{"slug": "i-wanted-a-smaller-openrouter-catalog-for-chinese-models-so-i-built-one", "title": "I wanted a smaller OpenRouter catalog for Chinese models, so I built one", "summary": "A developer built Vancine, a smaller OpenAI-compatible API focused on current Chinese frontier models from Qwen, Kimi, GLM, MiniMax, and DeepSeek, as an alternative to OpenRouter's broad catalog. The service offers one API key and endpoint, with prices 20% lower than OpenRouter for four compared paid listings as of August 27, 2026. The developer disclosed that they run Vancine and used an AI writing assistant for editing.", "body_md": "OpenRouter is useful. I still use it when I need broad model coverage.\n\nBut for one part of my work, that broad catalog became friction. I mainly wanted the current flagship models from Qwen, Kimi, GLM, MiniMax, and DeepSeek. I kept sorting through old versions, free routes, provider variants, and model IDs.\n\nSo I built [Vancine](https://vancine.com/openrouter-alternative?utm_source=devto&utm_medium=content&utm_campaign=openrouter_launch&utm_content=migration_guide), a smaller OpenAI-compatible API focused on current Chinese models.\n\nDisclosure: I run Vancine. This is a product post, not an independent comparison. English is not my first language, and I used an AI writing assistant to edit the wording.\n\nVancine uses one API key, one balance, and one OpenAI-compatible endpoint:\n\n```\nhttps://vancine.com/v1\n```\n\nThe catalog is intentionally small. When a Chinese provider replaces a flagship model, I update the catalog and retire the older listing instead of keeping every generation around.\n\nThe same account also reaches Chinese image, video, audio, and 3D models. I started with text and coding workloads, but media access has become useful for people who do not want separate accounts with several Chinese providers.\n\nThese are the four exact paid listings I compared on August 27, 2026. Prices are USD per 1M tokens.\n\n| Model | Vancine input / output | OpenRouter input / output |\n|---|---|---|\n| qwen3.8-max | $1.60 / $4.80 | $2.00 / $6.00 |\n| kimi-k3 | $2.40 / $12.00 | $3.00 / $15.00 |\n| glm-5.3 | $1.12 / $3.52 | $1.40 / $4.40 |\n| MiniMax-M3 | $0.24 / $0.96 | $0.30 / $1.20 |\n\nThat is 20% lower for these four listings. Free variants, promotional routes, and temporary provider discounts are excluded. I am not claiming that every model is cheaper.\n\nThe live pricing page is the source of truth because provider prices can change.\n\nThe change is small:\n\n``` python\nimport os\nfrom openai import OpenAI\n\nclient = OpenAI(\n    api_key=os.environ[\"VANCINE_API_KEY\"],\n    base_url=\"https://vancine.com/v1\",\n)\n\nresponse = client.chat.completions.create(\n    model=\"qwen3.8-max\",\n    messages=[\n        {\"role\": \"user\", \"content\": \"Explain this failing test.\"}\n    ],\n)\n\nprint(response.choices[0].message.content)\n```\n\nOpenRouter model IDs include a provider prefix. Vancine IDs do not, so `qwen/qwen3.8-max`\n\nbecomes `qwen3.8-max`\n\n.\n\nChat completions and streaming follow the OpenAI-compatible format. Provider-specific errors may differ, so I would still test the exact tool and model combination before moving production traffic.\n\nI have run Pi against Kimi K3 through Vancine on a real edit-and-test coding task. It completed the tool loop and left the tests passing.\n\nI have not independently verified every coding agent. I would rather publish one reproducible result than put a long compatibility matrix on the page and pretend every green check means the same thing.\n\nIf you need Claude, GPT, Gemini, Llama, and hundreds of provider routes behind one account, OpenRouter is the obvious fit. Vancine is for the narrower case: you mainly want current Chinese frontier models, a short catalog, and lower prices on the compared paid listings.\n\nI am still deciding what a smaller provider needs to publish before developers will trust it with production traffic. Uptime history? Rate-limit details? Version pinning? Better cost exports?\n\nIf you work with these models, I would like to hear which one matters most.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/i-wanted-a-smaller-openrouter-catalog-for-chinese-models-so-i-built-one", "canonical_source": "https://dev.to/vancine-fan/i-wanted-a-smaller-openrouter-catalog-for-chinese-models-so-i-built-one-24op", "published_at": "2026-08-27 13:05:34+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-27 13:18:28.238809+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-products", "ai-tools", "developer-tools"], "entities": ["Vancine", "OpenRouter", "Qwen", "Kimi", "GLM", "MiniMax", "DeepSeek"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/i-wanted-a-smaller-openrouter-catalog-for-chinese-models-so-i-built-one", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/i-wanted-a-smaller-openrouter-catalog-for-chinese-models-so-i-built-one.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/i-wanted-a-smaller-openrouter-catalog-for-chinese-models-so-i-built-one.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/i-wanted-a-smaller-openrouter-catalog-for-chinese-models-so-i-built-one.jsonld"}}