---
last_updated: 2026-09-10
source_url: https://opper.ai/pricing
---

# Opper AI Pricing

> Pay-as-you-go pricing for the Opper AI gateway and control plane. Three tiers: Gateway, Control Plane, and Enterprise. Provider rates passed through at cost with no markup. A 3% fee applies on credit purchases (5.5% with Control Plane features).

Legend: Yes = included, No = not available, Add-on = available for additional cost, Custom = contact sales.

## Plans at a glance

Sign up needs no credit card: you get an API key straight away and the free models work in the playground and the API. Add a card to use premium models, pay-as-you-go with no minimum.

| | Gateway | Control Plane | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platform fee | 3% | 5.5% (with Control Plane features) | Custom |
| Models | 700+ models from 40+ providers | 700+ models from 40+ providers | 700+ models from 40+ providers |
| Routing & fallbacks | Yes (manual fallback list per request) | Yes (manual + Route feature) | Yes |
| Prompt caching | Provider native | Native + custom cache layer | Native + custom cache layer |
| Tracing | Metadata only | Full tracing (spans, prompts, responses, custom metrics) | Full tracing |
| Bring your own key (BYOK) | Free (no fee) | Fee applies | Custom |
| Rate limits | High | High | Dedicated |
| Spend controls | Credit balance | Budgets & limits | Budgets & limits |
| Payment | Stripe (credits) | Stripe (credits) | Invoicing |
| Support | Community (Discord) | Email · Premium available | Dedicated Slack + SLA |

## Control Plane features

Control Plane features are opt-in. With Control Plane, the fee on credit purchases is 5.5% instead of 3%. Observe additionally bills per use, since it runs its own judge model on top of your generation.

| Feature | What it does | Gateway | Control Plane | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Observe | LLM-as-judge that auto-scores every generation. Judge model cost billed per use, on top of the platform fee. | No | Yes | Custom |
| Route | Default model selection per org / project / function. Change models via rule edits — zero-downtime switching, with optional fallback list. | No | Yes | Custom |
| Steer | Uses Observe scores to auto-select few-shot examples and optimize prompts per function. | No | Yes | Custom |
| Guard | PII masking, content filtering, input/output validation, custom policy rules. | No | Yes | Custom |
| Comply | Model allowlists by provider/region/country, monthly budget caps, retention controls, ZDR-only mode. | No | Yes | Custom |

## Enterprise features

| Feature | Gateway | Control Plane | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data handling | Metadata only | Configurable retention | ZDR available |
| SLA guarantees | No | Add-on | Yes |
| Audit logging | No | Add-on | Yes |
| Custom hosting regions | No | No | Yes |
| SSO / SAML | No | No | Yes |

## How pricing works

- **3% Gateway fee**: Charged when you buy credits (excl. VAT), not on your calls. Token rates are provider rates with no markup. No hidden charges, no per-seat fees.
- **5.5% Control Plane fee**: Replaces the 3% Gateway fee on credit purchases when Control Plane features (Observe, Route, Steer, Guard, Comply, or full tracing) are used.
- **Observe billing**: When Observe is enabled, the judge model cost is billed in addition to the 5.5% fee.
- **BYOK (Bring Your Own Key)**: Free on Gateway, use your own provider API keys at no cost. On Control Plane, the fee still applies because the value is in the features, not the routing.
- **Credits**: Buy credits via Stripe that work across all models and features. The fee is applied at top-up. Top up manually or set up automatic top-ups. No minimum, no lock-in.
- **Only successful requests charged**: Failed or fallback attempts are not billed. Only the successful model response is charged.
- **VAT**: Prices and fees are exclusive of VAT. VAT is added at checkout based on billing country.
- **Volume discounts**: Available on Enterprise plans (volume pricing, annual commitments, custom invoicing).

### Pricing example

Claude Opus 4.6 input costs $15.00 per million tokens from Anthropic, and the same $15.00 per million tokens through Opper. The fee applies when you buy credits: 3% on Gateway, 5.5% with Control Plane. With BYOK on Gateway: $0 to Opper (billed directly by Anthropic).

## Hosting & data

- Hosted in AWS Stockholm (EU) with enterprise-grade security
- GDPR and EU data protection compliant
- Gateway stores only analytics and error metadata — no prompts or responses
- Control Plane stores traces (including prompts and responses) when tracing or Observe is enabled, with retention configurable per project
- Zero data retention rule on every plan (zero trace retention, routing locked to providers that keep nothing); zero-data-retention routes for the leading closed models under a signed Enterprise agreement
- Your data is never used for training models or shared with third parties
- Custom hosting regions available for Enterprise plans

## Migration

Opper is fully OpenAI SDK compatible. Change your base URL and API key, and your existing code works as-is. Streaming, tool/function calling, and provider-native prompt caching all pass through unchanged.

## Frequently asked questions

### Pricing & billing

**Do I need a credit card to start?**
Sign up needs no credit card: you get an API key straight away and the free models work in the playground and the API. Add a card to use premium models, pay-as-you-go with no minimum. Create an account at https://opper.ai/sign-up/free.

**How does Gateway pricing work?**
Token rates are the model providers' rates with no markup. We charge a 3% fee when you buy credits. No hidden charges, no per-seat fees.

**How does Control Plane pricing work?**
Control Plane features (Observe, Route, Steer, Guard, Comply, tracing) are opt-in. With Control Plane, the fee on credit purchases is 5.5% instead of 3%. Observe is billed additionally per use, since it runs its own judge model on top of your generation.

**Do you mark up provider rates?**
No. Token rates are passed through at provider cost. Our only fee is charged when you buy credits: 3% on Gateway, 5.5% with Control Plane. Nothing is added to your calls.

**Are failed or fallback requests billed?**
No. You are only billed for the successful model response. If a request fails and is retried on a fallback model, only the successful attempt is charged.

**Are taxes (VAT) included?**
Prices and fees are exclusive of VAT. VAT is added at checkout based on your billing country.

**How do I pay?**
You buy credits that work across all models and features. The 3% fee is applied when you top up. Top up manually or set up automatic top-ups to keep your balance funded. All payments are processed securely through Stripe.

**Is there a minimum spend?**
No minimums and no lock-in. Buy credits and use them at your own pace.

**Do you offer volume discounts?**
Yes. Enterprise plans include volume pricing, annual commitments, and custom invoicing, alongside SSO, audit logging, zero data retention, and deployment in your own cloud or datacentre. The full offering is at https://opper.ai/enterprise.

### Models & migration

**Which models are available?**
700+ models from 40+ providers — Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Meta, Mistral, DeepSeek, Alibaba, and more. Browse the full directory at https://opper.ai/models for benchmarks, pricing, and data residency.

**Do you support streaming, tool calls, and prompt caching?**
Yes. The gateway is OpenAI SDK compatible — streaming, tool/function calling, and provider-native prompt caching all pass through unchanged. Control Plane adds a custom caching layer on top.

**How do I migrate from OpenAI or Anthropic?**
Opper is fully OpenAI SDK compatible. Change your base URL and API key, and your existing code works as-is.

### Routing & reliability

**What happens if a provider is down?**
You can pass a fallback model list per request. If the primary fails, the request is retried against the next model in the list, and you're only billed for the successful response.

**Can I pin a specific model?**
Yes. Pass the explicit model name in your request. On Control Plane, the Route feature lets you set defaults per org, project, or function and change them via rule edits — no code redeploy needed.

### Data & privacy

**What data does Opper store?**
On Gateway, only analytics and error metadata, no prompts or responses. On Control Plane, traces including prompts and responses are stored only when you enable tracing or Observe, with retention configurable per project down to zero. The zero data retention rule in Controls sets that retention to zero and restricts routing to providers that keep nothing; it is a setting on every plan. Enterprise adds the zero-data-retention routes for the leading closed models under a signed Enterprise agreement.

**Is my data used for training?**
Opper never trains on your data. Per-provider data policies are listed in the models directory at https://opper.ai/models.

**Where is Opper hosted?**
Opper is hosted in AWS Stockholm (EU) with enterprise-grade security, ensuring compliance with GDPR and EU data protection regulations. Custom hosting regions are available for Enterprise plans.

## Links

- [Sign up](https://opper.ai/sign-up/free)
- [Contact sales](mailto:hello@opper.ai?subject=Enterprise%20inquiry)
- [All models & pricing](https://opper.ai/models)
- [Documentation](https://docs.opper.ai)