ApiLink vs OpenRouter vs ZenMux: an honest gateway comparison
We’re going to compare ApiLink against the two gateways most often mentioned in the same breath — OpenRouter and ZenMux. This post is biased (we run one of them) but we’ve tried to keep the facts checkable. Anywhere we’re less competitive, we’ll say so.
Who each is for
| Gateway | Best fit | Where it’s strongest |
|---|---|---|
| OpenRouter | Global devs who want maximum model selection and don’t care about invoicing. | Sheer model count (200+), automatic fallback across providers, mature. |
| ZenMux | Global devs who want a leaner OpenRouter alternative. | Cleaner UI, slightly lower price tier on some models. |
| ApiLink | Teams that need compliant invoicing (especially China-based) or want stricter billing transparency. | RMB invoicing, streaming-safe billing, prompt-cache absorption, Codex CLI support. |
Pricing model
All three charge per-token at near-upstream rates, with small markups varying by model. We’re not going to print specific numbers because they change weekly — check each provider’s pricing page. The interesting differences are structural:
| Behavior | OpenRouter | ZenMux | ApiLink |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anthropic cache write premium | Passed through to user (1.25x) | Passed through | Absorbed by gateway (user pays 1.0x) |
| Billing on client disconnect | Refunds based on tokens received | Same | Bills full pre-deduction on disconnect (no exploit window) |
| Minimum top-up | $10 | $5 | $5 |
| Free trial credit | Yes ($1 with limits) | No | Yes ($1, no advertising, no limits) |
| RMB / 增值税专用发票 | No | No | Yes |
| Currency at checkout | USD only | USD only | USD + RMB |
API surface
| Endpoint | OpenRouter | ZenMux | ApiLink |
|---|---|---|---|
| /v1/chat/completions (streaming) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| /v1/embeddings | Yes | Limited models | Yes |
| /v1/responses (Codex CLI) | No (as of 2026-05) | No | Yes |
| /v1/images/generations | Yes | Limited | No |
| /v1/audio/speech | No | No | No |
| /v1/models listing | Yes | Yes | Yes |
If you need Codex CLI working, ApiLink is currently the cleanest path. If you need image generation, OpenRouter is. If you need TTS, none of us — go direct to the provider.
Reliability features
| Feature | OpenRouter | ZenMux | ApiLink |
|---|---|---|---|
| Automatic provider failover within a model family | Yes (mature) | Yes | Yes |
| Per-API-key rate limits | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Per-API-key monthly spend cap | Yes | Limited | Yes |
| Streaming rate-limit headers | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Status page | Yes | Yes | Yes (Sentry-backed) |
OpenRouter’s automatic failover is probably the most battle-tested in this category. They have years of telemetry across more providers. We catch up on most of it, but if you specifically need bulletproof multi-provider routing for one model family, OpenRouter has the edge.
Trust signals
| Question | OpenRouter | ZenMux | ApiLink |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public entity / legal name | Yes, US-incorporated | Public | Yes, New Zealand |
| Status page / incident history | Public | Public | Public |
| Public engineering blog | Yes, active | Yes, active | Yes, you’re on it |
| Discord / community | Large, active | Smaller | Email + GitHub for now |
| Time in market | ~2 years | ~1 year | ~3 months |
We’re honest about being the youngest of the three. If you need a battle-tested gateway running enterprise loads since 2023, OpenRouter is the safer pick today. If you can tolerate a younger product in exchange for invoicing, cache absorption, and Codex support, we’re the value.
When to pick each
Pick OpenRouter if
- You need the widest model selection and the most-tested failover.
- You serve a global user base and US-incorporated billing is fine.
- You want a mature community for support.
Pick ZenMux if
- OpenRouter feels overbuilt for what you need.
- You like a cleaner dashboard and don’t need niche features.
- You’re purely global, no compliance concerns.
Pick ApiLink if
- You need 增值税专用发票 or RMB billing.
- You run Codex CLI or another tool requiring the Responses API.
- You do agentic workloads heavy on prompt cache and want the write premium absorbed.
- You value strict billing transparency on streaming (the disconnect-exploit fix specifically).
The honest answer: use more than one
Nothing stops you from issuing keys on multiple gateways and routing per workload. That’s arguably the right answer for any team spending $1K+/month:
- OpenRouter for the “need it to always work” production path.
- ApiLink for the parts that need invoices.
- Direct upstream for the cases where every cent of margin matters.
Multi-gateway adds operational overhead but it’s the truth of how serious teams operate. Anyone telling you their gateway covers 100% of cases is selling.
Closing
If this comparison missed something you care about, email us — the address is in the footer — and we’ll add it next revision. We’d rather lose a sale to an honest table than win one with a slanted one.