Ranking method
This list ranks China-friendly low-cost AI APIs by access, free credits, pricing clarity, OpenAI compatibility, payment friction, and production risk.
Shortlist
| Rank | Provider | Best for | Status |
| 1 | DeepSeek | coding, reasoning, low-cost text | tracked |
| 2 | Qwen | Chinese, multimodal, cloud ecosystem | tracked |
| 3 | Zhipu GLM | signup tokens and GLM-4-Flash tests | tracked |
| 4 | Tencent Hunyuan | Tencent Cloud and China access | tracked |
| 5 | SiliconFlow | China-friendly multi-model API | tracked |
| 6 | Shanghai Telecom | low-cost telco token-package test | pending real test |
| 7 | OpenRouter | global multi-model fallback | tracked, region-dependent |
Use the API pricing hub and LLM API cost calculator before you commit to production.