The affordable AI API.
Pick a tier, not a model.
TierUp.AI is an OpenAI-compatible LLM API that routes by performance tier. Choose Speed, Balance, Intelligence, or Reasoning — we pick the model, keep it current, and charge flat per-token prices ~50% below retail.
// Simple POST request to TierUp.AI
curl -X POST https://api.tierup.ai/v1/chat/completions \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY" \
-d '{
"tier": 3,
"prompt": "Optimize this database query...",
"stream": true
}'How TierUp.AI Works
We act as a robust infrastructure layer, automatically routing your requests to the best-performing models based on your selected tier.
Tiered Abstraction
Forget model names. Choose Tiers 1-4 based on your latency and quality requirements.
Operational Reliability
Automatic failover and load balancing across multiple providers for zero downtime.
Price Transparency
Predictable costs with unified billing. No more managing 10 different API keys.
Simple AI API pricing: four tiers, ~50% below retail.
Not better or worse — each tier is optimized for a different type of task, with flat per-token LLM API pricing at ~50% off the underlying model's retail price.
Speed
Haiku or similar
Fast responses for simple tasks — classification, extraction, formatting.
vs Claude Haiku 4.5 $1.00 / $5.00 per 1M
100% offBalance
Sonnet or similar
Best all-rounder — chat, content, coding, analysis.
vs Claude Sonnet 4.6 $3.00 / $15.00 per 1M
50% offIntelligence
Opus or similar
Highest general intelligence — complex coding, nuanced analysis, research.
vs Claude Opus 4.6 $5.00 / $25.00 per 1M
50% offReasoning
o3 or similar
Deep chain-of-thought — math, logic, scientific problems, proofs.
vs OpenAI o3 $2.00 / $8.00 per 1M
50% off*Benchmarks from public evaluations. We optimize model routing — your tier may use different models over time. Prepaid credits $10 min.
Affordable AI API — common questions
What is TierUp?+
TierUp is an affordable AI API: one OpenAI-compatible endpoint that routes each request to a current frontier model (Claude, GPT, Gemini class) based on the performance tier you choose — Speed, Balance, Intelligence, or Reasoning — instead of a model name.
How is TierUp ~50% cheaper than calling providers directly?+
Honestly: we route through OpenRouter and transparently subsidize prices during our public beta while we test product–market fit, capped by a daily spend guardrail. It is not secret efficiency — long-term margin, if earned, would come from volume pricing and routing optimization.
Is TierUp compatible with the OpenAI SDK?+
Yes. TierUp is an OpenAI-compatible API — point your SDK's base URL at api.tierup.ai and pass a tier (tier-1 to tier-4) instead of a model name. Standard SSE streaming is supported.
What does the AI API cost?+
Tier 1 (Speed) is currently free. Tier 2 (Balance) is $1.50/$7.50 per 1M tokens in/out, Tier 3 (Intelligence) is $2.50/$12.50, and Tier 4 (Reasoning) is $1.00/$4.00 — each ~50% below the underlying model's retail price. New accounts get $25 in free credit, no card required.
How do I reduce my LLM API costs?+
Right-size the model per task (most requests don't need a frontier model), cache repeated prompts, trim context, and re-shop as prices move. TierUp's tiers automate the right-sizing part; our cost guide and LLM cost calculator walk through the numbers.
Dig deeper: how to reduce LLM API costs · LLM API cost calculator · TierUp vs OpenRouter
Ready to move up the value chain?
Simplify your AI infrastructure with one API and four tiers. Start free — $25 credit, no card required.
