AI Gateway
500+ AI models through one OpenAI-compatible API — paid per query in Bitcoin sats over Lightning. No subscriptions.
The ZapAPI AI Gateway gives you access to every major AI model — GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Llama, Qwen and hundreds more — through a single OpenAI-compatible endpoint, billed per query in Bitcoin sats over the Lightning Network.
There are no subscriptions and no monthly minimums. Top up from 100 sats, pay only for what you use, and see the exact cost of every query.
AI Quickstart
Top up with Lightning and make your first chat completion in minutes.
Models & Pricing
Live catalog: chat, image, video, TTS, STT and embeddings with sats pricing.
Chat Completions
The OpenAI-compatible endpoint — streaming, vision, tools, web search, thinking.
Billing & Sats Pricing
How per-query pricing works — markup, FX buffer, and per-component charges.
Why the AI Gateway
- Every model, one API. Point any OpenAI SDK at the AI base URL and switch between 500+ models by changing one string. Works with Claude Code, Cursor, Cline, Aider, OpenWebUI and every OpenAI-compatible tool.
- Pay per query in sats. Live prices shown in sats per 1M tokens for every model. A typical query costs a few sats — not a $20/month subscription.
- Lightning-native. Top up with any Lightning wallet, pay invoices directly from your ZapAPI wallet, or enable NWC auto-topup so you never run out. Lightning topups earn a +5% bonus.
- Transparent billing. Every query is itemized per component (input, output, cache reads, web searches) with the exact FX rate used. Failed upstream calls are never billed.
At a glance
| Capability | What you get |
|---|---|
| Models | 500+ across chat, image, video, TTS, STT, embeddings |
| Endpoint | OpenAI-compatible POST /ai/chat/completions (streaming SSE) |
| Vision | Attach images to any vision-capable model |
| Thinking | Reasoning effort levels on supported models |
| Web search | :online suffix or plugins: [{id:"web"}] — real-time results |
| AI Tools | Pay-per-call image/video/TTS/translate/OCR — see Tools |
| Routing | :nitro fastest · :floor cheapest · :exacto tool quality |
| Payments | Lightning topups, ZapAPI wallet pay, NWC auto-topup |
| Balance | USD ledger settled in sats at the live FX rate + small buffer |
OpenAI-compatible
If your tool supports a custom OpenAI base URL, it works with the AI
Gateway: set the base URL to your ZapAPI AI endpoint and use a zap_* key.
See AI Quickstart.