Discussion
Reallocating $100/Month Claude Code spend to Zed and OpenRouter
hhthrowaway1230: note: doesn't openrouter charge 5.5% fee?
Computer0: I have had credits on open router that haven’t been deleted since near the projects launch, I believe 365 days is not a rule but rather a right reserved.
Computer0: When I use the tool ccusage it says I use $600 of usage a month for my $100. I don’t know that this is a good value proposition for me if I want to stay with the same model, half the reason I use Claude code, personally.
bashtoni: After hitting Claude limits today I spent the afternoon using OpenCode + GLM 5.1 via OpenRouter and I was very impressed.OpenCode picked up my CLAUDE.md files and skills straight away, and I got similar performance to Opus 4.6.
philipp-gayret: I like and do use Zed but be aware functionality like Hooks is not supported for their integration with Claude Code, as a heavy user of Hooks I would stick with the terminal.
kisamoto: I'm always interested in how people use tools. I like to have a full editor to review code as a complement to the CLI and as I don't often use hooks the integration is also good enough for me.1. What do you use the hooks for?2. Do you use an editor alongside the CLI to review code or only examine the diffs?
wiether: People may feel differently about the fee that OpenRouter takes, but I think the service they provide is worth the extra cost.Having access to dozens of models through a single API key, tracking cost of each request, being able to run the same request on different models and comparing their results next to each other, separating usages through different API keys, adding your own presets, setting your routing rules...And once you start using an account with multiple users, it's even more useful to have all those features!Not relying on a subscription and having the right to do exactly what you want with your API key (using it with any tool/harness...) is also a big plus to me.
walthamstow: Tracking the cost is huge when you're evaluating models for a task, but I can't see myself using it in production
i_love_retros: I can't believe people are spending $100 a month on this! You're all mad!
gozzoo: some are spending 100/day or even 1000/day. they must really be mad :)
i_love_retros: Drunk on perceived power
cbg0: I don't think there's currently better value than Github's $40 plan which gives you access to GPT5 & Claude variants. It's pay per request so not ideal for back-and-forth but great for building complex features on the cheap compared to paying per token.Because GH is accessing the API behind the scenes, you should face less degradation when using Sonnet/Opus models compared to a Claude subscription.Keep a ChatGPT $20 subscription alongside for back-and-forth conversations and you'll get great bang for buck.
urnfjrkrkn: I would suggest to explore paid plans on different providers. Much better value than plans bundled with editors or API based usage in openrouter. And Chinese companies have versions hosted in Singapore or US.Also ditching Claude Code is mistake. It is quite capable model, and still great value. I would keep it, even if it's just for code reviews and planning. Anthropic allows pro plans use in Zed.
delduca: I also dropped Claude Code Max.I switched to OpenCode Zen + GitHub Copilot. For some reason, Claude Code burns through my quota really quickly.https://opencode.ai/zen
pixel_popping: Expect you don't have the right to do what you want with the API Key (see waves of ban lately, many SaaS services have closed because of it).
embedding-shape: Unless you provide some more details, at least outline what "do what you want" was in your case, this seems like just straight up FUD.
neya: Is your source code worth only $40 for them to train their models on?https://www.techradar.com/pro/bad-news-skeptics-github-says-...
pixel_popping: It should be noted about Openrouter that you aren't allowed to expose the access to end users, it has to be for internal usage only, which can be fatal as they have made waves of account banning lately (without warnings).
ElFitz: Has anyone (other than OpenClaw) used pi? (https://shittycodingagent.ai/, https://pi.dev/)Any insights / suggestions / best practices?
simgt: Yes, it's super cool. Check Mario's latest talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dli5slNaJu0 Armin also has some videos covering it on his channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ArminRonacher/ Pi's Discord is still nice, even though it was a bit flooded after the openclaw thing.
_pdp_: Our bank (a major retail bank in UK) is refusing doing business with OpenRouter and OpenRouter issued a refund which we did not request. So something is up. There is that.I might be paranoid but I feel that access to models will become more constraint in the future as the industry gets more regulated.
chid: I don't quite understand what you mean by something is up. Was the reason around security/telemetry or similar?
_pdp_: Bank refused to provide reasons - even after a formal complaint was raised with them.We are not the only one. I found other people online experiencing the same issue. It is hard to tell how wide-spread this is but it is strange to say the least.
blitzar: > Reallocating $100/Month Claude Code SpendThe new gimped claude code limits means my claude code spend the last month is $131. It cost me $20. I did an additional spend $5 on extra usage which cost me $5.While VC's are setting fire to money I am going to warm my hands.
542458: I think it is worth noting that “what they charge for api access” != “marginal cost of inference”. So I don’t think getting i.e. $40 of api usage for $20 would be insane. $131 for $20 does probably mean somebody is losing money though.
rafaelmn: I'm still paying the 10$ GH copilot but I don't use it because : - context is aggressively trimmed compared to CC obviously for cost saving reasons, so the performance is worse - the request pricing model forces me to adjust how I work Just these alone are not worth saving the 60$/month for me.I like the VSCode integration and the MCP/LSP usage surprised me sometimes over the dumb grep from CC. Ironically VSCode is becoming my terminal emulator of choice for all the CLI agents - SSH/container access and the automatic port mapping, etc. - it's more convenient than tmux sessions for me. So Copilot would be ideal for me but yeah it's just tweaked for being budget/broad scope tool rather than a tool for professionals that would pay to get work done.
lbreakjai: You can use your GH subscription with a different harness. I'm using opencode with it, it turns GH into a pure token provider. The orchestration (compacting, etc.) is left to the harness.It turns it into a very good value for money, as far as I'm concerned.
nocobot: i really have been enjoying pi a lotat first i thought i was goring to build lots of extra plugins and commands but what ended up working for me is:- i have a simpel command that pulls context from a linear issue- simple review command- project specific skills for common tasks
numlocked: You are absolutely allowed to expose access to end users, as long as you continue to abide by terms of service. We have hundreds, if not thousands, of apps built on openrouter that in turn have end users of their own. We showcase many of them on our /apps ranking page!
