Aiberm vs Dragonfly: Which AI API Service Should You Use in 2026?
Aiberm vs Dragonfly: Which AI API Service Should You Use in 2026?
If you're looking for cheaper AI API access, you've probably come across Aiberm and Dragonfly. Both offer lower prices than going directly to providers. But they take completely different approaches.
Understanding the difference helps you pick the right tool — or use both.
Different Markets, Different Models
Aiberm: Discounted Western AI
Aiberm focuses on making OpenAI, Claude, and Gemini cheaper. Through bulk purchasing and optimization, they offer significant discounts on models you already know:
- Claude Opus 4.6 at 81% off
- GPT-4 series at steep discounts
- OpenAI-compatible API format
- 30+ models
If you're already using GPT or Claude and just want to pay less, Aiberm is a straightforward option.
Dragonfly: China's AI Ecosystem
Dragonfly focuses on a completely different set of models — China's best AI labs:
- DeepSeek (V3, R1) — competitive with GPT-4o on benchmarks
- Qwen3-235B (Alibaba) — strong multilingual performance
- Kimi K2 (Moonshot) — excellent long-context handling
- GLM-5 (Zhipu) — multimodal capabilities
- Doubao (ByteDance) — ultra-cheap for bulk tasks
- 30+ models total
These models are hard to access from outside China (Chinese phone numbers, payment methods, VPN). Dragonfly removes all those barriers.
Head-to-Head Comparison
| Aiberm | Dragonfly | |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Cheaper Western AI | Access to Chinese AI |
| Key models | GPT-4, Claude, Gemini | DeepSeek, Qwen, Kimi, GLM, Doubao |
| Why cheap | Bulk purchasing discounts | Chinese models are natively cheaper |
| Unique value | Discount on known models | Models unavailable elsewhere |
| API format | OpenAI compatible | OpenAI + Claude + Gemini compatible |
| Payment | Standard | Stripe + USDT |
| Community | None | Community board |
| Playground | None | Multi-modal playground |
| Earn program | None | BYOK — contribute keys, earn credit |
Pricing: Apples vs Oranges
Aiberm discounts Western models:
| Model | Official | Aiberm | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Opus 4.6 | $5.00/1M | $0.95/1M | 81% off |
Dragonfly offers models that are natively cheap at source:
| Model | Dragonfly | Comparable to | Savings vs GPT-4o |
|---|---|---|---|
| DeepSeek V3 | $0.27/1M | GPT-4o level | 89% cheaper |
| DeepSeek R1 | $0.55/1M | o1 reasoning | 78% cheaper |
| Doubao 1.5 Pro | $0.30/1M | Simple tasks | 88% cheaper |
| Kimi K2 | $1.00/1M | Long-context | 60% cheaper |
| Qwen3-235B | $1.00/1M | Multilingual | 60% cheaper |
Different approach, similar result: you pay less. But Dragonfly's cost advantage comes from the models themselves being cheaper, not from discount arbitrage.
When to Use Which
Use Aiberm when:
- You need specifically GPT-4 or Claude (some tasks require a particular model)
- You're locked into an OpenAI-only codebase and can't switch models
- You want a drop-in cheaper replacement for your current setup
Use Dragonfly when:
- Cost is king — Chinese models are cheaper than even discounted Western ones
- You want models you can't get anywhere else (Kimi, Doubao, GLM)
- You're open to trying Chinese AI models (they're better than you think)
- You want a multi-modal playground to test before committing
- You want to earn credit by contributing idle API keys (BYOK)
Use both when:
- Western models (Aiberm) for tasks that specifically need GPT/Claude
- Chinese models (Dragonfly) for everything else — coding, chat, bulk processing
- This is the cost-optimal strategy: use the cheapest model that's good enough for each task
The Real Question
The question isn't "Aiberm or Dragonfly?" — it's "Do you know about Chinese AI models?"
Most developers outside China don't. They're paying $2.50-5.00/1M tokens for Western models when comparable Chinese models cost $0.27-1.00/1M.
Aiberm saves you money on models you already use. Dragonfly introduces you to models that are fundamentally cheaper — and for most tasks, just as capable.
Try It
Dragonfly: dragonfly-api.com/register — $1 free credit, 30+ Chinese AI models, no credit card required.
Change one line of code:
client = OpenAI(
base_url="https://dragonfly-api.com/v1",
api_key="sk-df-your-key"
)
Dragonfly — China's best AI models, one API.