No.1-API Review: Pricing & Comparison

Documentation Is a Real Pain Point

The most time-consuming part of integrating an AI API often isn’t writing the code — it’s finding the docs: what’s the auth format, what goes in the model field, what do the error codes mean, how do you configure Claude Code…

No.1-API’s (api.rcouyi.com) core selling point is well-documented interfaces — among relays at a similar price point, its integration guides, code samples, and FAQ coverage are more complete. For a team integrating an AI API for the first time, that cuts down on time lost to documentation gaps, which is no small thing.

Pricing and Models

Pay-as-you-go, mid-tier pricing, Alipay/WeChat Pay, low minimum top-up (check the official site for specifics). The price isn’t the lowest, but it isn’t the most expensive either — a common positioning for “documentation-friendly” platforms: differentiate on service quality rather than price.

Model coverage spans four mainstream providers:

• Claude: Fable 5, Opus 4.8, Sonnet 4.6, Haiku 4.5
• GPT: GPT-5.5, GPT-4o, and the o-series
• Gemini: Gemini 3.5 Flash/Pro
• DeepSeek: V4 Pro, V4 Flash

That covers most text-API use cases, but doesn’t include multimodal (image/video generation).

Integration

# Get set up in 5 minutes
export OPENAI_BASE_URL="https://api.rcouyi.com/v1"
export OPENAI_API_KEY="your key"

# Claude Code configuration
export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://api.rcouyi.com"
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="your key"

Compatible with the OpenAI format — just change the base_url, no need to touch your business logic. Mainland direct connect, no proxy needed.

Stability

No official public latency figures or SLA commitment. Mainland direct-connect latency is generally comparable to similar platforms, but real-world testing is the only way to confirm specifics. Fine for light development and testing; for high-concurrency production environments, we’d recommend load-testing first.

Good Fit and Poor Fit

Good fit:

• Developers with less API-integration experience (well-documented, lowering the bar)
• Projects that need unified access to all four major providers — Claude/GPT/Gemini/DeepSeek
• Mid-scale use cases where lowest price isn’t the top priority

Poor fit:

• Chasing the lowest possible unit price (TokenRiver, Yunwu, and others are cheaper)
• Needing multimodal image/video generation
• Large projects that need a written enterprise SLA guarantee

If you need image/video multimodal capability, DMXAPI’s 480+ models cover text/image/music/video in one place, a richer-featured option beyond just good documentation. If open-source models like DeepSeek/Qwen make up the bulk of your usage, SiliconFlow focuses on domestic open-source models at lower pricing.

Information verified 2026-06-29. Pricing follows the api.rcouyi.com official site — verify target-model availability yourself before topping up.

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