It depends on what you need. OpenRouter has the best privacy score in our index (65 / 100) and the cheapest model of the three, but mostly fine-tunes and no abliterated models. Venice.ai is the best all-rounder for chat: a named company, a free tier, its own Dolphin-based model, and the only end-to-end encrypted uncensored model we’ve found. NanoGPT has by far the biggest selection (139 models, including 12 abliterated) and needs no account, but it scores 35 / 100 on privacy.
Side by side
All figures as of October 2026. Prices are per 1M tokens (input / output). A chat is 1,000 tokens in and 500 out.
| Venice.ai | OpenRouter | NanoGPT | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uncensored models listed | 13: 8 fine-tuned, 2 abliterated, 3 undisclosed | 22: 20 fine-tuned, 2 undisclosed, no abliterated | 139: 118 fine-tuned, 12 abliterated, 9 undisclosed |
| Cheapest model | GLM 4.7 Flash Heretic, $0.07 / $0.40 | Llama 3 8B Lunaris, $0.04 / $0.05 | Synth 2.5 Flash Preview, $0.03 / $0.10 |
| Cost per 1,000 chats | $0.27 | $0.065 | $0.08 |
| Plans | Free (10 prompts a day), Pro $18/mo; API is prepaid per token | Prepaid credits only | Pay-as-you-go, optional PRO $12/mo |
| Signup | Account | Account | None |
| Payments | Card or crypto | Card or crypto (USDC) | Card (from $1) or crypto (from $0.10) |
| Privacy | 55 / 100, 5th of 37 | 65 / 100, 1st of 37 | 35 / 100, joint 19th of 37 |
| Standout | Its own Dolphin-based model; one E2EE uncensored model | No inference markup; names the host for every request | Largest catalog; no account; tiny top-ups |
| Main caveat | “Anonymized” frontier models still send your text to their vendor | No abliterated or Heretic models; 5% to 5.5% fee on credits | No named operator or jurisdiction; upstream hosts not disclosed |
NanoGPT’s cheapest model doesn’t say how it was made. Its cheapest model with a known method is MythoMax 13B at about $0.15 per 1,000 chats, and its cheapest abliterated one is Apex Flash 1 Abliterated at $0.15 / $0.50, about $0.40.
Same model, different price
The three overlap more than you’d think, because OpenRouter and NanoGPT both resell Venice’s and AionLabs’ models.
| Model | Venice | OpenRouter | NanoGPT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Venice Uncensored (Dolphin 24B) | $0.20 / $0.90 | $0.20 / $0.90 | $0.40 / $1.80 |
| Aion 3.5 Mini | $0.875 / $1.75 | $0.70 / $1.40 | $0.70 / $1.40 |
| Aion 3.5 | $3.75 / $7.50 | $3 / $6 | $3 / $6 |
OpenRouter sends Venice Uncensored requests to Venice itself, at Venice’s price. NanoGPT charges about double. For the Aion roleplay models, Venice charges 25% more than the other two.
Privacy, in short
OpenRouter and Venice both state they don’t log prompts or train on them, and both name a US jurisdiction (New York and Wyoming). OpenRouter scores higher mainly because it tells you which host runs each request, so you can read that host’s policy too. Venice’s biggest caveat is its own: models marked “Anonymized” strip your identity, not your text.
NanoGPT also says it doesn’t log prompts during normal inference, and it keeps chats in your browser. But its privacy page leaves retention to the third-party hosts that run the models without naming them, doesn’t address training, and names no legal entity. The full rubric is on the methodology page.
Who each is for
- Venice if you want a polished chat app plus an API from a company you can name, a free tier to try it, or end-to-end encryption on an uncensored model. Look elsewhere for the lowest prices or a big catalog. Full review.
- OpenRouter if you’re a developer who wants one OpenAI-compatible key for Hermes, Euryale, Cydonia, the Aion line and Venice’s model, at the host’s own price, with the best privacy score we’ve recorded. Not for abliterated models. Full review.
- NanoGPT if you want to try many abliterated, Heretic and Derestricted models with no account and a $0.10 top-up. Check whether a model’s original host sells it cheaper or with stronger privacy terms. Full review.
We haven’t benchmarked any of the three yet, so this comparison covers price, catalog and policy, not output quality. Benchmarks are in preparation.
Compare every model and price across all three on the Models page.