FAQ

Answers to common questions about Rock API — pricing, OpenAI compatibility, models, providers, and how it compares to alternatives like OpenRouter, LiteLLM, and Portkey.

What is Rock API?

Rock API is an AI API gateway and OpenAPI marketplace. Developers use https://rockapi.ai/v1 and a Rock API key to access supported models. Availability and prices depend on the selected model, group, and applicable service rules; check the current model catalog.

Are Rock API, RockAPI, rockapi, RockAI, and rock ai the same?

The official product name is Rock API, and the official dashboard domain is rockapi.ai. Developers often search for the same platform with compact or lowercase spellings such as RockAPI, rockapi, and rock api. Some AI-related searches also use RockAI or rock ai; if you are looking for the OpenAI-compatible AI API gateway at rockapi.ai, you are in the right place. See RockAPI (Rock API) for the brand and domain overview.

How does Rock API work?

Rock API sits between your application and the upstream model providers. When you send a request to https://rockapi.ai/v1, Rock API authenticates you, routes the request to the correct provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google), and streams the response back. Charges follow the selected model’s billing rules and the group actually used for the request. Your application code stays identical to the OpenAI SDK format — only the base_url changes.

What models does Rock API support?

Use the current model catalog to check model IDs, providers, available groups, and supported endpoints. The catalog changes over time. See Models and Providers for integration guidance.

How much does Rock API cost?

Prices depend on the model, group, and applicable rules. Check the current prices for currency, units, and usage-based, per-call, or dynamic billing. A displayed base rate is not sufficient to determine final cost. Top-up payments and marketplace subscriptions have their own displayed order terms. Read Pricing and Billing to reconcile reservations and settled usage logs.

Is Rock API compatible with the OpenAI SDK?

Yes. Rock API is a drop-in replacement for the OpenAI SDK. You change only the base_url parameter — all other code (messages, streaming, function calling, tool use) works identically. This applies to the Python SDK, Node.js SDK, curl, and any OpenAI-compatible client.

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    base_url="https://rockapi.ai/v1",
    api_key="your-rock-api-key",
)

response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="claude-sonnet-4-20250514",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Hello!"}],
)

How is Rock API different from OpenRouter?

Rock API and OpenRouter both provide unified AI API access, but they differ in pricing strategy and focus:

Feature	Rock API	OpenRouter
Pricing	Depends on model, group, and applicable rules	Check current official pricing
Providers and models	See the current catalog	Check the current official catalog
Focus	Cost savings + simplicity	Model marketplace + discovery
Cached token pricing	✅ Yes	❌ No
Setup time	< 2 minutes	< 5 minutes

Compare the same model, usage categories, and service conditions using current official information before choosing a service.

How is Rock API different from LiteLLM?

LiteLLM is an open-source proxy that you self-host. Rock API is a managed service with built-in cost savings:

Feature	Rock API	LiteLLM
Pricing	Depends on model, group, and applicable rules	Check provider costs and the chosen hosting or deployment terms
Hosting	Managed (no infrastructure)	Self-hosted (you run the proxy)
API keys	One Rock API key for all providers	Separate key per provider
Setup	< 2 minutes	30+ minutes (deploy, configure, maintain)
Maintenance	Zero	Ongoing (updates, monitoring, scaling)

Choose Rock API for instant savings without DevOps. Choose LiteLLM if you need full routing control inside your own VPC.

Does Rock API support streaming?

Yes. Rock API supports server-sent events (SSE) streaming for all models, including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google models. Set stream: true in your request and Rock API streams tokens as they are generated by the upstream provider. Streaming responses use the same OpenAI-compatible format (data: [DONE] termination).

Does Rock API support cached tokens?

Cached token handling depends on the model and endpoint. Cache read and write can have separate rates and lifetime conditions. Check the model details and the request’s normalized billing breakdown; do not assume a fixed discount or add cache tokens twice. See Pricing and Billing.

How do I get started with Rock API?

Getting started takes less than 2 minutes:

Sign up at rockapi.ai/sign-up
Add balance — prepaid, pay only for what you use
Generate an API key at rockapi.ai/keys
Update your code — change base_url to https://rockapi.ai/v1

Check the selected model’s endpoint support and current pricing before sending production traffic.

What payment methods does Rock API accept?

Rock API uses a prepaid balance model. You add funds to your account before making API calls, and token costs are deducted from your balance in real time. This gives you full spending control with no surprise invoices. Balance top-ups are available through the dashboard at rockapi.ai.

What happens if my balance runs out?

If your prepaid balance reaches zero, API requests will return an error until you add more funds. Rock API does not allow negative balances or overage charges. You can monitor your balance and usage in real time through the dashboard, and set up low-balance alerts to avoid interruptions.

Is my data secure with Rock API?

Rock API does not store or log your prompts or completions. Requests are forwarded to upstream providers in real time and responses are streamed back to you. Rock API retains only metadata for billing (token counts, model used, timestamp). See Security and Privacy for full details.

Start building

Create an account, check the current model prices and applicable groups, then generate an API key.

Start here

Core concepts

Examples

Reference

What is Rock API?

Are Rock API, RockAPI, rockapi, RockAI, and rock ai the same?

How does Rock API work?

What models does Rock API support?

How much does Rock API cost?

Is Rock API compatible with the OpenAI SDK?

How is Rock API different from OpenRouter?

How is Rock API different from LiteLLM?

Does Rock API support streaming?

Does Rock API support cached tokens?

How do I get started with Rock API?

What payment methods does Rock API accept?

What happens if my balance runs out?

Is my data secure with Rock API?

Start building

​What is Rock API?

​Are Rock API, RockAPI, rockapi, RockAI, and rock ai the same?

​How does Rock API work?

​What models does Rock API support?

​How much does Rock API cost?

​Is Rock API compatible with the OpenAI SDK?

​How is Rock API different from OpenRouter?

​How is Rock API different from LiteLLM?

​Does Rock API support streaming?

​Does Rock API support cached tokens?

​How do I get started with Rock API?

​What payment methods does Rock API accept?

​What happens if my balance runs out?

​Is my data secure with Rock API?

Start building

What is Rock API?

Are Rock API, RockAPI, rockapi, RockAI, and rock ai the same?

How does Rock API work?

What models does Rock API support?

How much does Rock API cost?

Is Rock API compatible with the OpenAI SDK?

How is Rock API different from OpenRouter?

How is Rock API different from LiteLLM?

Does Rock API support streaming?

Does Rock API support cached tokens?

How do I get started with Rock API?

What payment methods does Rock API accept?

What happens if my balance runs out?

Is my data secure with Rock API?