OpenAI edges past Anthropic in OpenRouter spend for the first time since February 2024
OpenAI took just over 50% of combined OpenAI-Anthropic spend on OpenRouter in the week of Sep 7, 2026, the first such week since February 2024. The data covers API spend on one routing platform, a narrow window on either lab's revenue before the rumored IPOs.
The Investor · Invest desk
Key figures: OpenAI took just over 50% of combined OpenAI-Anthropic spend on OpenRouter in the week of Sep 7, 2026, against near 10% through early 2025, and 78% of combined tokens in the week of Sep 14.
| Figure | Value | Note | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAI's share of combined spend, week of Sep 7, 2026 | 50% just over | 1 | |
| Spend share, early 2025 | 10% near | 5 | |
| OpenAI token share, Sep 14 | 78% | 11 |
What happened
- Weekly token volume on OpenRouter rose from 0.5 trillion in the week of Jan 13, 2025 to 128.4 trillion in the week of Sep 14, 2026, roughly 250 times in 20 months.
- Measured in tokens, OpenAI models held 78% of combined OpenAI and Anthropic usage in the week of Sep 14, according to OpenRouter's newsletter.
- Astra, OpenAI's newest premium model, took one-third of combined spend across the two labs in the most recent week, OpenRouter reported.
- Anthropic's Fable 5.1 held 7% of combined spend in its third full week, after Fable drew data-retention blowback and was pulled from the market in the weeks of June 15 and 22.
- Open-weight models reached 79% of OpenRouter tokens in early July and have held above 62% since, the newsletter said.
Why it matters
- What doesn't add up contradiction Ramp's subscription data had Anthropic above 65% of the pair's business spend by February 2026, and officechai says that measures a different channel from API usage, so neither dataset settles company-level revenue.
- What it limits constraint The 50% line divides only part of the platform's dollars, and that part is shrinking: closed-weight models fell from 89% to 73% of OpenRouter spend since January, a loss of 16 points.
- Who's exposed exposure Part of Anthropic's lost share traces to a data-retention backlash and a government-ordered withdrawal. That loss can reverse without a new product win. The weekly series cannot yet separate preference from supply interruption.
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Anthropic draws more spend per token than OpenAI. OpenAI's 78% of combined tokens [11] leaves Anthropic with 22% [18], yet Anthropic took the remaining dollars, just under half of the total [1]. On those figures its average spend per token ran about 3.5 times OpenAI's (78 divided by 22) [12]. The spend figure is from the week of Sep 7 and the token figure from the week of Sep 14, and "just over 50%" is a floor, so 3.5 is a rough number. Luna is the likeliest source of the gap: GPT 5.6 Luna took 47% of combined tokens in the week of Sep 14 [3], and the tokens kept flowing after its 50% OpenRouter discount and OpenAI's own list-price cut ended on Aug 14 [4].
OpenAI sat in the low-to-mid 20s of combined spend through the first half of 2026 [5] and was just over 50% by the week of Sep 7 [1], about double in a summer [13]. OpenRouter calls Astra the largest reason OpenAI crossed 50% [20]. If OpenAI held about 50% in the latest week, Astra's one-third share would make it two-thirds of OpenAI's dollars on the pair [22]. The newsletter concedes that Astra is only two weeks old and that the result could flip [23].
Officechai's account does not match. It puts Astra at roughly 19% of total spend in what it calls the most recent week [21], and it dates the earlier 50% week to Feb 26, 2024, where OpenRouter says Feb 24 [2]. The published text does not say whether the Astra figures cover different weeks or different denominators.
The buyers are mostly software. OpenRouter estimates the last day humans used more tokens than agents was Feb 6, 2026 [14], so a token share mostly records which models agent workflows were set to call. The newsletter credits a high-volume, low-price workhorse paired with a high-price frontier model for OpenAI's gain on both measures [6]. We think that is a fair description of this platform and a thin guide to either company's revenue.
The view changes if Astra fades, if Fable 5.1 recovers from its 7% [7], or if OpenRouter's users turn out to track neither lab's total sales. Officechai expects the next few weekly updates to show whether OpenAI holds the majority [24]. A reading back under 50% in them would prove the thesis wrong.
What to watch
- OpenAI's share of combined OpenRouter spend in the weeks after Sep 14: a reading back under 50% breaks the thesis.
- Astra's share of combined spend against the one-third in the latest week, and whether officechai's 19% and OpenRouter's one-third get reconciled.
- Fable 5.1's share of combined spend after its 7% in its third full week.
Information, not investment advice. This story is general information about companies and markets, drawn from cited reporting. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security; check the cited sources before acting.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence50
- Adoption55
- Hype gap+10
- Incentives
- Not scored
- Confidence50
Perspective Coverage
3 publishers- Builder
- Builder 37%
- Operator
- Operator 10%
- Investor
- Investor 53%
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
In the week of Sep 7, 2026, OpenAI models took just over 50% of combined spend between OpenAI and Anthropic, the first week at or above the 50% line since the week of Feb 24, 2024.
- [2]
Officechai reports the week of Sep 7, 2026 was the first time since the week of February 26, 2024 that OpenRouter users spent more on OpenAI's models than Anthropic's in a single week.
- [3]
GPT 5.6 Luna took 47% of combined OpenAI and Anthropic token volume in the week of Sep 14.
- [4]
Luna had a 50% discount on OpenRouter starting July 27 plus a list-price cut by OpenAI; those price adjustments wrapped up on Aug 14 and the tokens continued to flow.
- [5]
OpenAI sat near 10% of combined spend through early 2025, climbed into the 20s by late 2025, and hovered in the low-to-mid 20s through the first half of 2026.
- [6]
The newsletter says a high-volume, low-price workhorse coupled with a high-price frontier model seems to have made a major positive impact for OpenAI on both measured fronts, spend and tokens.
- [7]
Anthropic's Fable 5.1 sits at 7% of combined spend in its third full week.
- [8]
Fable faced launch issues: blowback for an aggressive data retention policy at first, and a very public requirement from the current administration to pull Fable from the market (weeks of June 15 and 22).
- [9]
Open-weight model token share crossed 50% briefly in February and more permanently in April 2026, reached 79% in early July, its high point, and has held above 62% since.
- [10]
Weekly token volume on OpenRouter went from 0.5 trillion in the week of Jan 13, 2025 to 128.4 trillion in the week of Sep 14, 2026, roughly a 250x increase in 20 months.
- [11]
Measured in tokens, OpenAI models took 78% of combined OpenAI and Anthropic usage in the week of Sep 14.
- [12]
With roughly equal dollar shares on 78% versus 22% of tokens, Anthropic's average spend per token is about 3.5 times OpenAI's. The spend week (Sep 7) and token week (Sep 14) differ, so the ratio is approximate.
- [13]
OpenAI's share of combined spend roughly doubled, from the low-to-mid 20s to just over 50%, in one summer.
- [14]
OpenRouter estimates the last day humans used more tokens than agents was Feb 6, 2026.
- [15]
Closed-weight models saw 73% of spend in the second week of September, as opposed to 89% the week of Jan 5.
- [16]
Ramp's business-spending data showed Anthropic's share of combined OpenAI-and-Anthropic business subscription spend climbing from roughly 10% in early 2025 to over 65% by February 2026.
- [17]
Ramp's data measures corporate subscription spend rather than pay-as-you-go API usage, which is the more direct comparison to what OpenRouter tracks.
- [18]
Anthropic's share of combined OpenAI and Anthropic tokens in the week of Sep 14 was about 22%.
- [19]
Closed-weight models' share of OpenRouter spend fell by 16 percentage points between the week of Jan 5 and the second week of September.
- [20]
Astra, OpenAI's newest premium model, took one-third of combined spend across the two labs in the most recent week, and the newsletter calls it the largest reason OpenAI crossed 50%.
- [21]
Officechai says Astra alone accounted for roughly 19% of total spend in the most recent week.
- [22]
If OpenAI held about 50% of combined spend in the latest week, Astra's one-third share would be about two-thirds of OpenAI's spend on the pair.
- [23]
The newsletter acknowledges it has only been two weeks since Astra's arrival and that the result could flip down the road, while saying the trend has been compounding for months.
- [24]
Officechai says whether OpenAI's latest models hold their majority of OpenRouter wallet share, or this proves a one-week blip, should become clearer over the next few weekly updates.
- [25]
The newsletter describes OpenAI and Anthropic as the two headline American labs rumored to be hurtling towards IPOs.
Sources
3 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- OpenAI retakes OpenRouter weekly spend lead after 2.5 years
aiweekly.co
1 article · October 7, 2026
- just above half of the two providers’ combined dollar spend
officechai.com
1 article · October 9, 2026
- The Token State of Play - Inferred
openrouter.ai
1 article · September 21, 2026