Connecting your OpenRouter key
sned is free to use. The AI that writes your lessons isn’t free to run — so instead of charging you a subscription, sned asks you to bring your own OpenRouter account. OpenRouter is a service that gives you access to all the major AIs in one place, and you pay them directly for exactly what you use. No markup from us, ever.
Why do it this way?
- No subscription. You only pay for the lessons your courses actually create.
- Your choice of AI. Pick a cheap one or a fancy one — your lessons, your call.
- You can see everything. Your OpenRouter account shows exactly what each day cost.
A full 28-day course costs somewhere between a dime and a few dollars, depending on which AI you pick. The table below has the details.
Setting it up
- Create an account at openrouter.ai and add a few dollars of credit.
- Create an API key (Keys → Create Key). An API key is like a password that lets sned use your OpenRouter credit on your behalf.
- In sned, go to Settings and paste the key in.
How much credit should you add? $5 comfortably covers a full course with almost every option below, with plenty left over. If you want one of the two priciest options, start with $10.
Your key is scrambled (encrypted) before we store it, and it’s only ever used to create your content — your outline, your lessons, and the suggestions on your Style page.
Treat your API key like a password. If you ever think it leaked, delete it in OpenRouter and paste a fresh one into sned’s Settings — takes under a minute.
Choosing your AI
In Settings you can also pick which AI writes your lessons. These are our featured picks, roughly from “fanciest and priciest” down to “cheapest”:
| AI model | Cost to read (per million tokens) | Cost to write (per million tokens) | Rough cost per course |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-5.6 Sol | $5.00 | $30.00 | ~$7.00 |
| Claude Opus 5 | $5.00 | $25.00 | ~$6.00 |
| Kimi K3 | $3.00 | $15.00 | ~$3.60 |
| Claude Sonnet 5 ★ | $2.00 | $10.00 | ~$2.40 |
| GPT-5.6 Terra | $1.00 | $6.00 | ~$1.40 |
| Gemini 3.6 Flash | $0.75 | $3.75 | ~$0.90 |
| DeepSeek V4 Pro | $1.17 | $2.34 | ~$0.70 |
| Gemini 2.5 Flash | $0.30 | $2.50 | ~$0.60 |
| GPT-5 mini | $0.25 | $2.00 | ~$0.45 |
| Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite | $0.25 | $1.50 | ~$0.35 |
| DeepSeek V3.1 | $0.25 | $0.95 | ~$0.25 |
| GPT-5.6 Luna | $0.10 | $0.60 | ~$0.15 |
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | $0.14 | $0.28 | ~$0.10 |
★ Claude Sonnet 5 is what you get if you don’t pick anything.
Don’t worry about the middle two columns — “tokens” are just how AI companies count text (a token is roughly three-quarters of a word), and sned handles all of that for you. The last column is the one that matters: what one complete course will roughly cost you.
Pete recommends…
Two favorites, from the person who built sned.
Claude Sonnet 5 — the default for a reason. Consistently great writing on almost any topic, and a full course still costs less than a coffee.
GPT-5.6 Luna — the bargain of the list. Surprisingly good lessons for about fifteen cents a course. If you’re trying sned for the first time and want to spend as little as possible, start here.
A few honest caveats: the per-course numbers are estimates, not promises, and OpenRouter’s prices can change over time. sned shows you a fresh estimate before every course starts, and your OpenRouter account always has the exact numbers.
Some rough guidance on picking:
- The cheap ones are great for everyday, well-covered topics — and cost almost nothing.
- The middle of the list is the sweet spot for most people — noticeably better writing for pennies more.
- The top of the list shines on unusual topics and very particular style requests.
You’re not limited to this list
The table is just our featured picks. You can use any AI that OpenRouter offers — hundreds of them — by choosing it in Settings. If a great new one comes out tomorrow, sned can write your lessons with it.
You can also switch mid-course; the change kicks in from your next lesson onward.