OpenRouter BYOK vs a Managed Wallet: Which Should Freelancers Use?

Pantr has two ways to pay for the same canvas. Wallet: we bill you at the model’s API price, 10% only when you top up. BYOK: you paste an OpenRouter key, we don’t touch the wallet. If you freelance, the wrong choice is mostly inconvenience. Here is the split.

Neither path is a subscription. Neither expires a fake credit. Background: OpenRouter for creatives. Setup for keys: no-code OpenRouter key.

Use the wallet if

• You do not want an OpenRouter account.
• You want one euro to try the product (€1.00 on signup).
• Your accounting likes a single Stripe receipt from Pantr.
• You have quiet months and don’t want a second vendor’s invoice.

Top-up presets are €10 / €25 / €50 / €100. You pay amount + 10%. Generations then debit API price only. Unused balance stays. Failed OpenRouter video jobs refund the wallet debit.

Use your OpenRouter key if

• You already buy inference there (team key, prepaid credits, whatever OpenRouter calls it this month).
• You want Pantr as a UI, not as a merchant.
• You are hedging the Stripe news by keeping the key in your own dashboard.

Key mode: Account → Billing, paste `sk-or-…`. Wallet is not charged. OpenRouter’s price is OpenRouter’s price. Pantr still shows the catalog’s API figure so you know what you are about to run.

Agencies

If the studio already has OpenRouter, BYOK. If juniors should not see a master key, wallet — or a dedicated OpenRouter key with a cap, stored in Pantr, revoked when the contractor leaves. Do not paste a personal key into a shared login.

Switching later

You can save a key and still use the wallet until you flip the mode. You can delete the key and go back. The canvas does not care. The catalog does not change.

If you are still stacking seats, read one wallet, every model first. Then pick wallet or key. Then generate.