Quick take
These three channels solve different problems:
- Shanghai Telecom token package is a low-cost telco lead: ¥1 for 250k quota points and mobile-bill payment, but conversion is still pending verification.
- SiliconFlow is a China-friendly model API platform for DeepSeek, Qwen, GLM-style access.
- OpenRouter is a global multi-model router with broad model coverage, but China access and billing friction can be higher.
- Shanghai Telecom: pending real test.
- SiliconFlow: tracked, but verify current model pricing before production.
- OpenRouter: tracked, but verify billing and access from your region.
Comparison table
| Dimension | Shanghai Telecom | SiliconFlow | OpenRouter |
| Pricing unit | quota points, conversion TBD | model token pricing | model token pricing in USD |
| Payment | mobile bill lead | China-friendly payment | overseas billing |
| China access | likely friendly, needs testing | usually friendly | depends on network/account |
| Best use | minimum-package cost test | China API prototypes | multi-model fallback testing |
| Main risk | quota points may not equal tokens | pricing/model availability changes | billing, access, and account friction |
Recommended workflow
Use the API pricing hub, estimate volume with the LLM API cost calculator, and use the telecom token calculator for quota-point packages.
Verification status
Do not call any low-cost quota package an unlimited free API. The useful metric is reproducible cost per million real tokens.