OpenAI-Compatible API Credits vs ChatGPT Plus

ChatGPT Plus and API credits are different products. Plus is for the ChatGPT app experience. API credits are for clients and developer tools that call models through an API.

Buy API credits if you use

• Cursor
• Cline
• Claude Code
• ChatBox
• Cherry Studio
• NextChat
• Custom tools that support OpenAI-compatible APIs

The three fields you need

• API Key: created in the console.
• Base URL: the OpenAI-compatible endpoint shown by the service.
• Model name: copied from the console.

Do not confuse these products

• ChatGPT Plus does not automatically give API credits.
• API credits do not renew your ChatGPT Plus subscription.
• Model availability and pricing can differ by endpoint.

Start here: API service