Orthogonal Review: 30+ APIs for AI Agents, $10 Free (2026)

Last updated: 2026-05-21

Orthogonal gives AI agents access to 30+ APIs via a single key and MCP server. $10 free to start, pay-per-call after. No subscriptions or key management.

Orthogonal is a YC W26 API gateway for AI agents, launched in 2025, giving developers access to 30+ APIs including Apollo.io, People Data Labs, and ScrapeGraph through a single key and MCP server. Pricing starts at $10 in free credits with pay-per-call billing and no subscriptions. Built by ex-Coinbase and ex-Google engineers, it works with Claude, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent.

About Orthogonal

Orthogonal is a unified API gateway built for AI agents, founded in 2025 by Christian Pickett and Bera Sogut out of Y Combinator W26. The platform solves the fragmented mess of API access in agentic workflows: instead of managing individual keys, billing accounts, and OAuth flows for each provider, developers connect once to Orthogonal and get access to 30+ APIs through a single key. The core mechanism is a centralized skill catalog paired with per-call billing. Every skill in Orthogonal's directory teaches an agent how to use a specific API, including authentication, parameters, error handling, and workflows. The platform handles rate limits, retries, and dynamic routing automatically. Agents pay only for the calls they make, with every API response including the cost of that call. Orthogonal ships three access methods: an MCP server at mcp.orth.sh for Claude Desktop and Cursor, a TypeScript SDK, and a CLI tool called @orth/cli. The skill catalog covers B2B lead enrichment (Apollo.io, People Data Labs, ContactOut), web scraping (ScrapeGraph), social media data across 20+ platforms, identity verification via Didit KYC and AML screening, and productivity integrations including Gmail, Slack, GitHub, and Google Drive through Composio. Pricing is purely usage-based. New accounts start with $10 in free credits, with no subscription required. Each API call deducts from a pre-funded balance, and the cost is shown on every response. This model suits teams that run agents infrequently or whose usage scales unpredictably with workload. As of March 2026, Orthogonal closed a Seed round led by Pioneer Fund and the platform is live with over 30 API partners. Founders Christian Pickett and Bera Sogut bring direct experience from Coinbase payments, Vercel billing, and Google's reCAPTCHA and Maps API teams, putting them at the intersection of the two problems Orthogonal solves: API infrastructure and agentic billing.

Pricing

Free $10 in credits on signup. No subscription required. Pay-per-call billing after credits are used. Cost per API call varies by provider and is returned in each response. No monthly minimums.

Key Features

• Single-Key API Access: One Orthogonal API key replaces per-provider signup, OAuth flows, and individual key management across 30+ integrated APIs.
• MCP-Native Integration: Ships with a hosted MCP server at mcp.orth.sh, enabling Claude Desktop, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent to access 30+ APIs with a single JSON config entry.
• Per-Call Billing with No Subscription: Charges deduct per API call from a pre-funded credit balance, and every response returns its exact cost. New accounts receive $10 in free credits with no subscription needed.
• Agent-Ready Skill Catalog: Each skill bundles API authentication, parameter schemas, error handling, and workflow patterns so agents can call external services without reading vendor documentation.
• Automatic Rate Limiting and Routing: Orthogonal handles provider-level rate limits, retries, and dynamic routing transparently, so agent code never needs per-provider retry logic.
• 30+ Data and Productivity APIs: Catalog spans B2B enrichment (Apollo.io, People Data Labs), web scraping (ScrapeGraph), 20+ social platforms, identity verification (Didit KYC/AML), and Composio-powered Gmail and Slack connections.

Pros

• Removes per-provider onboarding: developers access 30+ APIs with a single signup and one API key instead of managing dozens of vendor accounts and billing relationships.
• MCP-native setup takes under 2 minutes for Claude Desktop or Cursor by adding one JSON config block pointing to mcp.orth.sh.
• Pay-per-call pricing with $10 free credits means no minimum spend for low-volume or experimental agent builds.

Cons

• No public per-call pricing table: exact costs per API endpoint are not listed on the website, so developers cannot estimate expenses before running live workloads.
• Catalog limited to 30+ APIs at launch compared to general-purpose API marketplaces with hundreds of endpoints, which narrows coverage for niche use cases.
• Two-person team founded in 2025: enterprise teams may have concerns about long-term reliability, support SLAs, and SOC 2 certification before vendor approval.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Orthogonal and what does it do?

Orthogonal is a unified API gateway for AI agents, founded in 2025 by Christian Pickett and Bera Sogut out of Y Combinator W26. It gives developers access to 30+ APIs through a single key and MCP server, removing the need to manage individual API keys, billing accounts, and OAuth flows for each provider. The platform handles rate limiting, retries, and dynamic routing automatically. It is live at orthogonal.com with over 30 API partners including Apollo.io, People Data Labs, ScrapeGraph, and Composio.

How much does Orthogonal cost in 2026?

Orthogonal is fully pay-as-you-go with no subscription. New accounts receive $10 in free credits on signup. After that, charges are deducted per API call from a pre-funded credit balance, and the cost of each call is returned in the API response. There is no monthly fee or minimum spend. Exact per-call rates vary by API provider and are not published in a public rate card, so pricing becomes visible as you use the platform.

What are the main features of Orthogonal?

Orthogonal's core features are a single API key granting access to 30+ third-party APIs, an MCP server at mcp.orth.sh for instant Claude Desktop and Cursor integration, per-call billing with no subscription, and a skill catalog where each skill bundles API auth, error handling, and workflow patterns. The platform also offers a TypeScript SDK and a CLI tool called @orth/cli. API coverage spans B2B enrichment, web scraping, social media data across 20+ platforms, identity verification, and Composio-powered productivity integrations.

Is Orthogonal free to use?

Orthogonal is not free indefinitely, but every new account receives $10 in free credits on signup with no subscription required. Those credits cover a meaningful volume of API calls during development and testing. After credits are exhausted, the account transitions to pay-as-you-go billing charged per API call. There is no permanently free tier with recurring monthly credits, but the pay-per-call model means costs stay at zero during periods of no usage.

What are the best alternatives to Orthogonal?

The closest alternatives are Composio (agent integrations for productivity and SaaS apps), Toolhouse (tool storage and execution for LLM agents), and LangChain (full-stack agent framework with tool integrations). Composio is better for pre-built connections to Slack, GitHub, and HubSpot. LangChain suits developers who need a full orchestration layer rather than just API access. Orthogonal's differentiator is its payment abstraction: agents can pay for API calls autonomously with no per-vendor accounts or subscriptions.

Who is Orthogonal best for?

Orthogonal is best for AI agent developers who need paid third-party APIs without per-vendor signup and billing overhead. The ideal user is a solo developer or small startup team building autonomous agents with Claude Code, Cursor, or OpenAI Codex. It is well suited for B2B GTM agents that need lead enrichment, contact data, or web scraping. It is not a good fit for enterprise procurement teams that require SOC 2 certification, uptime SLAs, or dedicated support before vendor approval.

Does Orthogonal have an API and does it support MCP?

Yes, Orthogonal offers a REST API, a TypeScript SDK, and an MCP server. The MCP server is hosted at mcp.orth.sh and is added to Claude Desktop or Cursor by inserting one JSON config block. The TypeScript SDK and CLI tool (@orth/cli) support programmatic access from any language or terminal. Orthogonal is natively MCP-compatible from launch, requiring no wrapper to work with Claude and Cursor, which is a key advantage over traditional API marketplaces that predate the MCP standard.

How does Orthogonal compare to Composio in 2026?

Orthogonal and Composio both help AI agents connect to external services, but they solve different problems. Composio focuses on pre-built integrations with productivity tools like Slack, GitHub, Notion, and HubSpot, and is stronger for agents that need to take actions inside SaaS platforms. Orthogonal focuses on data APIs, B2B enrichment, and scraping, and adds a payment layer so agents can pay for API calls autonomously without any subscriptions. For GTM agents that need contact and company data, Orthogonal is a more direct fit; for workflow automation into SaaS apps, Composio is the stronger choice.

Visit Orthogonal Official Website