AI API providers

Compare AI API providers as services you can integrate and operate. Inspect model access, request interfaces, charge categories and account controls before committing to a shortlist.

How AI API providers differ

Choose a provider by the service your application will actually call. Record the endpoint, credential issuer and billing owner alongside the model. This matters when a model developed by one organization is served through another host or an aggregator. A familiar model name does not establish which account controls, charge categories or support route apply to that request.

Begin with the input and output the task requires. Plain text generation, document interpretation, embeddings, image generation and speech need different evaluation fixtures. Use the provider’s documented model catalog to identify candidates, then read the relevant feature guide. Do not infer a capability from a company name or assume that every model in the same family supports the same workflow.

Next inspect the request interface. Native endpoints can organize messages, output and tools differently, while a compatible interface may implement only the features its provider documents. Keep optional fields and response parsing in a migration check. A base-URL change that produces an answer is a useful first test, but it does not prove that the whole application has been migrated correctly.

Review the operational arrangement before scheduling work. Identify the project or workspace that owns access, how spending is controlled and how the application pauses when a request cannot be accepted. Keep the credential’s purpose and owner in a secret-free operating record. A provider choice becomes easier to maintain when access repair does not depend on the memory of the developer who created the first key.

Use the live tables to compare current documented attributes, then evaluate quality with representative tasks. For extraction, check evidence and missing values. For coding, run the resulting change against project checks. For media, inspect the actual artifact. Keep accepted task completion separate from fluent wording or an attractive demonstration. The provider’s positioning can help form a shortlist, while your own evaluation establishes the fit.

Finally, compare the ongoing workload rather than an isolated price. Include the request material your application adds, the output it accepts and any additional work needed to repair failures. Record unknown fields openly and inspect the official source when a decision depends on them. The catalog links each provider to pricing, key setup, documented offers, limits, models and errors so the choice can be investigated as a complete operating decision.

Use the comparison tool for a shortlist and the selection wizard when the requirements are still taking shape.

Provider catalog

• Anthropic API reference
• OpenAI API reference
• Google API reference
• DeepSeek API reference
• xAI API reference
• Groq API reference
• Perplexity API reference
• OpenRouter API reference
• Moonshot AI API reference
• Alibaba Cloud API reference

From shortlist to working request

Open the selected provider’s key guide and tutorial, then preserve a small passing baseline before adding application features.

Use the AI API cost calculator to turn the model and workload you are considering into an estimate.

Last verified 12 Sep 2026 · Source ↗

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Claude API overview ↗
• OpenAI developer quickstart ↗
• Gemini API getting started ↗

Last verified 12 Sep 2026 · Source ↗