AI API Public Relay Stations: A 2026 Mid-Year Review for Individual Developers

Quick note: This is a hands-on review based on a month of daily usage across Claude Code, Codex, and Cline. It is not a vendor endorsement, not financial advice, and not a substitute for reading each platform’s own terms. Model generations cited reflect the August 2026 snapshot.

The Setup Problem

Once the AI Coding toolchain settled down, API costs became the most visible pain point for solo developers. Run a few agents in parallel for an evening and the official bill becomes uncomfortable. A small ecosystem of public, community-funded relay stations has grown up around that gap: they aggregate upstream models behind a single OpenAI/Anthropic-compatible interface and give out free or cheap quota so that developers without a paid card can still run a full workflow.

I run Claude Code, Codex, and Cline daily, and over the past month I rotated through every public relay I could stably reach. Below is what’s still working in August 2026, which models each one actually carries, and how the pieces fit together in a multi-API routing setup.

Before the comparison, here is the model-generation snapshot so nothing gets compared against a stale line:

• OpenAI: GPT-5.6 (Sol / Terra / Luna). gpt-5.6 defaults to Sol.
• Anthropic: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) and Claude Opus 5.
• China-side: Zhipu GLM-5.3, Moonshot Kimi K3 (MoE, released July 2026).
• Others: Google Gemini still iterating at high cadence, xAI Grok following close behind.

Comparison Snapshot

The Five Stations in Detail

1. ABR Public

The main site is a New-API-style multi-model gateway; nothing special there. The actual utility is the companion sign-in subdomain (checkin.new-api.abrdns.com): log in with a Linux DO account, daily check-in drops a random quota straight to your balance.

Use it for prompt tweaks, single-file demos, and quick debug passes. Acquisition path is explicit and the service does not disappear overnight. The trade-off is the daily quota is small — for real workloads you will still top up.

2. AnyRouter

The most talked-about station of the last two years. Model coverage is genuinely the widest I have seen: full GPT-5.6 line, Claude Opus 4.8 / Opus 5, Gemini 3.1 Pro / 3.7 Flash, DeepSeek V4 Flash, GLM-5, Grok 4.5. Sign-in quota is generous.

The cost is peak-hour behavior: 8–11 PM local time is 429 territory, and hot models occasionally queue for tens of minutes. Community feedback has been consistent on this for a year. I run daytime primary tasks on it and fall back to AgentRouter (below) when queues spike.

3. Heibai

Solid reputation in the Linux DO old threads. Limited public info; the site itself rate-limits bots. I keep it as a 2nd-or-3rd backup — having one more independent endpoint is cheap insurance.

4. Ark API

Multi-model, broad catalog. The only barrier is an invite code is required to register, which means newcomers have to wait.

I keep it not because it is cheap, but because it is a third independent supplier. If the primary goes 429 / 503 / dark, I can cut over in seconds. In my routing table it sits at slot three.

5. AgentRouter (focus station)

This is the one I have actually been driving for the past month, and the one I rely on most.

The difference from the others is not model count — it is that AgentRouter is designed for AI Coding / Agents:

• Single OpenAI / Anthropic-compatible interface; no separate integrations per tool
• Native fit for Claude Code, Codex, Roo Code, Cline
• Model line covers Opus 4.8 / Opus 5, GPT-5.6 Sol / Terra / Luna, GLM

I run 3–4 agents in parallel (writer, reviewer, test writer, refactorer). Routing all of them through one gateway is materially nicer than maintaining four separate key sets. Response latency at peak is noticeably more stable than AnyRouter — the routing is built for production, not for a check-in coupon economy.

Quota is on the conservative side but adequate. The invite scheme is two-sided — sign-up drops a credit, and every successful invite drops another.

Hard requirement: a GitHub account registered before December 2025. Newer accounts do not pass. The rule can change, so check the registration page before signing up.

My Current Routing

Primary agent tasks  → AgentRouter
Peak-hour fallback   → AnyRouter
Throwaway tests      → ABR check-in quota
Cold backup          → Heibai
Third backup         → Ark API

The intent is not “free forever.” It is to keep development-stage cost near zero while preserving the ability to switch providers at any moment. Production workloads still go through official channels or paid commercial suppliers.

Hard Rules for Public API Endpoints

1. No sensitive data passes through. The path is you → third-party relay → upstream model. Database passwords, API keys, private keys, and any production data should not transit these stations.
2. Do not treat them as production APIs. They can be rate-limited, taken down, or abandoned without notice.
3. Do not run unbounded test loops. Public stations are already resource-constrained; every abusive scrape hurts other users and ultimately causes your own 429s.
4. Match the tool to the stage. Public APIs for development and testing. Once the project is validated, pick a model and route production traffic through official channels.

A Note on the Sign-Up Link

AgentRouter’s invite scheme is two-sided: signing up gives you a credit, and inviting a successful signup gives you another. If you happen to be signing up anyway, the link below saves you the search:

👉 AgentRouter registration

If you do not need it, ignore it — the post above is the actual content.

Closing

The public-API landscape moves quickly. What works in 2026 will not necessarily be the right answer in 2027, and every new model generation resets the cost comparison. A reasonable cadence is to revisit your toolchain every six months.

Comments and corrections are welcome. If you are running a different setup or hit a regression I missed, drop a note and I will fold the update into the main post.