M
MIdeogram vs OpenRouter
Pricing, features, platforms and who each one suits — side by side.
I
Choose Ideogram if…
- you want open source you can self-host or audit
- you work on iOS
- you're in its core audience: graphic designers, marketers
O
Choose OpenRouter if…
- you're in its core audience: software developers, ai app and agent builders
Side by side
Feature Ideogram OpenRouter
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemium
Starting price$15/mo—
Free plan
Free trial
API
Open source
PlatformsWeb, iOS, APIWeb, API
CategoryImage GeneratorsLLM APIs & Model Hosting
CompanyIdeogram, Inc.OpenRouter
Full feature lists
I Ideogram
- Text-to-image with Ideogram 3.0, 4.0 and 4.5 models
- Ideogram Vector model for vector output
- Precise Edit, Object Remover and Background Remover apps
- Ad Resizer, Colorways and Material Swap tools
- Custom image model training
- Unified API for image and video models
- MCP integration for Claude and Cursor
- Open Ideogram 4.0 weights for local use
O OpenRouter
- OpenAI-compatible chat completions endpoint
- Access to 600+ models from 80+ providers
- Automatic fallbacks around provider outages and rate limits
- Image, video, text-to-speech and speech-to-text endpoints
- Bring your own provider keys
- Budgets, spend controls and activity log export
- EU and US in-region routing
- Hosted MCP server for agent tooling
Their home pages
What each vendor shows first: the pitch, the plans and the sign-up.
Ideogram · ideogram.ai
OpenRouter · openrouter.aiWhat you'd pay
The cheapest plan that fits, per month, billed yearly where the plan offers it.
Ideogram
Free$0
Plus$20/mo or $15/mo billed yearly
Pro$60/mo or $42/mo billed yearly
Team$30/user/mo or $20/user/mo billed yearly
EnterpriseCustom
OpenRouter
FreeFree
Standard5.5% fee on credit purchases
Business8% fee on credit purchases
EnterpriseCustom
Price changes we've recorded
We re-read each pricing page every month and log what changed.
Ideogram
- Nov 8, 2026Pricing model: Paid → Freemium; Starting price: $20/mo → $15/mo; New plan: Free ($0); New plan: Pro ($60); New plan: Team ($30)
OpenRouter
- Nov 8, 2026Standard: Pay-as-you-go, 5.5% fee on credit purchases → 5.5% fee on credit purchases; Business: Pay-as-you-go, 8% fee on credit purchases → 8% fee on credit purchases
Strengths and limitations
Ideogram
- Free plan with 30 credits per week
- Ideogram 4.0 weights available for local use
- One API for multiple image and video models
- Paid plans can keep generating in a slower queue after credits run out
- Free-plan generations are public
- Email-and-password accounts get no free credits
- No Android app listed
- Team plan requires at least 2 users
OpenRouter
- No markup on provider token prices
- Free plan with 25+ free models
- BYOK fee-free up to $25,000 of monthly inference
- Payment by card, AliPay or USDC
- 5.5–8% platform fee on credit purchases
- Free plan limited to 50 requests per day
- SSO/SAML and SLAs only on Enterprise
More comparisons
Other options to consider
MM
From $8/mo
A
AGenerate and edit images, video and audio with AI for creators and teams
Free, from $9.99/mo
A
Free, from $9.99/mo
A
Generate and edit images, video and audio with AI for creators and teams
Image GeneratorsFree plan
S
SS
Freemium
S
Open image generation models you can self-host or call through an API
Image GeneratorsFree planAPI
G
GG
Free, from $19.99/mo
M
MM
Paid
M
AI image, video, audio and 3D tools with upscalers and a stock library
Upscalers & EnhancersAPI
C
CBrowser-based AI image tools for removing backgrounds, cleanup, upscaling and generation
Freemium
C
Freemium
C
Browser-based AI image tools for removing backgrounds, cleanup, upscaling and generation
Photo EditingFree planAPI
Facts from each vendor's public pages, prices checked Nov 8, 2026. Editorial policy