for chat and API, limited to 50 requests a day and 20 a minute. A negative credit balance blocks them until you add credits. | CA free account can chat on a smaller points allowance, but Poe's plans page never says how many points that is. An allowance you can't see the size of is one you'll walk into. |
| Features | CSide-by-side comparison, routing and fallback, spend controls and one API across 600+ models. The chat page has no memory or file tools, so it is a playground, not a full assistant. | BModels from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and other labs on one sign-in, several bots answering in one thread, image and video from FLUX, Ideogram, Veo and Runway, web search, and your own bots with knowledge bases. No voice mode on the listing and no agent or tool use, and every bit of it is metered in points. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You pick models, buy credits and manage keys, which is a small learning curve for a chat window. | A4.7 from about 53,800 App Store ratings. Pick a bot and type. The only thing to get your head round is points, since every chat draws on the same pool. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, with an API that works through the OpenAI SDK. No desktop or phone app is listed. | AWeb, Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, plus an OpenAI-compatible API that reaches hundreds of models on one key and plugs into coding tools like Cursor, Cline and Continue. That's the full set. |
| Best for | comparing many AI models side by side | comparing many AI models on one account |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: OpenRouter Chat and Poe. How we grade
Where they differ
- Poe also covers AI search.
At a glance
| OpenRouter Chat | Poe | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $0, plus a 5.5% fee when you buy credits on Standard | $4.17 per month, billed yearly ($49.99 a year); $4.99 billed monthly |
| Free plan | Chat and API access to 25+ free models from 4 providers, limited to 50 requests a day. | Free accounts can chat with a smaller allowance of compute points than subscribers. Poe's plans page does not state the size of the free allowance. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | OpenRouter, Inc. | Quora, Inc. |
| Price read from | openrouter.ai | poe.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 10, 2026 |
Worth knowing
OpenRouter Chat
- Inference is billed at each provider's list price; OpenRouter's 5.5% (Standard) or 8% (Business) fee applies when credits are bought.
- Free models are capped at 20 requests a minute and 50 a day, rising to 1,000 a day after $10 of credits are bought.
- A negative credit balance blocks free models until you add credits.
- The chat page is not a full assistant with memory or file tools; it is a comparison playground.
Poe
- Usage is metered in compute points, from 10 thousand a day on the lowest plan to 8.25 million a month on the highest; add-on points are sold separately.
- The plans page shows US dollars and says the final price may vary with regional taxes and currency conversion; read from India it prices the same plans in rupees.
- The plans page does not say how many points a free account receives.
Key features
OpenRouter Chat
- Side-by-side comparison
- Pick several models, send one message to each and read the answers next to each other in the chat playground.
- 600+ models
- The paid plans reach 600+ models from OpenAI, Google, Anthropic and other providers; the Free plan covers 25+ free models.
- One API
- The API is OpenAI-compatible, so changing the base URL and model names is the migration step OpenRouter describes.
- Routing and fallback
- Routing can try alternative models when one errors, and errored attempts are not charged for model tokens.
- Spend controls
- Standard and above add budgets and spend controls, plus prompt caching and a management API key.
Poe
- Many models, one account
- Reaches models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and other labs, plus image and video generators, with one sign-in and one points balance.
- Multi-bot chat
- Compare answers from several models and combine bots for a task inside a single chat thread. Chats can be private or shared as a group chat.
- Image and video generation
- Creates images and video with generators such as FLUX, Ideogram, Veo and Runway from inside the same app.
- Custom bots
- Build and share your own bots, with custom knowledge bases if needed. Poe's App Store listing cites more than 1 million custom bots.
- Web search
- A search mode returns answers drawn from the web, and bots can search for current news.
- Poe API
- An OpenAI-compatible endpoint reaches hundreds of models and bots with one key. Subscribers spend their existing points on it at no additional cost.
Plans
OpenRouter Chat
Free$0
25+ free models, chat and API access, activity logs, 5 workspaces and 50 requests a day with community support.
Standard$0
pay as you go, with a 5.5% fee on credit purchases
600+ models across 80+ providers, auto-routing, budgets and spend controls. You buy credits; each request draws them down.
Business$0
pay as you go, with an 8% fee on credit purchases
Everything in Standard plus advanced notifications, EU and US in-region routing and workload identity federation.
EnterpriseCustom
Priced by contract with fee discounts, SSO/SAML, contractual SLAs and a dedicated support team.
Poe
Free$0
A smaller points allowance than subscribers get, across free and subscription bots.
10 thousand points/day$4.99
per month, or $49.99 per year ($4.17 a month)
The entry plan, listed as Basic on the App Store: more messages, more models and each bot's maximum input size and chat history.
660 thousand points/month$19.99
per month, or $199.99 per year ($16.67 a month)
A monthly pool of 660 thousand points to spend across any model or bot.
1.65 million points/month$49.99
per month, or $499.99 per year ($41.67 a month)
A monthly pool of 1.65 million points to spend across any model or bot.
3.3 million points/month$99.99
per month, or $999.99 per year ($83.33 a month)
A monthly pool of 3.3 million points to spend across any model or bot.
8.25 million points/month$249.99
per month, or $2,499.99 per year ($208.33 a month)
The largest pool: 8.25 million points a month across any model or bot.
Ways to pay less
OpenRouter Chat
No public discounts listed.
Poe
- Annual discount
Save 17% with yearly billing
Poe's plans page marks yearly billing as saving 17% against monthly billing: the lowest plan is $49.99 a year, which the page gives as $4.17 a month, against $4.99 billed monthly.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, OpenRouter Chat or Poe?
As of Nov 12, 2026, OpenRouter Chat starts at $0, plus a 5.5% fee when you buy credits on Standard, and Poe starts at $4.17 per month, billed yearly ($49.99 a year); $4.99 billed monthly.
Which has a free plan, OpenRouter Chat or Poe?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both OpenRouter Chat and Poe have a free plan.
Which platforms do OpenRouter Chat and Poe run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Poe lists macOS, Windows, iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.