# OpenCode Zen 36 Hacker News commenters recommended OpenCode Zen and 16 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 12 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule. **Verdict:** Recommended for cheap pay-as-you-go access to many AI models and a free tier. Critics doubt its data handling and don't know who its providers are. ## Why people recommend it - Access to many AI models (4 comments): "there are so many places to get access to these models and many others for the same or less money" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46905195)) "a convenient pay-as-you-go way to try out all these new models" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48217192)) "gives api rate access to lots of different models" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48942702)) - Cheap open and Chinese models (4 comments): "I've used OpenCode Zen primarily so I can play with opensource/chinese models which are very inexpensive" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47702155)) "pay for opencode zen for the open models. I like the combo of the two" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47634677)) "Connected into MiMo or DeepSeek Zen seems to code all day." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48523761)) - Usable free tier (4 comments): "I've been using V4 Flash Free with Hermes through Opencode Zen both personally and at my company and I've been having a great experience so far." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49220208)) "the models I can use for free from OpenCode Zen or the free tier of Openrouter" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49949300)) "I recently used the free tier to organize and rename all my documents." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47461262)) - Pay-as-you-go pricing (3 comments): "I like pay as you go plans since I usually don't use many tokens" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47640482)) "a convenient pay-as-you-go way to try out all these new models" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48217192)) "Pay $20 one time and switch between models effortlessly." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47887229)) ## What people warn about - Unclear data logging and training (4 comments): "Their own stealth model in it along with a number of the leading new models are always-on sharing data for training purposes." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47690805)) "We don't have any proof they're not logging everything, by default we should assume they are" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48007099)) "So, by default, they read our prompts. What else is hiding ?" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48013965)) - Providers and nonprofit claims unclear (3 comments): "I dislike how Zen (and many similar cases, not picking on Zen here) report being not for profit or transparent" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47706118)) "They don't state who their providers are (unlike OpenRouter)." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49793801)) "they give no information on who the provider(s) are" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48240302)) - Pricing seems steep or limited (3 comments): "Not loving the pricing with OC so will probably switch to OpenRouter once my credits are done." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48715843)) "The price different is really brutal." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49224507)) "I burn through it ridiculously fast." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49354911)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [OpenRouter](https://hackerapproved.com/p/openrouter.md): 666 recommend - [Cortecs](https://hackerapproved.com/p/cortecs-ai.md): 9 recommend - [Cloudflare AI Gateway](https://hackerapproved.com/p/cloudflare-ai-gateway.md): 9 recommend - [Eden AI](https://hackerapproved.com/p/eden-ai.md): 9 recommend - [TrustedRouter](https://hackerapproved.com/p/trustedrouter.md): 8 recommend ## Where to get it - [Visit the official site](https://opencode.ai/console/models) ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "OpenCode Zen", https://hackerapproved.com/p/opencode-zen/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).