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Best OpenAI API Alternatives 2026: 8 Reviewed | AICores · AICores

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Best OpenAI API Alternatives in 2026

We reviewed 8 alternatives to OpenAI API. Pricing verified March 2026. No sponsored placements.

Why Look for OpenAI API Alternatives?

Common reasons people switch from OpenAI API:

✕Pricing adds up
✕Rate limits at scale
✕Less transparent than competitors
✕Not ideal for non-developers needing a chat interface

Top 8 Alternatives to OpenAI API

DifyRecommended★ 4.9

From $59/mo · Best for Teams building LLM-powered applications who want a

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ClerkRecommended★ 4.9

From $25/mo · Best for React and Next.js developers who want authenticati

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AssemblyAIRecommended★ 4.9

From $0.37/hour · Best for Developers building apps that need accurate speech

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Cloudflare Workers AISituational★ 4.8

From $0.011/1K neurons · Best for Developers on Cloudflare who want to add AI featur

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WarpRecommended★ 4.8

From $18/user/mo · Best for Developers who want a modern terminal with AI assi

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DeepgramRecommended★ 4.8

From $0.0043/min · Best for Developers building real-time voice applications t

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VS CodeRecommended★ 4.7

free · Best for Every developer. It is free, powerful, and the eco

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Perplexity APIRecommended★ 4.7

From $0.20/1K requests · Best for Developers building applications needing sourced,

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Dify — Best Developer Tools Alternative for Teams building LLM-powered applications

Dify is an open-source AI application development platform with visual prompt engineering, RAG pipeline, agent frameworks, and model management for building LLM-powered apps..

RecommendedFrom $59/mo★ 4.9Read full review →

Clerk — Best Developer Tools Alternative for React and Next.js developers who want au

Clerk provides complete authentication with pre-built, customizable React components. It handles sign-up, sign-in, user profiles, organizations, and webhooks with minimal code..

RecommendedFrom $25/mo★ 4.9Read full review →

AssemblyAI — Best Developer Tools Alternative for Developers building apps that need accur

AssemblyAI provides speech-to-text with 8.4% word error rate plus audio intelligence features including sentiment analysis, content moderation, PII redaction, topic detection, and speaker diarization..

RecommendedFrom $0.37/hour★ 4.9Read full review →

OpenAI API vs Top Alternatives

	OpenAI API	Dify	Clerk	AssemblyAI
Price	$0.50/MTok input	$59/mo	$25/mo	$0.37/hour
Free Tier	✕	✕	✕	✕
Rating	★ 4.1	★ 4.9	★ 4.9	★ 4.9
Verdict	Recommended	Recommended	Recommended	Recommended
API	✓	✓	✓	✓

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best free alternative to OpenAI API?▼

Clerk is the highest-rated free alternative to OpenAI API. It offers react and next.js developers who want authentication with the least possible setup and has a 4.9 star rating from 6 reviews.

Why do people look for OpenAI API alternatives?▼

Common reasons include: Pricing adds up. Rate limits at scale. OpenAI API is non-developers needing a chat interface.

Is OpenAI API the best developer tools tool?▼

Based on our review, OpenAI API is recommended for developers needing the broadest range of ai models in one api. However, Dify may be better for teams building llm-powered applications who want a visual development platform.

What is cheaper than OpenAI API?▼

Deepgram starts at $0.0043/min compared to OpenAI API at $0.50/MTok input. It has a 4.8 rating and is best for developers building real-time voice applications that need ultra-low latency transcription.

Related Comparisons

OpenAI API vs Dify— Full Comparison →OpenAI API vs Clerk— Full Comparison →OpenAI API vs AssemblyAI— Full Comparison →

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