TokelySecurity & reliability
DeepSeek Banned From U.S. Federal Agencies: Who It Affects and What to Use Instead
What the DHS order on DeepSeek covers, who it affects, and which models cost less than DeepSeek V4.1 Flash at official list prices.
4 min read
The Tokely
field guide.
Better decisions about AI.
From the first API call to
the bill at the end of the month.
START HERE · COSTS & PRICINGBuild more.
Build more.
Spend less on AI.
Smaller models, smarter routing, useful caching. A practical guide to lowering your API bill without lowering the bar.
Read the cost guide 3 min read · October 15, 202601
Guides
02How to Use the OpenAI SDK With a Compatible API
Comparisons
OpenRouter vs Tokely: API Pricing and Features Compared
THE LIBRARYA little knowledge.
A little knowledge.
A better way to build.
33 articles to help you build smarter
Engineering
Claude API 2026-10-21: What Breaks and How to Upgrade
Anthropic's API version 2026-10-21 removes temperature, top_p and top_k, changes SDK auth to Bearer and renames Admin API fields. What breaks and how to upgrade.
5 min read
Costs & pricing
Are AI APIs Getting Cheaper? Official Prices of 66 Models, 2024-2026
Study of 66 AI models at current official prices: the newest flagship lists output at 6.25x a 2025 flagship, the $10 tier holds, and cached input is 10 to 50x cheaper.
7 min read
Guides
What Is Tokely? One API for GPT, Claude, Gemini and 130+ Models
Tokely (tokely.me) is a hosted LLM gateway: one OpenAI-compatible API key and one prepaid balance for 137 AI models from 14 developers, at rates up to 85% below official prices.
5 min read
Guides
What Are Embedding Models? API Pricing and Practical Uses
An embedding model converts text into a numerical vector that represents useful relationships between inputs.
3 min read
Comparisons
Best AI Models for Coding: How to Compare Price and Performance
The best coding model is the one that completes your repository tasks at an acceptable total cost and review burden.
3 min read
Costs & pricing
AI API Cost Calculator: How to Estimate Monthly Spend
Estimate monthly AI API spending by multiplying user actions by model calls per action, then pricing the input and output of each call.
3 min read
Comparisons
Gemini API vs Claude API: Comparing Price, Speed and Quality
Compare Gemini and Claude at the model and task level, not as two undifferentiated brands.
3 min read
Guides
How to Use the OpenAI SDK With a Compatible API
To use the OpenAI SDK with Tokely, configure three values: the Tokely base URL, a Tokely API key and a model ID supported by the endpoint you call.
2 min read
Costs & pricing
Claude API Pricing Explained: Input, Output and Caching
Claude API cost depends on the selected model and separate charges for input, output and caching.
3 min read
Comparisons
OpenRouter vs Tokely: API Pricing and Features Compared
OpenRouter and Tokely both offer access to multiple AI models, but the useful comparison is your required feature set and total workload cost.
3 min read
Costs & pricing
Cheapest AI APIs in 2026: Compare Prices per Million Tokens
The cheapest AI API depends on the model and your input-to-output ratio.
2 min read
Security & reliability
Security and Data Privacy With Third-Party AI APIs
A third-party AI API adds parties to the path between your application and a model.
3 min read
Security & reliability
Is a Cheap AI API Reliable Enough for Production?
A cheap AI API can be suitable for production, but price alone does not establish reliability.
3 min read
Costs & pricing
AI API Discounts and Startup Credits: How to Compare the Real Savings
Startup credits reduce cash spending for a limited period; discounted API rates reduce the price of eligible usage.
3 min read
Costs & pricing
AI API Pricing Explained: Input, Output, Caching and Hidden Costs
Most text AI APIs charge separately for input and output tokens.
3 min read
Guides
Free AI Models via API: What the Limits Actually Mean
Free AI API access usually means a limited model selection, a usage allowance or promotional credits.
3 min read
Costs & pricing
DeepSeek V4, GLM 5.3 and Kimi K3: Finding the Cheapest API Route
The cheapest route to DeepSeek V4, GLM 5.3 or Kimi K3 depends on the exact model, cached-input share and service conditions.
2 min read
Guides
Claude Code With a Cheaper API Provider: Connecting to Tokely
Claude Code can use Tokely through its Anthropic-compatible Messages endpoint.
3 min read
Comparisons
OpenRouter Alternatives in 2026: AI Aggregators and Gateways Compared
The right OpenRouter alternative depends on what you want to replace: consolidated model access, provider routing, operational controls or the entire intermediary layer.
3 min read
Guides
What Is an AI API Aggregator?
An AI API aggregator gives developers access to models from multiple providers through a shared service.
3 min read
Security & reliability
Choosing an OpenAI-Compatible Provider for Production
Choose an OpenAI-compatible provider by checking the exact endpoints and features your application uses, then evaluating billing, reliability and data handling.
2 min read
Engineering
Per-Customer Usage Tracking and Billing for AI Features
Track AI usage at the customer and product-action level, then reconcile it with provider records.
3 min read
Engineering
Multi-Model Architecture for AI SaaS: A Practical Design
A multi-model SaaS architecture separates product workflows from model-specific API calls.
3 min read
Comparisons
Self-Hosted LiteLLM vs a Managed Gateway: Comparing Total Cost
Self-hosted LiteLLM makes sense when your team needs control over gateway configuration and can operate the service reliably.
3 min read
Security & reliability
BYOK vs Managed Keys for AI SaaS: Who Owns the API Bill?
BYOK, or bring your own key, means a customer supplies credentials for their provider account.
3 min read
Engineering
LLM Observability: What to Track Beyond Tokens and Cost
LLM observability should connect each user action to its model calls, token usage, cost, latency, errors and accepted outcome.
3 min read
Engineering
Managing Rate Limits Across Multiple LLM Providers
Manage LLM rate limits with queues, token-aware admission control, bounded retries and separate budgets for each provider or model.
2 min read
Engineering
Semantic Caching vs Prompt Caching: How They Work and When They Save Money
Prompt caching reuses the processing of repeated input while generating a new response.
3 min read
Costs & pricing
How to Reduce LLM API Costs Without Sacrificing Quality
Reduce LLM API costs by removing unnecessary calls, matching model capability to the task, reusing eligible prompt prefixes and controlling output length.
3 min read
Engineering
LLM Routing Strategies: Balancing Cost, Latency and Quality
LLM routing chooses which model or provider should handle a request.
3 min read
Engineering
How to Add Model Fallback to Production LLM Apps
LLM fallback sends a failed request to an approved alternative when the original route cannot complete it.
3 min read
Comparisons
LLM Gateway vs Direct API: When Do You Need One?
A direct API is usually enough when your application uses one provider and your team can manage its credentials, limits and billing.
3 min read
PUT IT INTO PRACTICEFind your model.
Find your model.
Make your next move.
Compare current prices, choose a model, and build with one API.