Never Hit "Insufficient Credits" Again

Yes, OpenRouter credits can expire depending on how they were purchased. Promotional and free credits typically have an expiration date, while purchased credits may last longer. CostGoat helps you track your balance so you can use credits before they expire.

The 'insufficient credits' error (HTTP 402) means your OpenRouter balance is too low to complete the request. This usually happens when you run out of credits or the request cost exceeds your remaining balance. CostGoat alerts you before this happens.

OpenRouter credits work like a prepaid balance. You add funds to your account, then each API call deducts from your balance based on the model's per-token rate. CostGoat tracks this balance in real-time so you always know where you stand.

OpenRouter credits are purchased in dollar amounts ($10, $50, $100, etc.) and are used based on the per-token pricing of each model. Different models have different rates — GPT-4 costs more than Claude Haiku, for example.

OpenRouter occasionally offers free credits for new accounts and through promotions. They also have some free models that don't consume credits. CostGoat helps you track both paid and promotional credits in one place.