How to Add Your Own AI API Keys to Creaiter

Why your own keys

Three reasons, in roughly the order they will matter to you.

1. 01Cost transparency. You see exactly what the AI usage cost, in the provider's own dashboard, with no markup you have to take on faith.
2. 02Control. You choose the model, you set the spending limits, and you can revoke access at any moment without asking anyone.
3. 03Price. Creaiter is free during early access because it is not paying for your usage. The whole product, no card required.
4. 04The honest tradeoff: it is one more account to create before you can start, and if your key runs out of credit the chat stops until you top it up.

Which providers are supported

Different jobs need different services. You do not need all of them. Start with one AI provider and add the rest when you reach a feature that needs them.

1. 01AI models: OpenRouter, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, and Mistral. One is enough to use the chat.
2. 02Images and video: OpenAI GPT-Image, Google Gemini Image, Runway ML and Replicate. They are added the same way, in the Image and Video Gen block underneath the AI models. Only needed if you want Creaiter to generate images or video.
3. 03Search data: SERP API and Serpstack. Needed for keyword research and rank tracking against real numbers.
4. 04Email: Resend. Needed to send email campaigns and journeys.
5. 05SMS: Twilio. Needed to send text messages.
6. 06If you want the shortest path, OpenRouter is a reasonable first key because one account reaches many models. If you already pay OpenAI or Anthropic, use what you have.

How to add a key

Every integration is added the same way, in Settings, using a key you generated at the provider.

1. 01Create an account with the provider and generate an API key in their dashboard.
2. 02Copy the key immediately. Most providers show it once and never again.
3. 03Add it in Creaiter's Settings under that provider.
4. 04Send a short message in the chat to confirm it works before you rely on it.
5. 05Set a spending limit or a budget alert in the provider's dashboard while you are still there.
6. 06If it fails on the first try, suspect a copy-paste problem: a leading space, a missing character, or a key from the wrong project inside the provider account.

Where keys are stored, and who can see them

Your keys are stored against your Creaiter account and used when the chat calls that provider on your behalf. They belong to your account, and removing one stops the features that depend on it.

Two habits protect you regardless of any tool's storage claims, including ours. Use a key created specifically for Creaiter rather than one key pasted into five products, so revoking it later means revoking one thing. And set a hard spending cap at the provider, because a cap is the only limit that cannot be argued with.

If you need specifics about how keys are handled at rest before you add a production key, ask support. That is a fair question and it deserves a direct answer rather than a reassuring sentence on a docs page.

How costs work

There are two separate bills, and it helps to keep them separate in your head. Creaiter is free during early access, the whole product, no card. Your providers bill you directly for what you use. Paid Creaiter tiers are planned at $29 for Pro and $99 for Business, and they are not purchasable yet.

AI cost tracks length and model. A long blog post costs more than a social caption, and a frontier model costs more than a small fast one. If a bill surprises you, the usage dashboard at the provider tells you which calls did it.

Search data providers usually sell requests in blocks, so heavy keyword research draws that quota down. Resend and Twilio charge for what you send. None of that flows through Creaiter.

The practical advice: set a low cap in week one, do real work, then look at what it actually cost. Estimating in advance is guesswork. One week of real usage is data.

If a key stops working

Keys fail for boring reasons. Work down this list before assuming anything worse.

1. 01Check the provider account has credit or an active payment method. Running out is the most common cause.
2. 02Check the key has not been revoked or rotated, especially if someone else manages the account.
3. 03Check whether you hit a rate limit, meaning the provider is capping how fast requests can come in. Waiting a few minutes tells you quickly.
4. 04Re-paste the key cleanly in Settings.
5. 05If the provider's own dashboard shows the key as healthy and Creaiter still fails, contact support with the provider name and roughly when it started.