UnoRouter vs nano-gpt: chat marketplace or one key for both
nano-gpt offers a huge model catalog behind a chat UI. UnoRouter gives you the same pay-as-you-go access plus a real developer API and a built-in character client, under one clean key.
nano-gpt and UnoRouter overlap on the obvious thing: pay-as-you-go access to a lot of models without a subscription. nano-gpt leads with breadth behind a chat marketplace. UnoRouter leads with one OpenAI-compatible key that is equally at home in a coding agent and in a chat client. Same credits, two very different front doors.
Catalog and breadth
nano-gpt's pitch is the size of the catalog: hundreds of text and image models in one place, which is genuinely useful if your goal is to try everything. UnoRouter runs 200+ models across the providers that matter for coding and roleplay, chosen and kept current rather than maximized for a count. If raw breadth is the only axis you care about, nano-gpt wins it. If you want the models people actually ship on, the gap closes fast.
The developer story
A chat marketplace is built mouth-first: the web UI is the product, the API is a side door. UnoRouter is OpenAI-compatible by design. Point any SDK or agent at https://api.unorouter.com/v1, keep your existing code, and the same key drives Claude Code, Cline, OpenCode, Kilo Code, or Codex. You are not bolting an API onto a chat site; you are using a gateway that happens to also have a chat client.
The chat and character side
Both let you chat in the browser, but UnoRouter's client is built for roleplay, not just Q and A: personas, lorebooks, presets, and SillyTavern card import, plus the same key drops into SillyTavern, Janitor.AI, RisuAI, or Chub when you want a heavier front end. You are never locked into one UI. The credits follow you across every client.
Pricing and keys
Both are pay-as-you-go with no subscription, which is the right model for bursty, multi-model use. UnoRouter keeps it to one balance with credits that do not expire and a free tier, one key across coding and chat instead of a marketplace wallet you only spend in one UI. The billing is the same shape; the difference is how far the one key reaches.
Which should you pick
If you mostly want a web UI to sample the widest possible model list, nano-gpt is good at that. If you want one OpenAI-compatible key that works in your coding agent and in a real character client, with credits that travel, UnoRouter fits. Same pay-as-you-go core, more reach on the one key.
Want one key for code and character chat? Create a free account or browse the models.
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