An API key is like a password that lets an app use your own account with an AI company. You paste it here, and the deck builder uses your AI account to do its thinking. The AI company bills you for what you use, usually a few cents per deck.
Why we ask for one. The deck builder is free: we don't charge for it and we don't run the AI ourselves. Your key goes straight from your browser to the AI company you picked. We never see it, store it or take a cut.
A subscription is not an API key. ChatGPT Plus, Claude Pro, Gemini in the Google One plans and other app subscriptions don't include an API key or API credit. The API is a separate, pay-as-you-go account on the developer sites below (you can sign in with the same login).
Stay safe
- Set a spending limit on your AI account or on the key (a few dollars is plenty), so a lost key can't run up a bill.
- Don't share it or post it anywhere. Make a separate key just for this site.
- Delete it any time on the same page where you made it: it stops working at once. Here, press Forget key to remove it from this browser.
- On a shared computer, don't tick Remember on this device.
How to get one (pick any)
Anthropic (Claude)
- Go to console.anthropic.com/settings/keys and sign up or sign in.
- Add a little credit under Billing (prepaid; a few dollars covers dozens of decks).
- Press Create Key, name it "Deckmaster", copy it (it starts with
sk-ant-).
- Pick Anthropic above, paste it and press Use this key.
OpenAI (GPT)
- Go to platform.openai.com/api-keys and sign in (your ChatGPT login works, but API use is billed separately).
- Add credit under Settings, Billing, and set a monthly budget under Limits.
- Press Create new secret key and copy it (it starts with
sk-; it's shown only once).
- Pick OpenAI above and paste it.
Google Gemini
- Go to aistudio.google.com/app/apikey (Google AI Studio) and sign in with a Google account.
- Press Create API key and copy it.
- Pick Gemini above and paste it.
Free tier: Google's Gemini API has a free tier: many models, including the Flash models, cost nothing within daily limits, with no card needed. On the free tier Google may use what you send to improve its products; on the paid tier it doesn't. The newest Pro models need billing turned on.
OpenRouter (one key, many models)
- Go to openrouter.ai/keys and sign in.
- Buy a few dollars of credits.
- Press Create Key, give it a credit limit (OpenRouter recommends one on every key) and copy it (it starts with
sk-or-).
- Pick OpenRouter above and paste it. You can then choose from hundreds of models: Llama, Mistral, DeepSeek, Grok, Qwen, as well as Claude, GPT and Gemini.
What a deck costs
A build reads about 25,000 to 60,000 tokens and writes 4,000 to 9,000 (a token is about three-quarters of a word). With list prices on 8 Oct 2026:
| Model | Per deck, roughly |
|---|
| Claude Sonnet 5.5 (Anthropic, our default) | US$0.09 to US$0.21 |
| Claude Haiku 4.5 (Anthropic, cheaper) | US$0.04 to US$0.10 |
| GPT-6.1 Sol (OpenAI) | US$0.09 to US$0.21 |
| GPT-5.4 mini (OpenAI, cheaper) | US$0.04 to US$0.09 |
| Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview (Google) | US$0.10 to US$0.23 |
| Gemini 3.8 Flash (Google, paid tier, until 31 Dec 2026) | US$0.03 to US$0.08 |
| Gemini Flash models on Google's free tier | US$0 (within the daily limits) |
| OpenRouter | The model's own price: the builder shows the estimate when you pick one |
Asking for changes afterwards costs a little more each time. The page shows the real token count after every build. Price lists: Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, OpenRouter.