# Lava

> Lava is an AI billing and gateway platform. One API for routing, metering, pricing, and spend controls across 29+ AI providers and 530+ models. Ship AI products and get paid without building billing infrastructure.

Lava has two core products that work standalone or together:

- **Lava Gateway**: A unified API proxy for 29+ AI providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Mistral, xAI, DeepSeek, and more) plus non-AI API services (Serper web search). Point your requests at Lava, and every token, request, and latency metric is metered automatically. Switch providers without changing code. Sub-5ms overhead.

- **Lava Monetize**: Launch any pricing model (prepaid credits, subscriptions, pay-as-you-go, usage-based) with a few lines of code. Includes hosted checkout, wallet-based billing, real-time balance tracking, spending limits, and usage dashboards for your end users.

## Docs

- [Documentation](https://www.lava.so/docs): Full product documentation, guides, and API reference
- [API Reference](https://www.lava.so/docs/api-reference): REST API endpoints for subscriptions, usage, and billing
- [AI Spend Keys Guide](https://www.lava.so/docs/guides/ai-spend-keys): Set budget-controlled API keys for AI agents and services
- [Spend Key Setup Guides](https://www.lava.so/docs/guides/spend-key-setup-guides): Connect spend keys to Claude Code, Cursor, Raycast, Cline, and more
- [Gateway Quickstart](https://www.lava.so/docs/quickstart): Get started with the AI gateway in minutes
- [Checkout Integration](https://www.lava.so/docs/guides/checkout): Add hosted checkout to your application
- [Node.js SDK](https://www.lava.so/docs/sdks/nodejs): Official Node.js SDK for the Lava API
- [Service Catalog](https://www.lava.so/services): Browse all 530+ models and API services with pricing, capabilities, and provider details
- [Service Catalog API](https://www.lava.so/docs/api-reference/list-services): Public API endpoint returning every available model and service with pricing

## Products

- [Lava Gateway](https://www.lava.so/products/gateway): One API for every AI model. Access 29+ providers through a single endpoint with real-time metering and zero lock-in.
- [Lava Monetize](https://www.lava.so/products/monetize): Launch any pricing model with a few lines of code. Prepaid wallets, subscriptions, usage-based billing built for AI.
- [Pricing](https://www.lava.so/pricing): 1.9% service charge on processed transactions. First $10k free. No monthly fees.

## Blog

- [The Molten Stack](https://www.lava.so/blog): Lava's blog on AI pricing, billing, and infrastructure
- [How to Set Up Billing for Your AI App](https://www.lava.so/blog/how-to-set-up-ai-billing): Step-by-step guide to adding billing to your AI product
- [What Is an AI Gateway?](https://www.lava.so/blog/what-is-ai-gateway): Why you need one, how they work, and what to look for
- [AI Pricing Models](https://www.lava.so/blog/ai-pricing-models): Overview of pricing models for AI products
- [Best AI Gateways](https://www.lava.so/blog/best-ai-gateways): Comparison of AI gateway platforms
- [Best AI Billing Platforms](https://www.lava.so/blog/best-ai-billing-platforms): Comparison of billing platforms for AI
- [Usage-Based Billing for AI](https://www.lava.so/blog/usage-based-billing-ai): What you actually need to build
- [How to Bill Your Users for AI](https://www.lava.so/blog/billing-end-users-ai): Guide for platform builders
- [Best AI Tools for Spend Keys](https://www.lava.so/blog/best-ai-tools-spend-keys): AI agents and tools compatible with Lava spend keys
- [Pricing AI Agents](https://www.lava.so/blog/pricing-ai-agents): 5 pricing models for autonomous AI products

## Optional

- [Contact](https://www.lava.so/contact): Get in touch with the Lava team
- [GitHub](https://github.com/lavapayments): Lava's open-source repositories and SDKs