OpenRouter API 4 limits verified 2 Aug 2026
Quota reset forecaster
You hit a wall. When do you get it back?
—
time to reset
Published limits
| Plan | Limit | Window | When exhausted | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 credits | 50 per day Free-model requests | daily | 429 with X-RateLimit headers | ● Documented |
| OpenRouter API limits docs, fetched 2 Aug 2026. Applies to model IDs ending :free. | ||||
| 10+ credits purchased | 1,000 per day Free-model requests | daily | 429 with X-RateLimit headers | ● Documented |
| Buying 10 credits once raises the daily free-model allowance twentyfold and the uplift is permanent. | ||||
| All accounts | 20 per minute Free-model requests | per minute | 429 with X-RateLimit headers | ● Documented |
| The per-minute cap does not change with credit history. Limits are governed globally, so extra accounts or API keys do not circumvent them. | ||||
| All accounts | Not stated Daily reset boundary | implied calendar day | n/a | ⨯ Undisclosed |
| The docs specify "requests per day" but never state the boundary or timezone. Calendar-day UTC is implied, not documented. | ||||