Cheap AI API Keys: The Independent Reality Check
Resellers promise Claude, GPT and Gemini at a fraction of list price. We read their terms so you don't have to, record who is actually behind each site, and give you a free browser-based tool to test whether a discounted key serves the real model.
How the board grades refunds
The board: 7 cheap-API resellers, compared
An API aggregation platform (domain registered 2026-05-02) that leads with 'fingerprint-verified' model authenticity, yet discloses no legal entity, address, or governing law in its own terms.
A Vietnam-market key shop (VietQR, Telegram delivery, anonymous purchase supported) with the bluntest refund clause of the seven: 'No refunds in any case', including unused credit.
A Russian-first reseller governed by Kazakhstan law that names no operating entity, and whose homepage 'Production-ready? Yes' sits next to terms declaring the service beta and 'AS IS'.
A Hong Kong-registered storefront ('LOOM AGNECY') whose refund policy heading is literally 'ABSOLUTE NO REFUND', and whose SLA carves upstream provider outages out of compensation.
A placeholder-stage landing page — no terms, no pricing, no contact — whose only two lines of copy quote different discount figures (40% vs 40-60%).
A Venice.ai credit reseller (USDC on Base, or Stripe card / Apple Pay / Google Pay as of our 2026-09-23 capture) that is candid about being 'a reseller, not a proxy' — and equally candid that credits expire nightly and 'all sales are final'.
A 'wholesale' storefront for Distribyte Inc. (dba inference.ai) — the only reseller here with a traceable US entity — whose terms let it cut the purchasing power of credits you already paid for.
Refund grades are assigned from each provider's own published terms only (A = clearly refundable … F = explicit no-refund or unilateral balance changes; N/A = no terms published). See our methodology. Each quoted clause carries its own capture date; terms change — always re-read the source. "Site status" is a daily automated check of whether the provider's website responds — it says nothing about the API itself; see each provider's review page for the full reachability history.
Why trust anxiety is rational here
All 7 domains on the board were registered in or after December 2025 — 4 of them are less than six months old. 4 of the 7 do not name a legal entity anywhere on their site. 3 have explicit no-refund clauses graded F, and one reserves the right to reduce the purchasing power of credits you already bought. None of that means a given reseller won't deliver — it means you should verify before you rely on one. That's what the verifier is for, and it runs entirely in your browser: your key never touches our servers.
Start here
- Refund policies compared — the exact clauses, side by side.
- Claims vs. reality — what a seller advertises, next to what its own pages show.
- Terms changelog — refund, law and pricing changes, dated and sourced.
- Verify a key — is your cheap Claude/GPT endpoint serving the real model?
- Methodology — how we grade, what we will and won't claim.
Looking for a lower-cost relay?
Sponsored — not part of our ratings. Synced from howtok.net.-
NovaAPI
WeChat PayAlipayUSDTVISA
NovaAPI is a global AI token relay platform offering unified access to OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, and leading Chinese LLMs through low-latency, always-on routing. Pricing is fully transparent, with API calls discounted up to 15% off list rates, and referring a friend earns ongoing rewards.
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Apimart
WeChat PayAlipayUSDTVISA
A full-modality AI API supply layer aggregating 500+ models — Sora 2, Veo 3.1, Kling 3.0, Seedream 5.0, GPT-5, Claude, and more. Supports prepaid top-ups, dedicated enterprise channels, and revenue-share partnerships, serving relay platforms, AI app developers, and teams building for global markets.
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DanceHorse
USDTWeChat Pay
An AI video API supply layer connecting to Seedance, HappyHorse, and other video-generation models. Supports prepaid top-ups, distribution codes, white-label API access, and revenue-share partnerships — built for relay platforms, video tool builders, and content teams.
These are paid placements synced from howtok.net's relay-station directory — a separate list from the board above, which we do independently review and verify. CheapAPIKeys has no affiliation with the sponsors listed here; nothing on this page is an endorsement.