OpenRouter Ships Next-Gen Auto Router and Auto Code: Coding Router Benchmarks Near Opus 5.5 at ~74% Lower Cost per Task
On 2026-11-06 OpenRouter launched a rebuilt Auto Router (openrouter/auto) and coding-focused Auto Code (openrouter/auto-code). Vendor-stated: Auto Code scores in line with Claude Opus 5.5 across five benchmarks at about 74% lower cost per task; routing p90 latency about 0.65s vs 1.96s for the prior router. It weighs eleven request factors plus live price, provider health, and cache; no extra routing fee.
Key Takeaways
- Vendor-stated: Auto Code roughly matches Claude Opus 5.5 on five benchmarks at ~74% lower cost per task
- Latency: routing step p90 ~0.65s in a live test vs ~1.96s for the prior router (~3x faster)
- Usage: set model to openrouter/auto or openrouter/auto-code; pay the served model's list price, no routing surcharge
- Mechanics: eleven request factors + live price/health/cache; stayed on the same model for nearly 9/10 agent turns in beta to protect caches
- Compat: cost_tier / allowed_models / excluded_models still work; chatroom and API expose routing reasons
Linked Models & Agents: