# OpenRouter.ai -- Feature Set & UX Analysis

## META
- url: https://openrouter.ai
- relevance: REFERENCE -- LLMHosts's UX parity target + differentiation baseline
- last_verified: 2026-02-13

## SUMMARY

OpenRouter is the leading unified LLM API aggregator with 400+ models, 60+ providers, 5M+ users, processing 30T tokens/month. LLMHosts must achieve feature parity on API/UX fundamentals while differentiating on self-hosted compute, intelligent orchestration, and cost savings.

## CORE FEATURES (Parity Required)

### 1. Unified API
- Single endpoint: `POST /api/v1/chat/completions`
- OpenAI SDK compatible (drop-in replacement)
- Standardized model naming: `provider/model` (e.g., `anthropic/claude-3.5-sonnet`)
- Streaming and non-streaming support
- Tool/function calling support
- **LLMHosts Parity**: Must support identical OpenAI-compatible API

### 2. Model Catalog (400+ Models)
- Browse by: Most Popular, Newest, Top Weekly
- Sort by: Pricing, Context Window, Throughput, Latency
- Model metadata: pricing (input/output per token), context length, architecture
- Model comparison tool (side-by-side)
- RSS feed for model updates
- **LLMHosts Differentiation**: Show local models alongside cloud models, with cost comparison

### 3. Auto Router
- `openrouter/auto` model endpoint
- Analyzes prompt complexity and task type
- Selects optimal model at lowest price
- Curated high-quality model pool
- **LLMHosts Differentiation**: Conductor Brain is a TRAINED orchestrator (RL-based), not rule-based. Considers local compute availability, user preferences, cost optimization, AND task quality.

### 4. Provider Routing
- Price-based load balancing (default)
- Performance-based routing (throughput/latency)
- Advanced percentile preferences
- Provider selection and ordering with fallback
- Zero Data Retention (ZDR) enforcement
- Custom data policies
- **LLMHosts Differentiation**: Add privacy-aware routing (IslandRun-inspired), local-first routing, and user preference vectors

### 5. Pricing
- Three tiers: Free (25+ free models, 50 req/day), Pay-as-you-go (5.5% platform fee), Enterprise
- Pass-through provider pricing (no markup on inference)
- BYOK: 1M free requests/month, 5% fee after
- Failed/fallback attempts not billed
- **LLMHosts Differentiation**: Local inference is FREE (user's own hardware). Show savings vs cloud-only pricing.

### 6. Dashboard & Analytics
- Activity logs tracking usage
- Rankings/leaderboard at openrouter.ai/rankings
- Request builder tool (interactive API testing)
- Model statistics (usage, latency, throughput)
- **LLMHosts Differentiation**: Add compute fleet dashboard, cost savings tracker, gamification elements

## FEATURES TO REPLICATE (Minimum Viable)

### Must-Have for Launch
1. OpenAI-compatible API endpoint
2. Model catalog with search/filter/sort
3. Chat playground (test models directly)
4. Activity logs and usage tracking
5. API key management
6. Streaming support
7. Model pricing display
8. Auto-routing capability

### Nice-to-Have (Phase 2)
1. Model comparison tool
2. Rankings/leaderboard
3. Request builder
4. RSS feed for updates
5. Third-party SDK support
6. Provider routing preferences

## LLMHOST DIFFERENTIATION FEATURES (Not in OpenRouter)

### Unique Value Propositions
1. **Self-Hosted Compute Dashboard**
   - Real-time GPU/CPU/memory utilization across all devices
   - Cluster topology visualization
   - Model deployment status per device
   - Network health and latency between nodes

2. **Cost Savings Tracker**
   - Before/after comparison (pre-LLMHosts baseline)
   - Per-request cost attribution (local vs cloud)
   - Projected savings over time
   - ROI calculator for hardware investment

3. **Conductor Brain (vs Auto Router)**
   - RL-trained orchestrator (not rule-based)
   - Learns from user feedback (thumbs up/down)
   - Respects user preference vectors
   - Considers local compute availability
   - Optimizes for quality + cost + latency simultaneously

4. **Gamification**
   - Savings milestones with progress bars
   - Efficiency streaks
   - Achievement badges
   - Community leaderboards (anonymized)
   - "Toil Reduction Score"

5. **User Preference Profiles**
   - Prescriptive routing rules ("use Opus for deep research")
   - Cost sensitivity settings
   - Privacy sensitivity settings
   - Model blacklist/whitelist

6. **Feedback System**
   - Thumbs up/down on every response
   - Detailed issue reporting
   - Model quality ratings
   - Feeds into Conductor RL training loop

7. **Admin Panel**
   - Platform update approval workflow
   - Model swap review
   - Security event dashboard
   - User management
   - System health overview

8. **Self-Evolution**
   - Auto-detect new models
   - Benchmark against existing fleet
   - Propose updates for admin approval
   - Autonomous framework upgrades

## UX DESIGN PRINCIPLES (From OpenRouter)

### What Works Well
- Clean, minimal interface
- Model selection is front and center
- Pricing is transparent and prominent
- API-first design with good documentation
- Quick start flow (API key → first request in minutes)

### What to Improve
- No visibility into routing decisions (LLMHosts: show WHY Conductor chose a model)
- No cost optimization guidance (LLMHosts: proactive savings suggestions)
- No compute fleet management (LLMHosts: full device management dashboard)
- No feedback loop (LLMHosts: continuous improvement from user feedback)
- No preference system beyond provider routing (LLMHosts: rich user preference profiles)
