Kie.ai vs OpenRouter: AI media generation pricing compared
Updated 2026-11-10 · listed A to Z, not ranked
Kie.ai is an API marketplace for video, image, music and chat models. You buy credits and each model is billed per image, per second, per video or per million tokens.
OpenRouter is a single OpenAI-compatible API for hundreds of language models from many providers. Its pricing has two parts: the model’s own token price, and OpenRouter’s fee, which is charged when you buy credits rather than on each request.
Listed A to Z, from kie.ai and openrouter.ai. Every figure below is quoted from those pages.
- Main price table
- seedream 5.5, text to image, 1K, seedream 5.5, text to image, 2K, KIE Video Upscale, 1080P output, KIE Video Upscale, 4K output, google/gemini-omni-flash-1-2, video, 720p, google/gemini-omni-flash-1-2, video, 1080p, gpt-image-2-6-sunburst, image output
- Free option
- None in the published plan table
- Published prices
- Pay-as-you-go credits (1 credit ≈ $0.005) billed per image, second, video or 1M tokens; failed tasks not charged.
- Main price table
- Standard (pay as you go), Business (pay as you go), Enterprise
- Free option
- Standard (pay as you go): 5.5% on credit purchases
- Published prices
- Model tokens at provider list price, a 5.5% (Standard) or 8% (Business) fee on credit purchases, BYOK and USDC.
How we checked: Prices quoted from each official pricing page: Kie.ai checked Nov 10, 2026, OpenRouter checked Nov 10, 2026. Taxes, usage overages and promotions can change what you pay; confirm with each provider before you buy.
How they compare
- Main price table. Kie.ai lists 7 entries (seedream 5.5, text to image, 1K, seedream 5.5, text to image, 2K, KIE Video Upscale, 1080P output, KIE Video Upscale, 4K output, google/gemini-omni-flash-1-2, video, 720p, google/gemini-omni-flash-1-2, video, 1080p, gpt-image-2-6-sunburst, image output); OpenRouter lists 3 (Standard (pay as you go), Business (pay as you go), Enterprise).
- Free option. Kie.ai: none in the published plan table. OpenRouter: Standard (pay as you go): 5.5% on credit purchases.
- How prices are quoted. Kie.ai: “Example model prices (USD)”. OpenRouter: “Plans and fees”.
Kie.ai plans and prices
| Model | Unit | Credits | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| seedream 5.5, text to image, 1K | per image | 3.6 | $0.018 |
| seedream 5.5, text to image, 2K | per image | 6.3 | $0.0315 |
| KIE Video Upscale, 1080P output | per second | 1.5 | $0.0075 |
| KIE Video Upscale, 4K output | per second | 6 | $0.03 |
| google/gemini-omni-flash-1-2, video, 720p | per second | 9 | $0.045 |
| google/gemini-omni-flash-1-2, video, 1080p | per second | 10 | $0.05 |
| gpt-image-2-6-sunburst, image output | per million tokens | 5400 | $27 |
Pay as you go with credits (1 credit ≈ $0.005). Failed tasks are never charged. The page lists 654 model prices.
From kie.ai, checked Nov 10, 2026. Full breakdown: Kie.ai pricing.
OpenRouter plans and prices
| Plan | Fee | How you pay | Notable limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard (pay as you go) | 5.5% on credit purchases | Credit and debit cards, AliPay, crypto (USDC) | Rate limits pass through from the providers; 5 workspaces |
| Business (pay as you go) | 8% on credit purchases | Credit and debit cards, AliPay, crypto (USDC) | Adds EU and US in-region routing, advanced notifications, 1,000 workspaces |
| Enterprise | Set by contract; fee discounts available | Invoicing and purchase orders | SSO/SAML, contractual SLAs, dedicated support |
| Plan | Included BYOK usage | Above the allowance |
|---|---|---|
| Standard and Business | $25,000 of list-price inference per month with no OpenRouter fee | 5% of what the same request would cost at list price on OpenRouter, deducted from credits |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom |
With BYOK, the model provider bills you for inference directly.
From openrouter.ai, checked Nov 10, 2026. Full breakdown: OpenRouter pricing.
FAQ
How much does Kie.ai cost?
Pay-as-you-go credits (1 credit ≈ $0.005) billed per image, second, video or 1M tokens; failed tasks not charged. (checked Nov 10, 2026).
How much does OpenRouter cost?
Model tokens at provider list price, a 5.5% (Standard) or 8% (Business) fee on credit purchases, BYOK and USDC. (checked Nov 10, 2026).
Do Kie.ai and OpenRouter have a free option?
Kie.ai: none in the published plan table. OpenRouter: Standard (pay as you go): 5.5% on credit purchases.
Which is better, Kie.ai or OpenRouter?
We do not pick a winner. The two price and package their products differently; the tables above quote each official pricing page so you can match a plan to your own usage.
Where do these prices come from?
Each vendor's own pricing page: kie.ai (checked Nov 10, 2026) and openrouter.ai (checked Nov 10, 2026). Prices change; confirm on the vendor's page before you buy.
Sources (official pages, read 2026-11-10)
Spot something out of date? Email hello@youraitools.co and we’ll fix it.