Best LLM API
for vibe-coded apps
Updated 2026-09-18. Anthropic is the pick for most projects. Here is how the options compare, and how to run whichever you choose through a single Squiid key.
Short answer
- Our pick: Anthropic. Claude models are strong at structured output, long instructions and tool use, which is what an app-side LLM feature usually is. The API is stable and every agent writes correct calls for it.
- Runner-up: OpenAI. The widest surface area: chat, embeddings, images, audio, realtime and structured outputs from one vendor, and the most third party code examples in the world.
- Pick something else when: Google Gemini for very long context and low cost per token, Groq or Cerebras when tokens per second is the product, DeepSeek or Mistral when you are optimising for price, and Perplexity when the call is really a web-grounded question rather than a generation.
For the LLM calls your app makes at runtime, pick Anthropic or OpenAI and move on. Both are reliable, both have first party SDKs that take a base URL, and both are fast enough for anything a small product does. The interesting decision is not which model, it is how you pay for four of them without four accounts.
How to choose a LLM API for an AI-coded app
Does the SDK let you change the base URL?
This is the single most practical compatibility test. Every major provider SDK exposes a base URL or endpoint option, which is how you point it at the Squiid gateway without rewriting call sites. If a client library hard codes its host, you will end up maintaining a fork.
Structured output or free text?
If your feature parses the model response, you want guaranteed JSON, not a prompt that asks nicely. Anthropic, OpenAI and Google all support schema constrained output. Providers that do not will cost you a validation and retry layer you did not plan to write.
Latency budget
A chat feature can wait two seconds. An autocomplete cannot. Groq and Cerebras exist because inference speed is sometimes the entire product. Decide the budget before you pick a model, then test the p95 rather than the average.
Cost per request at your real prompt size
Per million token prices are hard to compare until you multiply by your actual prompt. A long system prompt sent on every request dominates the bill. Measure one real request, multiply by expected volume, and only then compare providers.
Can you switch providers without a migration?
Model quality moves every few months. Keep the provider name in configuration, not in code, and route through one gateway so switching is an environment change. On Squiid, adding a second model provider is a click and the same key keeps working.
Compare the options
Every LLM API option Squiid carries in the LLM APIs category, with what each one is best at and how it bills.
| Service | Best for | Pricing | On Squiid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anthropic | Claude models for long-context reasoning, coding and tool use | usage | Live |
| Cerebras | Wafer-scale inference for open models at extreme token speeds | usage | Roadmap |
| Cohere | Enterprise models with strong embeddings, rerank and RAG tooling | usage | Roadmap |
| DeepSeek | Low-cost chat and reasoning models with an OpenAI-compatible API | usage | Roadmap |
| Fireworks AI | Fast serving of open models with structured output and fine-tuning | usage | Roadmap |
| Google Gemini | Gemini models with very long context, video and audio input | usage | Live |
| Groq | Very fast inference for open models on custom LPU hardware | usage | Next up |
| Mistral | European open-weight and frontier models, plus OCR and embeddings | usage | Next up |
| OpenAI | GPT models, embeddings, images and realtime voice over one API | usage | Live |
| Perplexity | Sonar models that answer from live web results with citations | usage | Roadmap |
| Together AI | Hundreds of open-source models, plus fine-tuning and GPU clusters | usage | Roadmap |
| xAI | Grok models with an OpenAI-compatible API and live search | usage | Next up |
Why run your LLM API through Squiid
One login instead of one per vendor. Squiid carries 12 LLM API options here and every other layer of the stack beside it. You create one account, click the service you want, and Squiid provisions it upstream. No separate signup, no separate password, no second dashboard.
One bill, at the provider's price. Usage is paid from prepaid Squiid credits at par: $1 of credit is $1 at the provider, with no markup on what the provider charges. The free plan is $0/month with a 15% fee on credit top-ups and a $50 minimum top-up. Solo is $19.97/month and its top-up fee starts at 8%, falling to 6.5%, 5% and 3.5% as trailing 30-day API spend passes $100, $500 and $2,000. Team is $29.97 per seat per month for seats 1-5, $24.97 for seats 6-20 and $19.97 above that, with the same ladder one point lower. Custom pricing is 3% or less against a commitment. Services that are sold as a monthly subscription, such as Anthropic's paid plan, pass through on your Squiid invoice at the provider's own price with no fee on top.
Squiid holds the upstream key. The provider credential lives in Squiid, not in your repo, not in a chat window and not in a screenshot. Your project gets one variable, SQUIID_API_KEY, and that is the only secret an agent ever needs to see. Rotating it is one click and does not touch the provider.
It works with every coding agent. Point the SDK base URL at https://api.squiid.io/v1/<service>/ and send Authorization: Bearer $SQUIID_API_KEY. Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Gemini CLI, Copilot, Windsurf, Cline, Devin, Replit, v0 and Lovable all read environment variables the normal way. See the gateway convention.
Running out pauses, it never deletes. Squiid warns you at 75%, 90% and 100% of your balance. At zero, calls pause instead of overdrawing, and your data stays where it is. Auto top-up is optional and takes a hard monthly cap. See spend controls.
Set it up in 3 steps
Add Anthropic in the dashboard
Create a Squiid account, open the catalogue, and click add on Anthropic. Squiid creates the upstream account or project for you and holds the credential.
Put one variable in .env
Copy your Squiid key and add SQUIID_API_KEY=sq_live_… to your project's .env. Delete any provider keys you were carrying. Nothing else changes.
Point your agent at the gateway
Tell your agent that calls go to https://api.squiid.io/v1/anthropic/ with Authorization: Bearer $SQUIID_API_KEY. Most SDKs take a base URL option, so it is a one-line change.
In practice that is one line in your project:
SQUIID_API_KEY=sq_live_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxThen every call your app or your agent makes goes to the gateway with that one key:
curl https://api.squiid.io/v1/anthropic/... \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $SQUIID_API_KEY"Questions people ask
Which LLM API should I use in an app I vibe-coded?
Anthropic for most features that involve instructions, structured output or tool calls. OpenAI when you want chat, embeddings, images and audio from one vendor. Add both through Squiid so you can compare them on real traffic without a second account or a second invoice.
Is Squiid the same thing as OpenRouter?
For models, the shape is similar: prepaid credits, no markup on provider prices, one fee at top-up. The difference is scope. OpenRouter is inference only. Squiid covers the whole stack, including databases, auth, storage, email, SMS and payments. See Squiid vs OpenRouter.
Do I pay more per token by going through Squiid?
No. Inference is billed at the provider list price, $1 of credit for $1 of usage. Squiid takes its fee when you buy credits, not on each call: 15% on the free plan, from 8% on Solo and from 7% on Team (both falling as your spend grows), and 3% or less on Custom, on top of the monthly plan price.
Can I use multiple model providers from the same API key?
Yes. The gateway path carries the provider name, so https://api.squiid.io/v1/anthropic/ and https://api.squiid.io/v1/openai/ both authenticate with the same SQUIID_API_KEY. Your agent can A/B two providers without touching credentials.
What about the model my coding agent itself uses?
That is separate. Claude Code, Cursor and Copilot bill you for their own inference under their own subscriptions. Squiid covers the API calls your application makes at runtime, and the other services your project needs. See Use Squiid with Claude Code.
One key for your LLM API.
And everything else.
Add Anthropic and 107 other services to one account, one key, one bill and one dashboard.