Tongyi Qianwen vs OpenRouter
Compare Tongyi Qianwen and OpenRouter: free credits, features, and ratings. Which one is right for you?
Category
LLM
API Platform
Rating
β 4
β 4
Free Credits
2.5 Max generates watermark-free images and videos for free
50 requests/day (1000 after $10 top-up)
Refresh Period
one-time
daily
Resolution
N/A
Watermark
No
No
Commercial Use
No
Yes
Paid From
API $0.12/million tokens
$10 top-up
Tongyi Qianwen
Alibaba's model family, from lightweight 0.5B to flagship 235B. Qwen3 series is the all-rounder among open-source models. Free to use, cheap API. Supports multimodal (text, image, video, code).
Pros
- βGenerous new user credits
- βAffordable API
- βAlibaba ecosystem
- βStrong multimodal
Cons
- βAverage creativity
- βReasoning not as good as DeepSeek
Key Features
Qwen3 full series open sourceMultimodal support (text/image/video/code)0.5B to 235B multiple sizes200K context windowTool calling capabilityAgent framework support
OpenRouter
API aggregation platform β one endpoint to access them all. 27 free models, accessible from China without VPN. Switch between backends by just changing the model name. Free tier: 50 requests/day, unlock 1000/day with $10 top-up.
Pros
- βAccessible from China without VPN
- β27 free models available
- βOpenAI-compatible format, switch models by changing name
- βDiverse model selection across providers
Cons
- βFree tier limited to 50 requests/day
- βUnlocking 1000/day requires $10 top-up
- βFree model quality varies
Key Features
27 Free ModelsChina Direct AccessOpenAI-Compatible APIUnified Model SwitchingDeepSeek/Qwen/Llama Support