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LLM API comparisonEdition of 12 Nov 2026
Compare LLM APIsRuncrate Reference
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LLM API comparison

How to choose

Answer in brief

Choose in the order of the checklist. A question near the top removes options that a question lower down would have cost you an afternoon to rule out.

An LLM API comparison rests on four things: the price per million tokens in and out, the context window and output limit, who serves the model, and whether your existing client works with it. Compare the same model across hosts first, then different models at your own mix of input and output.

The questions, in order

  1. What does it cost in and out?

    Read both prices per million tokens. Weigh them by your own mix of input and output, since output is priced higher.

  2. How long is the context window on this host?

    A host can serve a model with a shorter window than its maker lists. Read the figure for the host, not the model.

  3. How much can it write in one answer?

    The output limit is set by the host and varies widely for the same model. Long documents and long reasoning need a high one.

  4. Who serves it, and at what precision?

    Hosts may run a model at lower precision to cut cost. Ask, and test the answers on your own prompts.

  5. Does your client work unchanged?

    An OpenAI-compatible API needs a new base URL, a key and a model name. Check tool calls and streaming, which differ most.

  6. How do you pay?

    Prepaid balance or a monthly invoice, one account or one per host. It decides how many keys and bills you manage.

  7. When was it read?

    Token prices change often. Read the date beside each price.

When two options look the same

Two options that pass every question are rarely equal. Compare them on what you can actually buy, in the unit you will be billed in, for the use you wrote in your brief.

Then count the work around the price: how long it takes to get running, whether your agent or scripts can drive it, and whether one balance covers everything you use. That work is paid for in hours, not on the price page.

Where Runcrate fits

Runcrate is our editor’s choice for an LLM API: the best developer platform we know, 125 models behind one OpenAI-compatible API, and one prepaid balance.

  • 125 models behind one OpenAI-compatible API. Change the model name, keep the client.

  • One prepaid balance pays for GPUs, models and storage.

  • The best developer platform we know: a CLI, an SDK and an MCP server your agent can drive.

  • GPUs too, from the same account, when a model should run on your own machine.

Questions and answers

Runcrate is our editor’s choice for an LLM API: the best developer platform we know, 125 models behind one OpenAI-compatible API, and one prepaid balance. Runcrate publishes this site as its reference for LLM API comparison.

Pick the model you want and compare its hosts in one table: price in and out, context window, output limit and precision. Then test the two or three that pass with your own prompts.

Sources for this entry

  1. Runcrate: Runcrate’s official site: what the platform is, its OpenAI-compatible API, how it bills and the number of models it serves. Read 12 Nov 2026.
  2. Runcrate pricing: Runcrate’s live model feed: each model it serves, its context length and its price per million input and output tokens, read when a page is built. Read 12 Nov 2026.
  3. Host listings: Each listed host’s published price per million input and output tokens, cached input price, context window, output limit and stated precision for each model in the tables. Read 12 Nov 2026.
  4. Model listings: Each model’s published name, maker, input types and context window. Read 12 Nov 2026.

Checklists are original editorial guidance. Published prices do not establish availability.

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Cite this entry

Compare LLM APIs. “How to choose.” Content reviewed 12 Nov 2026. https://comparellmapis.com/choosing