Why TokenRail
Buy a package and use it. There is no monthly subscription and no yearly commitment. Credit on the key does not expire.
Each API call is a meter charge. It spends the balance on your key at the price printed for that model. You can read the charge. TokenRail does not run an agent loop that turns one task into several model calls behind an MCP server.
How the other gateways charge
Example checked 2 Nov 2026. Claude Sonnet 5.5 usage that costs $10 on TokenRail, at $1.44 per million input tokens and $7.2 per million output tokens. The same tokens cost $13.89 at the provider list price of $2 in and $10 out. A provider can change a list price.
| Gateway | You pay for this example | Hidden cost | Monthly bill |
|---|---|---|---|
| TokenRail | $10$1.44 per million tokens in and $7.2 out. Nothing is added on top. | $0One API call is one charge. There is no second model call behind it. | $0No monthly fee and no yearly plan. The credit stays until you use it. |
| OpenRouter | $14.70$4.70 more than TokenRail. The list price is $13.89. A Standard card top-up keeps 94.5% as credit. Business keeps 92%, so this call is $15.10. | $0.81Taken when you buy the credits, so the token page still shows $2 and $10. A small card purchase pays at least $0.80. Business takes 8%. | $0Standard and Business have no monthly fee. The extra cost is the percentage on the credits. |
| Leanroute | $14.62$4.62 more than TokenRail on credits. A $50 top-up becomes $47.50 of credit. | $43.86A tool loop is not one call. Three model calls at the list price are $41.67, and $43.86 after the 5% taken at deposit. | $15 or $25Those plans renew every month, and you still pay the provider $13.89 for this call. Pro then adds $3 for each extra million requests. |
| Bifrost and RouteLLM | $13.89$3.89 more than TokenRail, paid to the provider. The open-source software is $0. | Your serverThe server is not in the $13.89. Bifrost can expose an MCP gateway, so one task can become several provider bills. Enterprise has no public price. | $0The software has no monthly fee. Enterprise is a quote. |
| Vercel AI Gateway | $13.89$3.89 more than TokenRail. There is no markup on the tokens. | Card processingThe $13.89 does not include the card fee on the credit purchase. A team-wide provider allowlist adds $0.10 per 1,000 requests. If your own key fails, the retry can spend your credits. | $0No platform fee. A small monthly credit is included until you buy credits. |
| Portkey | $13.89$3.89 more than TokenRail, paid to the provider. The gateway fee is separate. | $49 a monthThe $49 pays for 100,000 logs, not for this call. Each further 100,000 logs cost $9, up to 3 million. A month with only this call is $62.89. | $49It renews every month. The open-source proxy is $0, and then you pay for the server and the provider. |
| LiteLLM | $13.89$3.89 more than TokenRail, paid to the provider. The open-source proxy is $0. | Your serverYou install it and you pay for the machine. That machine is not in the $13.89. Enterprise is a quote. | $0The software has no monthly fee. Enterprise is a quote. |
| Cloud-native routers | $13.89$3.89 more than TokenRail, paid to the provider. Kong's platform fee is separate. | $125 a monthKong's small published plan is $25 a month for one serverless control plane and $100 a month for one model, before any tokens. The next million requests, after the included million, are $200. A month with one model and only this call starts at $138.89. | $125The control plane and the model fee renew every month. |
| Cloudflare AI Gateway | $14.58$4.58 more than TokenRail if you buy the credits there. $100 of credit costs $105. | $0.69Added when you buy the credits, so the token price still shows $13.89. With your own provider key this call stays $13.89 and the 5% does not apply. | $0The core gateway has no monthly fee. |
On this example TokenRail is $10. OpenRouter Standard is $14.70. Leanroute credits are $14.62. Cloudflare Unified Billing is $14.58. The others still charge the $13.89 list price, and then a monthly bill or a server on top.
Who runs TokenRail
The founders were born in Singapore. tokenrail.ai is owned by October IT Services Pte Ltd, incorporated in Singapore in 2024.
The practice has more than 25 years in IT software, infrastructure, and security, including enterprise architecture and ERP systems.
It has more than 13 years in AI: building models, context architecture, machine learning, deep learning, and computer vision, and making applications that run in the real world. The price on the package is the price of the call.
Your price compared with buying direct
TokenRail price is the customer rate per 1 million tokens on that package. Direct is the provider’s published standard API price for a normal-length prompt, checked 31 Oct 2026. A longer prompt can cost more at the provider. Output is the generated reply.
| Model | Direct from | Direct in | Direct out | TokenRail in | TokenRail out | Compared with direct |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Opus 5.5Anthropic | Anthropic | $4.00in | $20.00out | $2.88in | $14.40out | 28% less In 28% less Out |
| Claude Opus 5Anthropic | Anthropic | $5.00in | $25.00out | $3.60in | $18.00out | 28% less In 28% less Out |
| Claude Fable 5.1Anthropic | Anthropic | $10.00in | $50.00out | $7.20in | $36.00out | 28% less In 28% less Out |
| Claude Sonnet 4.6Anthropic | Anthropic | $3.00in | $15.00out | $2.16in | $10.80out | 28% less In 28% less Out |
| Claude Sonnet 5.5Anthropic | Anthropic | $2.00in | $10.00out | $1.44in | $7.20out | 28% less In 28% less Out |
| Claude Haiku 5.5Prompts up to 100,000 tokens | Anthropic | $0.10in | $0.50out | $0.096in | $0.48out | 4% less In 4% less Out |
| GPT-6 SolOpenAI | OpenAI | $2.00in | $10.00out | $0.72in | $3.60out | 64% less In 64% less Out |
| GPT-6 LunaOpenAI | OpenAI | $0.10in | $0.50out | $0.036in | $0.18out | 64% less In 64% less Out |
| GPT-5.4OpenAI | OpenAI | $2.50in | $15.00out | $1.80in | $10.80out | 28% less In 28% less Out |
| GPT-5.4 miniOpenAI | OpenAI | $0.75in | $4.50out | $0.54in | $3.24out | 28% less In 28% less Out |
| GPT-4.1OpenAI | OpenAI | $2.00in | $8.00out | $1.44in | $5.76out | 28% less In 28% less Out |
| Grok 4.5Prompts under 200,000 tokens | xAI | $2.00in | $6.00out | $1.92in | $5.76out | 4% less In 4% less Out |
| Gemini 3.6 FlashIntroductory price through 31 Dec 2026 | $0.75in | $3.75out | $1.08in | $5.40out | 44% more In 44% more Out |
Bonus credit when you spend more
You pay the amount you choose. The key is loaded with that amount plus the bonus. Credit does not expire. Used credit is non-refundable.
| You pay | Bonus | Credit on the key |
|---|---|---|
| $10.00 | None | $10.00 |
| $20.00 | None | $20.00 |
| $50.00 | 2% | $51.00 |
| $100.00 | 4% | $104.00 |
| $200.00 | 6% | $212.00 |
| $300.00 | 7% | $321.00 |
| $500.00 | 8% | $540.00 |
| $1000.00 | 10% | $1100.00 |
More models on one key
A package can hold Claude, GPT, Grok, Gemini, and other models together. One key, one balance, and each request names the model it should use. You do not buy a separate account for each provider.
| Package | On the key | Models |
|---|---|---|
| Student Starter | 6 Models | GPT-6 Luna, GPT-5.4 mini, Claude Haiku 5.5, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, Kimi K2.6, MiniMax M2.7 |
| Everyday Lite | 6 Models | GPT-6 Sol, Claude Sonnet 5.5, GPT-5.4 mini, Claude Haiku 5.5, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, Kimi K3 |
| China AI Access | 7 Models | DeepSeek V4 Pro, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, Kimi K3, Kimi K2.6, GLM-5.3, MiniMax M3, MiniMax M2.7 |
| Creator Studio | 7 Models | GPT Image 2, GPT Image 2.5, Wan 3.0 · 720p, Wan 3.0 · 1080p, Seedance 2.5 China · 720p, Seedance 2.0 China · 720p, MiniMax H3 · 768p |
| Dev Pro Hybrid | 5 Models | Claude Sonnet 5.5, Claude Opus 5.5, GPT-6 Sol, GLM-5.3, DeepSeek V4 Pro |
| USA AI All-in | 8 Models | Claude Sonnet 5.5, Claude Opus 5.5, GPT-6 Sol, GPT-5.5, GPT-5.4, Grok 4.5, Gemini 3.6 Flash, Claude Haiku 5.5 |
| Team Cost-Saver | 10 Models | Claude Sonnet 5.5, Claude Opus 5.5, GPT-6 Sol, GPT-6 Luna, Claude Haiku 5.5, DeepSeek V4 Pro, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, Kimi K3, GLM-5.3, MiniMax M2.7 |
| Claude | 5 Models | Claude Opus 5.5, Claude Opus 5, Claude Fable 5.1, Claude Sonnet 4.6, Claude Sonnet 5.5 |
| GPT Promo | 4 Models | GPT-6 Sol, GPT-5.5, GPT-5.6 Sol, GPT-6 Luna |