Shortlist models for an OpenAI-compatible LLM gateway: one base_url, multi-provider routing, cost visibility, and sane fallbacks.
An OpenAI-compatible LLM gateway means you keep the OpenAI SDK, point base_url at the gateway, and route across providers from there. You can compare unit cost, add cache or budgets, and fail over without rewriting app code. This ranking is for teams picking default models for that setup: start with solid general models, define a fallback, then estimate monthly spend. Migration steps live at /docs/openai-compatible. Cost math is at /tools/ai-api-cost-calculator. If you are comparing multi-model marketplaces specifically, use /best/openrouter-alternatives.
Source basis: NextModel catalog taxonomy, OpenAI-compatible gateway positioning, and provider public pricing when available. · Updated 2026-08-05
How to use this shortlist
Fit score
Start with the shortlist, then test real prompts and compare monthly cost before production routing.
Doubao-Seed-2.1-lite via NextModel: 1M-token context; $0.12 / 1M tokens in / $0.4 / 1M tokens out per 1M tokens. Capabilities: streaming.
Whisper Large V3 Turbo via NextModel: context unpublished; $0 / 1M tokens in / $0 / 1M tokens out per 1M tokens. Capabilities: streaming.
Gemini 4 Argon via NextModel: 1M-token context; $2 / 1M tokens in / $10 / 1M tokens out per 1M tokens. Capabilities: streaming, tool, json.
Claude Haiku 5.5 via NextModel: 1M-token context; Starting at $0.1 / 1M tokens in / $0.5 / 1M tokens out per 1M tokens. Capabilities: streaming, tool, json.
Comparison table
Use this view when you're narrowing a production shortlist, building a fallback policy, or comparing model economics.
| Model | Provider | Input | Output | Context | Capabilities | Best for | Latency | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doubao-Seed-2.1-litedoubao-seed-2-1-lite | Volcengine | $0.12 / 1M tokens | $0.4 / 1M tokens | 1M | Streaming | Chinese Q&A, general chat | 2010-3295ms | Catalog | Platform curated |
| Whisper Large V3 Turboopenai/whisper-large-v3-turbo | OpenAI | $0 / 1M tokens | $0 / 1M tokens | — | Streaming | General chat via OpenAI, API workloads | 0-0ms | Catalog | Platform curated |
| Gemini 4 Argongoogle/gemini-4-argon | $2 / 1M tokens | $10 / 1M tokens | 1M | StreamingTool callingJSON modeVision | image understanding, multimodal chat | 2974-10589ms | Catalog | Platform curated | |
| Claude Haiku 5.5anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5 | Anthropic | Starting at $0.1 / 1M tokens | $0.5 / 1M tokens | 1M | StreamingTool callingJSON modeVision | image understanding, multimodal chat | 1321-2017ms | Catalog | Platform curated |
| Doubao Seedance 2.5doubao/doubao-seedance-2-5-260628 | Doubao | $0.225 / s | — | — | StreamingVision | image understanding, multimodal chat | 0-0ms | Catalog | Platform curated |
| Dreamina-Seedance 2.0 Fastdreamina/dreamina-seedance-2-0-fast-260128 | Dreamina | $0.122 / s | — | — | StreamingVision | image understanding, multimodal chat | 0-0ms | Catalog | Platform curated |
| Dreamina Seedance 2.5dreamina/dreamina-seedance-2-5-260628 | Dreamina | $0.234 / s | — | — | StreamingVision | image understanding, multimodal chat | 0-0ms | Catalog | Platform curated |
| Gemini 3 Pro Image (Nano Banana Pro) gemini/gemini-3-pro-image | Gemini | $0.314 / image | — | — | StreamingVision | image understanding, multimodal chat | 0-0ms | Catalog | Platform curated |
FAQ
A hosted API that speaks the OpenAI request shape (chat completions, models, keys) and forwards to one or more providers behind a single base URL.
One integration surface, easier fallbacks, and one place for usage, budgets, and receipts before traffic gets loud.
Change base_url and the API key in most cases. Then verify streaming, tools, JSON mode, and vision against the model IDs you will actually use.
Send cheap work to cheap models, keep stronger models for hard cases, cache only when it is safe, and set project budgets. Estimate monthly cost before you scale.
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