AI BriefingOpenRouter Token Prices Halve in 2026 While Daily Spend Triples to $47M
Key point
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash now accounts for 22.6% of all tokens routed through OpenRouter at $1.20 per million output tokens.
Details
Data from Tidelines.ai indicates that the average price of a token routed through OpenRouter has nearly halved in 2026, dropping from the ~600s in January to the low 300s on their Token Price Index (where 100 represents January 2025). This decline is primarily driven by the dominance of cheaper models in the traffic mix.
Despite the lower unit cost, total volume and spending have surged. Daily token volume increased from approximately 1 trillion to 23 trillion, pushing estimated daily spend to an all-time high of ~$47 million.
Key Drivers:
- DeepSeek V4.1 Flash now represents 22.6% of all tokens routed through the platform.
- The model is priced at $1.20 per million output tokens, significantly contributing to the overall price index reduction.
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